Introducing the Khuraburi—a Value-Driven, ISO-Rated Diver from Helm Watches

A brand’s sophomore outing can often be a make or break moment for a young company. Helm Watches had a successful first release with two iterations of their Vanuatu diver, which sold out after its initial release in October of 2015. We covered the Vanuatu in December of last year and gave it high marks for its style, build, and overall value. The question now is: will Helm’s next watch keep the bar high?

Like the Vanuatu, the Helm Khuraburi takes its name from a destination known for diving, making no bones about the intended use of the watch. Khuraburi is a town in Thailand that is close to the Surin Islands, and it provides some of the best diving spots in the Andaman Sea. To that end, the Khuraburi has a water resistance rating of 300 meters, and the watch is tested and rated to the ISO 6425 standard, which is why the word “DIVER’S” appears above six.The Khuraburi features large, blocky hour indices that are illuminated with either C3 Super‐LumiNova or a mix of BGW9 and orange-colored luminous paint. Combined with the wide handset (with the same lume options), you have one serious looking tool watch.

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Based solely on the appearance of the dial and case, one might assume the Khuraburi is one of those larger (44mm plus) micro-brand tool-divers, but it shares nearly the same case dimensions as the Vanuatu. Measuring from 12 to six, the stainless steel case comes to 42mm without the crown and 43mm across the bezel; it bumps up to 45mm with the crown. Still, the lug-to-lug distance is a fairly reasonable 49mm and the watch has an overall height of 16mm. So yeah, it has some heft, but it’s tempered a bit.

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The oversized 8mm crown has deep grooves for ease of operation, is signed, and can be had at either four o’clock or 10 o’clock. The lugs of the Khuraburi are drilled and fit 22mm straps with the watch shipping on a stainless steel bracelet along with a nylon strap available in five different colors.

Like the Vanuatu before it, the Khuraburi also uses a Seiko movement—the NH38. The NH38 is similar to the ubiquitous NH35, but it lacks a day/date. The NH38 is a bi-directional automatic caliber that hacks and can be hand wound. All in all, a solid choice that helps keep the cost down without sacrificing the overall quality and reliability.


The Helm Khuraburi is currently available for $300 (plus $30 for worldwide shipping) directly from Helm Watches.

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Residing in North Idaho, James has been wearing a watch for over 35 years. With growth of the internet in the late 90s watches as an interest turned into an obsession. Since that time he has been a watch forum moderator, watch reviewer, contributor to Nerdist, and operates Watches in Movies in his spare time.
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