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Ratio Free Diver Review

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Bolster
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Ratio Free Diver Review

Post by Bolster »

Why are there so many watches? For one thing, because there are so many different needs and tastes. Mine are (1) rotating bezel; (2) thin; and (3) all-night lume. Easy to find robez with thin; robez with lume is abundant; thin with good lume is also available. But all three? Suddenly the field is much diminished. I made my complaint to TheJohnP and within a week he shot me back a suggestion: the Ratio Free Diver. Never heard of, never seen. So I purchased one from CreationWatches dot com, and it arrived from Hong Kong in 3 days (!). Long story short: I love it. Getting this watch means there are now 4 others I need to sell…it’s replaced them. I may buy a spare!

[img][/img]

[img][/img]

The Good:
* Crazy 10.2mm THIN.
* GOOD all-night LUME – can read the time easily at 6am in a dark room. Doesn’t match the lume on my Portus Cale, but up there with “more than sufficient.” Easily passes the f2/1sec/ASA400 exposure test after 30 minutes (which is a great predictor of lume ability), see lume photo on right.
* SAPPHIRE.
* SCREWDOWN crown.
* Quartz second hand HITS the marks.
* Bezel has good CLICK action, just right.
* Bezel sits ever so slightly PROUD of the crystal. I really like that in a watch; keeps the wear on the bezel rather than the crystal.
* Bezel is SLOPED to the outside for cuff-slide action.
* Date window is at THE EDGE of the DIAL, yay! (But is contrasting white, which kinda works as a 3-mark, since all the markers are made of very-pale green lume.)
* 200M
* Stainless steel engraved bezel, no anodized aluminum insert. FTW! * Pip has good lume at 6am.
* SUPER COMFORTABLE to wear on a Barton canvas strap.

[img][/img]

The Indeterminate:
* I wouldn’t call it a handsome watch; I’d call it a wonderfully functional watch. It’s likely to become a faithful friend, not a supermodel.
* Manageable 43.7mm diameter, 49mm L2L. However that 43.7mm diameter is only the thin base of the watch, and it steps up like a ziggurat to a modest 40mm at the bez, giving the false impression the watch size is 40mm. I prefer watches that slope inward a bit, rather than straight sides. Cuffs slide over easier.
* The bezel is grippy, with nubs and tabs. The tabs at the whole numbers have sharp corners. This both helps grip, and might tear flesh if you have soft skin (or are doing what the dude was doing when MOT said ‘no more photos like that please’). Aside from the sharp bezel, it’s nicely melted edges all around elsewhere. One could “defang” these sharp corners, as is commonly done on firearms.
* Substantial weight for its size; neither light nor heavy. 75g on canvas. Doesn’t feel either delicate or clunky.

The Odd and Improvable:
* How many clicks in the bezel? Guessed 120? No. Guessed 60? No! There are…66 clicks in the bezel!! So the bezel pip seldom aligns right on a number. How strange.
* You can’t pull the crown full out and then push half in to set the date. That doesn’t work. Instead, you must pull half out; then you can set the date. Pulling half out is a harder target to hit than pushing half in, but it works.
* No manual or instructions, not that any are needed. Wish I knew what type of cell is in it, though.

Oh, the price: $135, creationwatches-ca
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TheJohnP
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Re: Ratio Free Diver Review

Post by TheJohnP »

Happy to have helped you out, Bolster.
Nothing like that feeling of satisfaction when you've had something in your mind that you're looking for forever and finally finding it.
May it serve you well for years to come!
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Far and wide I will find 'em and I ride 'em
Bricks and mortar get my licks just for kicks
AD or authorized I don't analyze
Retail, wholesale never fail
Online or offline, I find I don't redefine
Too big to fail or yard sale they all hale
Run or hide just for fun deals I find
Rocat
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Re: Ratio Free Diver Review

Post by Rocat »

To the OP or JohnP, is the strap 20 or 22?
And that was a very good honest write up on the watch. I'd like to add another quartz Diver to the stable and this one looks pretty good and affordable.

I see they also have a version of the APEKS 1000m Diver.
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BostonCharlie
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Re: Ratio Free Diver Review

Post by BostonCharlie »

So glad your quest is complete! I really dig that watch.

When buying from Creation, their eBay store commonly has a 10% coupon that is redeemed in the cart -- it stacks with codes (someday, right?). Right now it is 9% for whatever reason:
https://www.ebay.com/sme/creationwatches/offers.html

All Ratio watches in their 9% discount promo:
https://www.ebay.com/sme/creationwatche ... _nkw=ratio

By my reckoning, the current 9% discount would drop it to $133:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ratio-II-Free- ... 3330522110

The creationwatches-ca listing seems to already have that discount included -- judging by the USD price -- but it's priced in CAD.

Then there is the MANONTIME 7% discount code that works on their site.
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Bolster
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Re: Ratio Free Diver Review

Post by Bolster »

Rocat wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:23 pm To the OP or JohnP, is the strap 20 or 22?
D'oh, meant to include. 22mm.
BostonCharlie wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2019 9:21 pm So glad your quest is complete!
Now wait...now wait a second...what is this "complete" you speak of?

I'm a MOTist, aren't I? And our quest is never complete!

(Hand over heart, distant misty look in eyes, music swells, flag waving in the background.)
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Bolster
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Re: Ratio Free Diver Review

Post by Bolster »

I'm still working on the music, but I think I have the flag worked out. It's the MOTist White Flag of Surrender to Good Deals:

[img][/img]
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