Melbourne Sorrento | Watch Review

Melbourne Sorrento Watch Review

It’s been some time since I’ve had an opportunity to take a look at a watch from the Melbourne Watch Company. Direct from Melbourne Watch Company, their focus is to utilize quality materials such as surgical grade 316L stainless steel, scratch resistant sapphire crystals and high grade mechanical movements. The company strives to offer watches to consumers at an affordable price.One of if not the newest release from the company is the Sorrento. Based I what I could recall about their watches, I anticipated a fairly solid and satisfying watch with the Sorrento. There are three variations of the Sorrento and this review will focus on the blue dial. 

Melbourne Sorrento Specifications:

• Case Size – 42mm 316L Stainless Steel
• Case Thickness – 14mm
• Lug to Lug Distance – 50mm
• Lug Width – 22mm
• Movement – Miyota Cal. 9015 high-beat automatic
• Crystal – Flat Sapphire
• Functions – 12-hour time, dive bezel
• Water Resistance – 200m/20ATM (Screw Down Crown)
• Warranty – 24 Months

Price $728 USD 

https://www.melbournewatch.com.au/

When I was contemplating how to approach my review on the Sorrento, I figured I would break the watch down into Pros versus Cons. I will go right ahead up front and state more pros than cons with the very cool Sorrento. Those of you that have read some of my past reviews are probably aware that I am a dive watch kind of guy. Also, the more “toolish” the dive watch the better in my book. So, jumping right in first and foremost I consider this watch to be extremely versatile but not a “tool” or industrial style diver. The case combines both brushed and high polished finishes so this watch could definitely be considered by many including myself as a dress dive style watch. I would not hesitate to throw it on with a pair of jeans or some shorts, etc. If you are a “tool” or industrial dive watch kinda guy like me, I still believe this watch might grow on you over time as I admit I have greatly enjoyed it.

Next up with the pros is the bezel. I have to admit while I am listing the bezel as a pro, personally I have both love and hate feelings about it. The bezel is flat out cool looking giving the Sorrento a significant amount of flair with the machined wave design. I love the way it looks. However, I suggest being extremely cautious with the bezel. I have marked up standard bezels before and in many instances any damage doesn’t always seem to be too noticeable. Unfortunately, I rubbed the bezel on the Sorrento up against a door frame and the mark just seems far more noticeable to me thus my hate feelings toward the bezel. The cool factor still outweighs the delicacy factor.

Pro number three has to be the ceramic dial. The Sorrento I believe is the second watch model from the company to sport this type of dial. I’m not entirely certain what makes a ceramic dial any better than any other type of dial material but it sure sounds special doesn’t it? I guess it just adds a level of sophistication and uniqueness as ceramic, while used frequently with bezels, isn’t found all the time as the dial material. I really appreciate the depth that central ceramic disk adds to the watch. One thing for certain, the ceramic isn’t going to scratch if that matters to anyone.

Movement and the bracelet are the other pros in my humble opinion. The Sorrento is powered by the ever popular and reliable Miyota 9015 automatic. Some folks just will not buy anything but Swiss but I personally do not believe the 9015 can be beat for the cost. Swiss movements are starting to get rather pricey and finding a watch under $1000 with an ETA and great quality is becoming more and more rare. So some may actually consider the overall cost of the Sorrento a hidden pro based on the quality movement and other specifications. I am not a bracelet guy any longer as I have developed a taste for custom leather straps and Isofrane dive straps but I love the bracelet on the Sorrento. The bracelet is 22mm at the lugs but tapers slightly just below the lugs to around 21mm all the way through to the clasp. The links are assembled using single sided screws which happens to be my personal favorite. I know I’ve heard it all before, what if you strip the female side of a link? Just be careful! The single sided screws are so much easier to size and if you are like me with a not so steady hand, this is the preferable design in order to prevent scratching up the sides of the links. The bracelet also uses quick release pins so no more scratching up the bottom of the lugs. I’m not sure why more watch companies are not using this type of setup.   

There is really only one solid con to the Sorrento. While my love/hate feelings with the bezel might also be considered a con, I can overlook the hate side due to the “cool” factor. So what’s the con? The lume is just not all that great compared so some dive watches I have seen. Initially, the lume is strong but it fades out rather quickly. The issue might be the use of Japanese super-lume rather than C3 Superluminova or BGW9. I might also suggest adding significant lume to the bezel markers. Is the lume a deal breaker? Nah. I’m not certain the Sorrento is the type of watch that a professional diver is going to take on any significant dive. The amount of lume the watch provides is going to provide adequate luminosity such as in darkened rooms, movie theaters or the like.

The Sorrento is a reasonably priced micro-brand dive style watch. The model is comparable to or even exceeds the quality of other dive style watches in this price range. If you are looking for a dress style diver this option may be a great option. Dress it up or dress it down, it can really go either direction. I hope the Melbourne Watch Company keeps producing quality watches with this level detail at a reasonable price point. I admit I would like to see more dive style watches. I would like to thank the Melbourne Watch Company for working with WatchReport on this review. 

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Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX : Watch Review

Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX

The Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX is one of the latest versions of the INOX, and quite possibly my favorite so far. I know they have also recently released a forged/molded carbon fiber version, and though I have not seen that one in person, I think I can still safely say my favoritism lies with the titanium. I have quite a few reasons for that, which I will explain in this review, and of course, give you the skinny on this lightweight tool watch.

Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX Specifications:

• 43mm case width
• 51mm length
• 13mm thick
• 21mm lug width
• 93 grams
• Ronda 715 quartz movement
• sapphire crystal
• Orange rubber strap
• 200 meters water resistant

Retail Price $595.00 USD

https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Products/Watches/Mens-Watches/I-N-O-X-Titanium-43-mm/p/241758

When I say lightweight, the Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX does weight less than its stainless counterpart, but not by an extreme amount, 138 grams vs 93 grams. The case is noticeably lighter, but still has some heft to it. The titanium itself is sand blasted or has a dark gunmetal coating.  I do not want to call it a hard coat as I can find no mention of this on the website, though it does feel and look like. I can say that I have not seen any scratches on it after wearing a few week, unlike the stainless model which the bezel especially scratched if you breathed on it too hard. I personally like the love the darker look to the case, it definitely gives you that tool watch vibe, the hard use rugged feel. One thing I could not find was what grade the titanium was being used. Most watch and knife companies use grade 5 titanium, (6AL4V), and are quick to point it out as well. I have seen some companies use grade 2, which, as you guessed, is a slightly lesser grade. The VSA website is somewhat vague in general though, as they do not even list the caliber of quartz movement being used either.

I have discussed the INOX at length here on Watchreport. I have even mentioned it comparing it to other watches I have reviewed, both in a good and not so good way. I have stated many times that I do not believe all the hype associated with it, as far as the marketing claims and the tests it was subjected to etc. The original stainless INOX, was touted as one of the toughest watches ever, and you can see all the testing they say they administered on their website. The thing is, in person, it is a stainless steel watch, or in this case, titanium, with a readily available quartz movement that is used in countless watches, and a build similar to their Divemaster lineup. The stainless version is not hardened, does not repel scratches, and I just do not see it living up to the claims they put out. This example, the Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX, in my opinion, is the same. A quartz movement is already pretty shock resistant, and though a movement holder has been added to make it more robust, I am not sure how that translates into extreme temperatures or being crushed by a car tire. Now, do not get me wrong, I very much like the INOX, and this titanium version I might actually love. But in my opinion, it will hold up just as well as most other stainless steel sport or dive watches that have a good build quality to them. I do not see anything that is revolutionary here, other than a unique design that I find quite attractive.

The dial on the Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX is unchanged from the steel version, it just has different color options. The date cutout is still crammed in there in a way I wish it wasn’t, I would rather no date to be honest. The shade of grey used is nice, it is matte finished as well and is a pure grey, not a charcoal grey or light silver. The orange accents give just a touch of color, nothing over the top, yet it does make it stand out. This is accentuated even more with the matching orange rubber strap. This colorway is a great summertime or beach watch in my opinion, and you could get a black strap for it, if you wanted to tone it down a bit. The Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX also comes with a blue strap/blue accents and also a grey strap with red accents, if orange is not your thing.

As I said, this is my favorite version of the INOX, I love the matte blasted titanium case, orange is a color that I have a lot of in my wardrobe, from hats to sneakers, etc, so I instantly feel in love with the look and color. The aesthetic is also a little nicer on this model in my opinion, the matte case allows you to see all the angles and bevels of the case and bezel, which is one of the things that makes the INOX unique in it its look. I also prefer the 43mm case size of the steel and titanium versions of the INOX, as opposed to the 45mm of the diver variant I reviewed here last year. If they made a diver version in 43mm and titanium, depending on the color and design of the dial, would possibly push this titanium version down a notch, in terms of my favorite.

The rubber strap is still a little stiff, as compared to say an Isofrane or Hirsch rubber. I have found the colored straps are less pliable than the black rubber, though I would say this orange has not bothered me as much as the olive green one from the original I reviewed. The lume is still not as good as I would hope it to be, though it does seem to be brighter and last longer than the original INOX. The surface area to apply lume is small, maybe Victorinox needs to enlarge the markers and hands a bit in future versions to allow for more lume compound to be applied, or they need to start using C3 X1 lume, which is the top grade of lume at the moment.

If you have always liked the INOX, but the stainless steel with its brushed and high polished surfaces were not for you, the Victorinox Swiss Army Titanium INOX might be one to look at. It is all business and no bling and definitely has that rugged appeal to it. I try and be as honest as possible, and it is true, I questions a lot of the claims VSA makes and I stand by that some of them are more marketing than anything else, but that happens in almost every industry. It is a still a great looking watch that should be able to handle a good amount of abuse, and if you are someone that is not worried about that type of thing, it is a unique looking sport watch with a great color combo.

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