Héron Launch Marinor Gen II with Quality of Life Improvements

The Héron Marinor absolutely changed the game for the Canadian watch brand when it was released in 2023. After playing with a few design concepts in the preceding years, it gave them a sell-out hit that has helped to guide the design direction of the brand ever since including multiple popular special editions like the Rainbow. A fusion of modern tool watch specs with a clean, clear design language and competitive price. However, the Marinor was temporarily discontinued while Héron worked on a second generation, which is here at last with the launch of the Héron Marinor Gen II.

It’s a full core collection reset, replacing the older models and expanding the range slightly with some new colour options. Visually, you’ll have a hard time playing spot the difference with the two generations side by side unless you know where to look because they’ve paid careful attention to preserving the popular aspects of the design such as the sapphire bezel, box glass and dial layout including North Star 12 o’clock marker.

The most impactful quality-of-life improvement comes in the watch’s dimensions. While it’s still 39mm, the new model is a touch skinnier at 12.2mm thick including crystal as opposed to the older models like the aforementioned Rainbow, which were 12.9mm. It might not sound like a lot but it’s a pretty significant change in terms of daily wear convenience. Less bulky, easier to slip under a cuff, a little bit lighter, you get the idea.

For the second quality-of-life improvement, you have to turn off the lights. The lume has been strengthened to give a clearer emission. You can make lume stronger in multiple ways such as upgrading to a higher class of Super-LumiNova or by redesigning the receptacle of the lume to hold a higher volume. Since they’re using the same Old Radium and BGW9 used on the previous versions, I can only conclude the latter is the case here. Though without having both versions in front of me, loupe in one hand and UV torch in the other, it’s hard to notice a significant difference. But any benefit to legibility in a dive watch, no matter how small, is welcome.

The last of the quality-of-life improvements on the Héron Marinor Gen II is an updated bracelet clasp. While the flat-link bracelet is one of the design elements they wanted to leave untouched, it’s not the same story with the clasp. It’s now thinner, which mirrors the new slimmer profile of the watch itself, keeping the buckle and watch head proportional. More significantly, it features a new tool-less micro-adjustment system, allowing you to adjust the bracelet with ease to accommodate for different outfits as well as things like the swelling of your wrist on a plane or in particularly hot weather that causes higher blood flow to the extremities.

Alongside these updates, two new colours have been added in addition to the existing Atlantic and Caribbean models. The new versions are Methol in a dark aquatic green and the more straightforwardly named Gilt & Black, which is gilt and black. They’re a logical expansion to the range. Though I can’t hide that I’m more excited about the possibilities of new special editions in the same vein as the Rainbow and Ghost.

Inside is the Miyota 9039 automatic with 41-hour power reserve, which is a stalwart of the collection (and a great many other watches besides). It has a reputation for its slimness, which is what allows the Marinor to remain relatively slim despite maintaining solid diving specs with 250m water resistance. It’s protected by a solid steel caseback with a depiction of ‘The Captain’, a nautical figure that Héron designed to look like they’re partly from the pages of a seafaring look book and partly from an adventure story.

The new collection of Héron Marinor Gen II watches are priced at £480 with pre-orders open from today, January 28^th and delivery expected this summer, in June. They are the perfect summer tool watch beaters so the timing on that is just about as perfect as it could be.

More details at Héron.