I was fortunate enough earlier this year to spend a week on the shores of Loch Lomond and the Isle of Bute in Scotland where the weather was so nice that we went swimming every day. The only sea creatures we encountered though were jellyfish and seals – no mythical monsters in those waters. That’s because Loch Ness is located much further north where fabled Nessie lives, and it’s that beast that forms the central motif of the new collaboration between Spinnaker and the Scottish Watches podcast (their third collab to date): the Fleuss Automatic Nessie Pearl Diver Limited Edition.
At 43mm in diameter, it’s a substantial piece of kit, but then it feels appropriate to have a large watch to house the Loch Ness Monster. Also, with a thickness of 13mm it’s actually not all that monstrous on the wrist, big yes, but not overwhelming. It also has a large screw-down crown that’s easy to use while wearing gloves thanks to its pronounced grip. The same is true of the unidirectional rotating bezel with Scottish flag inspired immersion timer scale.
For the dial we have a mother-of-pearl disc in a vibrant blue colour that represents the flowing waters of the loch. At four o’clock is an adapted small seconds subdial that serves more as a running seconds indicator where Nessie surfaces from the waters and then descends again. A fun nod to Scotland’s most famous legend. With 150m water resistance you could even take the Fleuss Automatic Nessie Pearl Diver with you on your hunt to find the beast.
Elsewhere on the dial we have nicely oversize hour markers presented in the 10/2/4/8 Scottish flag arrangement, similar to the bezel. They’re produced in what has become an increasingly popular ‘back-lit’ style (used by brands like Farer with the recent Aurora, where the lume element forms the bottom layer of the marker overlaid with a solid top. It makes for a dramatic display in low light conditions, especially paired with the lumed elements of the bezel, central hands and Nessie.
Below the dial is the Miyota 8245 automatic movement, the Japanese manufacture’s standard small seconds calibre with 40-hour power reserve. It’s finished with a custom rotor depicting the waters Loch Ness and Nessie once again. The Scottish flag taking pride of place in its fully realised state in the centre.
The Fleuss Automatic Nessie Pearl Diver is priced at £390 in a limited edition of 650 pieces. Given that the previous collaboration between Spinnaker and Scottish Watches, which also featured Nessie, sold out in less than a day, they’ll be hoping that it wasn’t just a one-off sighting of the monster and this new edition can share the same success.
Price and Specs:
More details at Spinnaker.
