Direnzo’s Third Watch Hits All the Right Vintage Notes: Introducing the DRZ 03 Eclipse

The DRZ 03 is the third watch from Direnzo, and their first dive watch. “A connection between sea and space” is how designer Sergio Godoy Di Renzo, founder of the Direnzo watch company, describes the DRZ 03 Eclipse, and while that’s quite a loose connection to make, I’m sure there’s a romantic element to the link somewhere. An Omega Seamaster wave dial, or a Rolex Seadweller gradient blue dial make sense in a fairly direct and obvious way that an eclipse doesn’t. Nevertheless, what matters is the watch, and in my opinion, it works here.

Direnzo DRZ 03 Eclipse 

• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Dial: Gray, blue 
• Dimensions: 40 x 12.5 x 48mm 
• Crystal: Sapphire      
• Water Resistance: 20 atm
• Crown: Screw down            
• Movement: Sellita SW-200
• Strap/bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet, nylon strap, rubber
• Price: $499
• Reference Number: n/a
• Expected Release: September 

The eclipse effect on the dial is created by a raised matt central disc sitting on top of a fumé outer dial. The result isn’t particularly subtle, but to me eye it really works as an interesting take on a sector dial. Being a dive watch, it’s important that the indices and hands don’t get lost in a flood of gradients and textures. Thankfully the applied markers and distinctive hands appear bold enough to draw the eye effectively. Direnzo cite dive watches of the 1960s, in particular the Breguet 1646, as influences on the DRZ 03 and this can be felt in the indices the most. A nice touch is the markers seen on the bezel being the inverse combination of circles and dashes that appear on the dial.

The watch appears to be well sized at 40mm in diameter and a lug-to-lug length of 48mm. Thickness comes in at a reasonable 12.5mm, and the 20 mm lug width should give rise to a lot of strap choices. The other specs stack up well too: a unidirectional 120-click bezel, sapphire crystal with internal AR coating, screw down crown and 200m of water resistance. Inside is the Sellita SW200-1, a Swiss-made automatic caliber with design and specs based on the popular ETA 2824-2.

Four versions of the watch will be initially available through the Kickstarter campaign – a grey dial with “old radium” Super-LumiNova and black sapphire bezel, or blue dial with BGW9 Super-LumiNova and matching blue bezel, each one either with or without date. Both dial colors have their own appeal, and I’m pleased to see that the date window, where present, is located at the 6:00 position as it really doesn’t detract from the overall design.

Pledges start at $499, which gets you your choice of watch including both an Oyster style bracelet and Marine Nationale style nylon strap. Further stretch goals include a Tropic style rubber strap and an interesting all red colorway. For a well-designed, Swiss-made diver, that feels like a pretty good deal – especially if you get in at the lower tiers. The pre-order campaign is currently running via Kickstarter. Direnzo