Say Hello to the Highly Capable Nodus Sector Deep

Nodus started teasing out the continuation of their Sector Series early last month. With some early indications as to what we were in store for – a dual bezel display, southpaw crown stance, and a dial reading “500” potentially alluding to the water resistance rating. I assumed the latter would hold true given the appropriate name of Nodus’ latest release: the Sector Deep. The Sector Deep heavily concentrates on the keystone features in what constitutes as a legitimate dive watch. I’m talking about outstanding legibility, a case intentionally designed for comfort, and seamless functionality. We’ve seen dive watches before from the determined brand based out of California, but nothing like the Sector Deep. It’s completely novel, and their most, dare I say, professional watch to date.

The Nodus Sector Deep is capable of going where its name says it can go – deep below the ocean’s surface. More specifically, 500 meters. That’s 1,640 feet for those who need the conversion and for additional perspective, that’s proximal to the height of New York City’s Freedom Tower underwater and right in the thick of the ocean’s water column. Now I know most of us won’t even come close to using up a fraction of that depth rating. Actually, I think I could speak for most of our readership (barring any certified SCUBA divers out there) when I say that we’re pretty much only concerned with the first few meters below the surface, but it’s amusing to know that the watch is capable of so much more.

Let’s bring it back topside and talk about some of the Sector Deep’s features that all of us watch enthusiasts can relate to, shall we? The Deep follows the Sector Series design lingo in stride with the expectation of a few different traits. One being the dual-display bezel that eclipses the case. The bezel in width measures 42mm, sitting atop the more compact case body which comes in at 38mm. The unidirectional bezel sports a count-up elapsed-time display on the outskirts and on the inner portion, a 12-hour display. Architecturally, the bezel has an interesting look to it, as the 12-hour display is housed in a part of the bezel that angles downwards towards the sapphire crystal. It separates both bezel displays, along with the red dotted markers between the corresponding numerals, without having to use two different colored bezel tones, keeping the uniformity of the bezel.

The Sector Deep changes gears by switching the crown placement to the nine o’clock position. Nodus is looking out for the waterman here to prevent any potential crown snagging on any loose gear, but it’s just as appealing to those who wear their watches on their left wrist to save their backhand from any digging from the crown. The thickness of the case also increases only by a millimeter due to the caseback construction accommodating the increase in water resistance rating. That said, the increase in case height shouldn’t be felt all that much since the overall thickness is alleviated by the sapphire crystal sitting flush against the bezel.

The Sector Deep is unapologetically all about legibility. Similar to their Sector Corsair design, the rehaut dramatically slopes towards the dial surface. But this doesn’t take away any dial real-estate from the hour markers. The rehaut has a cut out at each hour marker position, giving more space for each marker to extend towards the outer part of the dial. From overhead, it gives the illusion of a dial angling downwards at its outer edge, and visually increases the overall surface area of the dial. Nodus doubles down on the Deep’s legibility by creating each marker out of a bead blasted and a white PVD-coated brass plate that’s unmistakable against its black dial.

The Nodus Sector Deep hits on all of my dive watch notes. I’ve been yearning for more dive watch options with a split bezel display. I think it’s a clever way to incorporate a function to track a second time zone without sacrificing the practicality of a timing bezel. The Sector Deep does it in a way where it’s structurally unique, and personally, the red dotted markers matching the “DEEP” wording on the dial is a nice touch. Another one of my favorite features present in the Sector Deep which I’ve come to appreciate ever since my Hands-On with their Avalon II Diver is their NodeX clasp system. The clasp supports a dual-button system integrated within the clasp, and on the underside is a button allowing the clasp to adjust across five different positions. I also can’t forget to mention that I was impressed by the lume on the Nodus Avalon Diver II and it seems like we’re getting more of that here with the Sector Deep. Hands, markers, and the entire bezel display get the Swiss Super-Luminova BGW9 treatment.

The Nodus Sector Deep comes with a price tag of $575. That to me is a shockingly good price given the collection of features you’re getting. That’s a dollar and some change per meter of water resistance! Then thrown in the distinct split bezel display and the LHD. Compared to other dive watches on the market capable of hitting that depth, there aren’t many that have this dual-function bezel and more importantly, are positioned in this approachable price tier. It’s clear that there’s a huge value proposition here. The Nodus Sector Deep will go on sale directly through Nodus’ online platform on Friday, March 3rd. Nodus