The Nodus Sector has got to be one of the most versatile watch collections around, capable of being adapted into practically any wristwatch archetype you care to name. There’s the Sector Deep Pioneer for the underwater depths, the Sector II Sport for life solid ground and the Sector II Pilot for taking to the skies. The latter range has now been expanded with the introduction of the stealthy Nodus Sector II Pilot DLC.
As the name of the watch suggests, it takes the existing design of the pilot’s watch design and introduces a DLC (diamond like carbon) coating to the case. It’s an incredibly tough and scratch resistant coating that helps protect the watch from bumps and scrapes while also adding a cool, matte black finish to the piece. It works especially well for a pilot’s watch because it instantly conjures images of stealth bombers and blackouts.
The case itself measures 38mm in diameter with a broad bezel that extends outwards to a 40mm diameter, giving you a broad lip with which to rotate it. It features a 60-minute countdown timer scale so that you don’t forget that take off is in 20 minutes, or that you need to hold a certain bearing for 30 minutes when you’re actually flying. It’s a way of adding chronograph-like utility without the watch actually being a chrono.
For the design of the display, they’ve opted for black to pair with the DLC case, with a sector dial split between a grainy texture in the centre and a brushed outer ring. It remains legible thanks to high contrast white hour markers and hands as well as central crosshair motif. There are a few points of colour in the green seconds hand and cardinal point markers, designed to emulate cockpit instrument panels.
Below the dial is the Seiko NH36 movement, which is the day-date calibre within the popular Japanese movement line. One of the NH line’s weaknesses is its accuracy however Nodus have regulated the movement themselves to improve it to +/-10 seconds per day, which is around a 50% improvement. It also has a 41-hour power reserve.
The Nodus Sector II Pilot DLC is priced at £473, giving it a really solid amount of value. At that sort of price you’d expect a watch to have a PVD coating so the fact that it uses the much tougher DLC is a real benefit.
Price and Specs:
More details at Nodus.
