We were introduced to Clemence when they first came onto the scene with their take on the dive watch called the Photic. Of course there is a slight hesitancy when we come across a brand that is attempting to find its footing on Kickstarter, and doing so by using a watch design platform that for the most part, has seen the same uninspiring design redone over and over again. That said, we took notice early on with how Clemence was distinguishing themselves with the Photic through certain refined details and practical features, at a price point that makes it difficult not to whip out the credit card. And then our thoughts were reaffirmed when our very own Blake Buettner went Hands-On with the Photic. Like it did with us, it has most certainly struck a chord within the enthusiast community, since their initial release of the Photic diver line has long been sold out. Now in their Sophomore year, Clemence is back and looking to build out the range of their Photic diver with five new dial colors.
If you’re not familiar with the Photic diver, here’s a bit of a refresher. The Photic diver is a properly proportioned dive watch for the modern wearer, measuring 39mm in width, 47mm lug to lug and 12.2mm from the caseback to the top of the domed sapphire crystal. It sports a narrow bezel which widens up the display of the dial. I’ve been a proponent of jotting down the actual dial widths of watches when I’m able to, so when Buettner highlighted the dial width of the Photic compared to the Halios Fairwind and the Seiko SPB (I got more excited than I probably should have), it really gives an insight to how the diver would wear when combining the other case proportions in relationship to your wrist size. In this case, the Photic’s 32mm dial display might appear larger on wrist, despite the 39mm case width, but with that you get a dial that highlights its gradient coloring, applied markers and overall, more legibility.