Raising the Pulses – the Octopus from VeriWatch

There are stories that captivate us. The VeriWatch story is one of them. We always hear about French brands or British ones when it comes to heritage. These adventures always include Swiss quality and efforts through the quartz crisis. The protagonists are always the same, so it is very refreshing specially from a person with Italian background, to see a watch brand coming out from Italy with a different twist.

VeriWatch is an entrepreneurial project born in Bari and more specifically in 1956. A great era for recreational diving and exploration of the sea. This is as we know, the perfect time for a particular style of diving watch: the skin diver. The brand enjoys a great reputation. They have everything to be respected in all the nerd watch circles. Under its belt we cand find a vast line of models with unique features and collaborations even with Squale itself, yes, the famous brand that designed cases for Blancpain and still around today.

VeriWatch (which is a play of words in Italian meaning ‘true watch’) came with a full swing in 2020 producing 2 varieties of the iconic Octopus, one with date and one without. The no date version, which is clean in symmetry, good looking and very purpose built. I am a sucker for no dates, but I have to say that the date option has the flair and vintage appeal that I enjoy on a re-production piece. We got in touch with VeriWatch and wanted to bring you our impressions from this project made with passion. Let us begin.

The specifications

The Octopus is one of the most comfortable cases I’ve tried this year and its dimensions are the reason why. The diameter is 38mm with a lug to lug of 47mm. Nothing overhangs on my 6.25-inch wrist, it all works. The brushed case and thin lugs make you feel you are wearing a vintage watch.

Then you have the domed crystal with antireflecting coating, leaving the watch dial to breath nicely. The black matte texture also helps to keep the reflections away. Here, apart from the date at 3 o’clock, we can find our main complication: the pulsometer. When it comes to diving complications in watches we can find chronographs, countdown bezels and even GMTs, but a pulsometer scale? This is a first.

This noble complication makes a lot of sense. Not only you have your timing bezel with the scale needed but, is the rehaut of the Octopus which gives that extra feature.

With a base of 30 pulsations scale, the wearer can measure the heart rate of a person by counting 30 pulses (as the name suggest). It is easy to use, and I found myself playing with it after a long workout. The only issue is that while I was looking at that second to sweep over the scale, I got lost on the details of the Octopus: that blue hue coming from the chapter ring, the straight hands and the bi color aluminum bezel. Everything is mesmerizing. Flip the watch over and we can see a case back with the tentacles of the mollusk that gave name to the watch. Under this case back we can also find the automatic Cal. Sellita SW200-1 a. A great addition from VeriWatch and keeping the Swiss part of the heritage alive, true to its origins. The screw down crown manages to give the Octopus 200 meters of water resistance.

On the wrist

The Octopus is 12mm thick and this makes the base of the watch stay in the middle of the wrist. It is a very comfortable watch. Part of this comfort also comes with the strap. Our sample came with both a nato strap and a tropical rubber one. The rubber is one of the softest if not the most I’ve have experienced so far, I guess making justice to the Octopus name.

I wore the watch for a full week, and it didn’t disappoint, the looks and the size were so pleasant that it was hard to take off. It is a watch that can blend easily but then, it is so unique in terms of design, that it does not get boring. The legibility its also a strong suit. The elongated markers with BGW9 superluminova make wonders when the dial hits the night. Going back to that two-tone bezel, I love its tactile feel. It is easy to grip, and each one of the 120 clicks is loud and precise.

Conclusions

It was not hard to fall for such a romantic complication, but this alone would not suffice our demands. The Octopus as a whole composition is a great one, everting works in harmony. The size is spot on, it is not too big and not too small, it has presence. The dial has color but is not a colorful toy. It’s a balanced act, it is just right. If you are looking for a solid one watch that has the heritage and the looks, I believe you should be considering the Octopus from VeriWatch. If you mix the attention to details and the reliability, this skin diver is one of the coolest propositions coming out of Italy today.

The Octopus is 1.050 EUR for both versions. It is available now at https://www.veriwatch.it/en/octopus/

Technical specifications

CASE Ø 38mm, steel 316L

THICKNESS 12 mm excluding glass

LUG TO LUG 47mm

CROWN screw shaped with safety seal

GLASS sapphire, curved and anti-glare

REHAUT with pulsometer on 30-base

BEZEL external unidirectional 120 click

LUME SuperLuminova BGW9

MOVEMENT automatic Cal. Sellita SW200-1 a

CASE BACK screw shaped

WATER RESISTANT 20 ATM (200m)