Halios Laguna 500m diver review

[James. 26]

My new Halios Laugna 500m diver finally arrived today. All the way from Canada to OZ in 6 days isn't too bad IMO.

 

The watch came as a suggestion from Dennis on one of my old threads about what to buy (gen) for my brother for his 21st. He raised this but after deciding upon Longines for the birthday, I thought I'd treat myself. Every review I read and saw raved about the watch and I could NOT be happier with my decision. The watch is absolutly great. It's heavy, has fantastic AR and the swiss movement is as smooth as butter. I've taken a few photos when it arrived and have put together a reasonably rubbish review for you guys.

 

Once again, Dennis, YOU THE MAN!

 

I appologise for the extensive amount of photos, but damn this watch is AWESOME!

 

Unboxing;

 

 

The watch came packaged in a nice little wodden box with Halios logo. A nice change from the pelican cases too many IMO gen diving watches come in these days

 

 

Inside... ahhhhhh the beauty. With spare Isofrane rubber strap (see latter pics) warranty card, screw driver and strap tool.

 

 

Work wristie, just 'cause I can :P

 

 

 

 

Now, on to the watch itself;

 

I love the shape of the case, retro yet due to the size and fiish remains modern. It was a toss up between this and an Eterna kontiki, I'm glad with my final choice

 

 

 

The case has lovely carved edges. The watch is about 16mm tall but these curves make it appear a lot shorter on the wrist then it is

 

 

 

The dial is lovely and clean. Not over crowded which is a pet peeve of mine. Only a date window, "Halios", logo, "Laguna" and 500m on the from. all small unobtrusive in size and font letting the dial and internal bezel speak for themselves. The dial is also very shallow below the glass (saphire) apparently this means that when diving there is only a fraction of unreadable reflected dial at an acute angle (divers should know what i'm on about, i hope)

 

 

 

The watch has two crowns. One for standard date/time setting, the second to rotate the inner bezel. The date/time one is a cap i.e. screw down but the bezel one does not. The bezel crown has a nice amount of resistance without being annoying and can be turned both ways

 

 

The back is pretty standard, has a nice design which i'm told was actually desgined by one of the Halios blog readers. I think it's meant to be a blue shark and incorporates the Halios logo, might be hard to see in the photo...

 

 

 

The SS strap is great, heavy, feels very sturdy, and has a divers extension;

 

 

 

 

 

The dial and internal bezel are both lumes, c3 i've read.

 

 

Time to try the rubber...

 

 

Also came with large and small spring bars

 

 

 

The Isofrane is the best rubber strap I've worn. Silky smooth dust reistan and nicely styled.

 

 

The keepers are designed in a slanted style, subtle. The buckle also keeps along the design terms of the rest of the watch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rubber wristie

 

 

So yeah, all in all, my new favourite watch. And at a reasonable price as well. Very satisfied with it, playing with the bezel when it's at full lume is great

 

Kepp an eye out, Next on the agender is the Halios DLC "Puck"

 

 

 

Thanks for watching

[solkryssare 109]

WOW! Fantastic looking diver! Love the face

[James. 26]

WOW! Fantastic looking diver! Love the face

 

Thanks mate

[seclark007 11]

All the way from Canada, eh? Time to look in my own backyard.....

 

Nice piece for sure!

[jeffw69 0]

Congrats, enjoy it.

[Sparkal 4]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post the pics and write up!

 

Damn a new watch to lust after

[Poppalarge 0]

I love this

[HWG 11]

Very interesting piece, congrats! I prefer it on the SS bracelet. Enjoy it often!

[Olig7475 0]

+1 on the SS bracelet, it's a lovely look watch though, congrates.

[trailboss99 1,086]

Nice! Very clean design.

[James. 26]

+1 with the SS, I think I'd only use the rubber, though comfortable, if I were going to the beach or skin diving.

 

In the mean time, I'm now on the look out for some 22mm leather a la

 

 

 

or some shark mesh;

 

 

 

[baxter 6]

Very nice Semaj - like it on both bracelet and rubber - congrats !!

[HWG 11]

Thats another fun part of this hobby - all the stap options. I cant tell you how many times I have changed straps around. Stick to what you like best, mate!

[sequoia 0]

Isn't it great when you get a new watch! Like a child at Christmas. Great watch & review.

[James. 26]

Thats another fun part of this hobby - all the stap options. I cant tell you how many times I have changed straps around. Stick to what you like best, mate!

 

If only the lug width were 24 or 26mm, I'd have about 30 straps to try on. I'm seriously lacking some of the hand-made stuff in 22mm

 

I wonder how a caitlin 4 would look... lets find out

[Deyd 0]

Very nice watch, like it on everything but rubber...as usual, nobody's perfect !

[Member X 91]

That Mesh is sex but needs some better endlink action!

[Mazz 62]

very nice very Super compressorish.

 

Isofranes are awesome

[gtwc 1]

Great looking watch Semaj,

I prefer it on the rubber (those IsoFranes are the dogs bollox).

Nice review.

Just off to Google 'Halios'.

[DFH 0]

Glad you decided to take my advice, and even happier that you love it! Great choice...

There are so many smaller, gen boutique brands doing such excellent work - swiss ETA engines, great design, flawless execution - and all at very realistic and reasonable prices - you all would do yourselves well to do your research! Far more out there in the watch world than the "usual suspects" these days... This is mostly the resaon I stepped away from reps myself - the gen world has evolved considerably in the last few years...

 

 

Semaj - enjoy it, and definitely look into the SS mesh - it's a stunning combo! Isofrane is hands-down the best rubber strap ever made, and all serious divers and watch gurus know it.

 

I cannot think of a better gen watch out there for the price - ETA, sapphire, 500m depth rating, SS and rubber straps, tools and presentation box - not to mention the warranty...

 

A fine decision and it looks great on your wrist!!!! Wear it in the best of health, my friend!

[DFH 0]

Thats another fun part of this hobby - all the stap options. I cant tell you how many times I have changed straps around. Stick to what you like best, mate!

 

If only the lug width were 24 or 26mm, I'd have about 30 straps to try on. I'm seriously lacking some of the hand-made stuff in 22mm

 

I wonder how a caitlin 4 would look... lets find out

I still have a few new 22mm straps for sale on my M2M threads - take a look...

[James. 26]

Thanks mate, one of the other big attractions I found out about is that its also an in house case, a lot of small companies buy cases from suppliers and just fit their own dial and bezel but this is all completely unique to halos.

[DFH 0]

That's one of things that originally attracted me to them - a very handmade, hands-on artisan approach... I have mine at my house in the states - gonna have to grab it when I get back there for the holidays!!

[Kaiser 4]

Very nice this, great catch!

[gtwc 1]

Their 47mm DLC 'Puck' looks even better - even Semaj wants one !!!