Erroyl Duke Melrose | Hands on Watch Review

Erroyl Duke Melrose

I’m not one for dress watches these days as I rarely put on the business attire. My tastes still tend to gravitate towards dive or field watches but a dress watch is nice to have in the lineup. I have never been overly fond of the traditional dress watch, you know; super thin, a thin bracelet or leather strap and a dial you can barely read with small hands and numbers. That is just not for me and lets be honest, most people do not follow the tradition when it comes to fashion and how we dress these days. If I am going to have a dress watch in the arsenal, the Erroyl Duke Melrose would be a good choice. It has a sporty aspect to the dial with the sword hands and Arabic numbers, yet it is still svelte enough to fit under a dress shirt if need be and would still look good with a pair of jeans, dress shirt and those oh so fashionable boots. Okay, Project Runway talk is over, lets get into the good and bad of this new model from Erroyl.

Erroyl Duke Melrose Specifications:

• MOVEMENT: Swiss ETA 2824-2 movement with date complication
• POWER RESERVE: More than 40 hours (manufacturer’s specifications)
• CASE: 316L Stainless Steel (surgical grade)
• CASE DIAMETER: 39mm (33.5mm dial opening)
• CASE THICKNESS: 11mm (excluding double domed sapphire crystal)
• LUG WIDTH: 20mm
• LUG TO LUG LENGTH: 44mm
• CRYSTAL: Double Domed Sapphire Crystal with AR coating underneath
• DIAL: Dark Grey with partial sunray effect with BGW9 lume
• HANDS: Dauphine Hands with BGW9 lume
• BAND: 316L Stainless Steel Jubilee Bracelet
• WATER RESISTANCE: 10ATM (100m)
• WEIGHT: 133 grams

Price: $688.66 USD

https://www.erroyl.com/products/duke-melrose

There are quite a few things that aggravate me about most dress watches, and one of them is the lack of readability. Hands that have no enamel or lume applied to them and tiny little dot markers are not for me. Beyond all the flash, the glam and the complications we like about watches, the basic function is to tell the time, and If I can not read it quickly at a glance, it does not deserve a spot in my watch box. The Erroyl Duke Melrose takes care of all of that and not only does it have large Arabic numbers but it also made hands large enough so that you can read the time quickly. I do not consider them oversize and feel they fit perfectly within the dial. Speaking of the dial, check out the circular Guilloché pattern in the middle. Just enough dial texture to give it that something extra without overdoing it.

Another thing that grinds my gears when it comes to most dress watches is the lack of water resistance. If I am going to shell out money for a watch that I am going to wear when all decked out, I would like that if I have to wash my hands after having that posh dinner that my watch stops working because it has a very low water resistance. Even though the Erroyl Duke Melrose has a push/pull crown it is rated to 100 meters, so rain, snow and even an accidental dunk in the sink should be no issue at all. While the crown is protected from water, I wish it was a little larger for my hands. I did find it somewhat difficult to grasp and pull it out, but once done I was able to turn and set the time with ease. When you have a watch such as this, large crowns are not the norm, and I get that. It is a very elegant looking signed crown though, as you can see below.

Powering the Erroyl Duke Melrose is the ETA 2824 automatic movement with còtes de Genève rotor, visible through the sapphire case back. It is not a decorated elaborate movement but it is nice to see a Swiss caliber movement inside a watch of this price point from a microbrand. I am sure most reading this know it is a workhorse of a movement and well regarded for a base Swiss movement.

While a dress style watch normally does not have lume, Erroyl says, “Why not?” The Duke Melrose has BGW9 Superluminova applied and while it will not light up the room like a Seiko Monster or most dive or pilot watches, it gets the job done and more importantly it looks to be very evenly applied.

All this praise, surely Don, you had to have found something wrong with it, right?  I am betting you are asking yourself that right now. Well, the answer is, yes and no. My one and only real gripe is the size of the Jubilee bracelet. Before I get to that, let me just say that the bracelet in terms of looks, finish and fluidity are all on par. It drapes right around my wrist and all links are separate instead of some cheaper bracelets that have pieces molded together. Why do I have an issue with the size? It is because it just fits my wrist out of the box. I have just about a 7 1/2 inch wrist and I do not remember the last time I did not have to remove any links for a watch to fit me properly. I also do not consider my wrist to be in the large camp, so it makes me wonder why the bracelet is so short. I know the diameter of 39mm is on the small side but I imagine there are guys out there with 8 inch wrists who would like to wear this piece. If that is the case, you are either out of luck or will have to email Erroyl to see if you can get extra links added on before you order.

If you are familiar with Erroyl, you know they hit the market with something different. What I mean is, they are not making dive watches, pilot watches, field watches etc. Obviously nothing wrong with any of those and I myself stated earlier that is what I gravitate to. Erroyl’s collections tend to walk the line between dress and casual and from what I have seen, it is working. It is not easy to enter the watch world and be different, as we all know there is so much competition these days. Erroyl pays attention to quality and details though and even for someone like me that does not gravitate towards this style of watch, I can see the appeal. I’m betting Erroyl hopes you do as well. Bracelet size aside, they make a great watch, at really great price point that comes with a 2 year warranty and free shipping as well. With the way they are making watches, I think they will be around in the next 2 years if a warranty issue arises, and hopefully many more. While it is not exactly my style, it is refreshing to see something a little different.

 

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