500M-2 - A Review After 6 days...

[India Whiskey Charlie]

... Of wearing it non-stop. Have had my 500M-2 on my wrist since I got it last Thursday. My initial impression when I first took it out of the box was "holy macro, this is one super heavy watch, could it be the heaviest watch in my current collection?" Never mind that now, let's see how it wears on my 7.25" wrist. To my surprise, the weight pretty much disappeared when I wore it snugly. It is quite rare when a heavy watch does that. This one just got lighter and lighter as I kept it on my wrist. Other than the weight, it is a very big watch. Not so much the case diameter, but the height is almost 21 mm to the crystal's crown. Almost 18 mm to the edge of the bezel. If you are not careful, this watch is very easy to bang around. I am subconsciously careful with anything I wear, so it is never a problem with me. If you wear your watch on the same hand you use for writing, be careful as it will keep banging against the writing surface. The rubber strap is very nice and must contribute to the comfort, but the retainers for the first keeper are too small and tend to let the keeper slip out of its position while strapping the watch on. Not a big issue and one can get used to putting the strap through the keeper a certain way to avoid this.





Enough about the weight and the size. The crystal is curved and has some distortion if your viewing angle is anything smaller than 45 degrees. After several days, I was able to determine that the distortion is not apparent under normal viewing circumstances. The dial is very well laid out and legible except when viewing it head-on as the minute markers are covered by the inner edge of the rotation bezel. This is the single most disappointing part of the watch, but not enough of an issue for me. Now for the lume. I guess one could say this is LUM-TEC's strongest point as it doesn't take any effort to keep the lume charged at all. Every night, I was able to read the time very clearly with a consistently lit dial throughout the whole night. Absolutely the best lume of any watch I've had bar none.

Lastly, I don't know anything about the movement in the 500M, but it has been dead on accurate since I first set it last Thursday. A solid watch which I am looking forward to enjoy for years to come...

[RobDeep]

Awesome watch. I just wish the caseback was pvd like the rest of the watch. Also, does it come with two strap keeps, like in your picture?

Picky, I know.

[India Whiskey Charlie]

Awesome watch. I just wish the caseback was pvd like the rest of the watch. Also, does it come with two strap keeps, like in your picture?

I think Chris had a good explanation as to why the caseback is not PVD. Also, if it makes you feel better, no other manufacturer I know of does a PVD back. As to the keepers, yes there are two of them.

[JFLUX13]

Mine is in transit from Slovakia, I should be getting it next Monday. Can't wait! Particularly after seeing your pics!
Enjoy your watch!

[timesofplenty]

I think Chris had a good explanation as to why the caseback is not PVD. Also, if it makes you feel better, no other manufacturer I know of does a PVD back.

Great watch, and I'm digging my 500m-3!
The lume with the deeply inset dial look really great at night
The Benarus Megalodon and Moray have pvd backs:

[clubbtraxx]

I like the looks of the 500M as it looks really tough, but it is just too thick for my taste.

The distortion you get from the domed sapphire is another thing I don't like in a watch. Tic-Toks video review showed the distortion quite clearly.

I find it kind of odd, as I diver you rely on your watch, and then the dial of it is made less readable due to a thick bezel and a domed crystal

[Tic-Tok]

I like the looks of the 500M as it looks really tough, but it is just too thick for my taste.

The distortion you get from the domed sapphire is another thing I don't like in a watch. Tic-Toks video review showed the distortion quite clearly.

I find it kind of odd, as I diver you rely on your watch, and then the dial of it is made less readable due to a thick bezel and a domed crystal

The domed crystal only comes into play when under water.
The curve eliminates a lot of the refraction you have on a flat crystal. If you have ever worn your flat crystal'ed watch in the water you will notice it looks like a piece of sheet metal when viewed at an angle. The curve eliminates that a little, but not much as you still loose the dial when tilting the curved crystal'ed watch as well. The bubble also makes it stronger when hitting against something like a rock, but with the pressure of water and not being able to move very fast, the chances of any sapphire breaking due to hitting something is very slim.

[clubbtraxx]

The domed crystal only comes into play when under water.
The curve eliminates a lot of the refraction you have on a flat crystal. If you have ever worn your flat crystal'ed watch in the water you will notice it looks like a piece of sheet metal when viewed at an angle. The curve eliminates that a little, but not much as you still loose the dial when tilting the curved crystal'ed watch as well. The bubble also makes it stronger when hitting against something like a rock, but with the pressure of water and not being able to move very fast, the chances of any sapphire breaking due to hitting something is very slim.

Thank you for explaining, it makes sense now.
Well I'm not even a 'desk diver' so the 500 series just isn't for me I guess

Cheers,

CT

[Nessus]

A always thought the sole reason the for the dome was structural integrity. That's why it go over a mile underwater, the dome can take more pressure than the flat surface. It's draws it's strength from the same principles as an arch or an egg.

M, I'd rather it not have it but this is geared towards people who are actually going diving with it. Personally I'm concerned with the hot tub and shower rating stats.

[Wombat]

Thanks for the update on your watch. I really like the looks of the 500M and it is good to hear how you feel about it after wearing it for a while. Does it get noticed much by others? It would seem that a big watch like that would stand out a bit.