By Brent Robillard
A Thoughtful Evolution
I first met Jérôme Burgert, co-founder of Serica, on the Quai du Mont-Blanc in Geneva. It was one of those perfect spring afternoons during Watches and Wonders Geneva when the lake seems impossibly blue and every café table is filled with people talking about watches. Jérôme had spread a handful of Serica pieces across a leather roll and was explaining the design decisions behind them with the enthusiasm of a child.
Less than a year later, I met his business partner and co-founder, Gabriel Vachette, in Toronto amid the throngs of enthusiastic collectors at their booth during the Toronto Timepiece Show.
Meticulous is the word that comes to mind when I think about both men—and about their watches.
Serica, after all, is the only watchmaker I’ve known to hold a dedicated launch event for a bracelet update. That level of focus might sound obsessive to some, but in a recent Time2Calibrate podcast conversation with Andrew McUtchen, the founder of Time+Tide Watches described Serica as a brand that is “all in.”
I would have to agree.
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Key Features of the Serica Ref. 5330 Dive Chronometer
A Carefully Considered Evolution
The new Serica Ref. 5330 Dive Chronometer continues the brand’s slow and deliberate refinement of its modern tool watch formula. From the beginning, Serica has built its identity around disciplined design—military-inspired, highly legible, and refreshingly free of unnecessary decoration.
The Ref. 5330 doesn’t disrupt that philosophy. Instead, it nudges it forward in a few meaningful ways..
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Dial and bezel updates
Most notably, the watch introduces something Serica previously avoided altogether: a date display. Earlier dive models intentionally omitted it in the pursuit of perfect dial symmetry. For the Ref. 5330, however, the brand revisited the entire dial architecture to integrate the complication at three o’clock without compromising legibility.
To achieve this, the minute track has been subtly repositioned and the visual hierarchy of the dial rebalanced. The result is surprisingly harmonious. Even with the added complication, the watch retains the clean, purposeful look that has become a Serica signature.
Externally, the design has been refined as well. The bezel is now streamlined and freed from the countdown scale used on earlier references, allowing a polished anthracite-grey ceramic insert to take centre stage. Paired with a matte black dial and a restrained red accent in the date window, the overall aesthetic feels slightly more contemporary while remaining unmistakably Serica.
Destined to explore
Serica has always positioned its watches as instruments and the Ref. 5330 continues that tradition. This April, the watch will accompany French explorer Alexandre Gaye on a solo, unsupported crossing of Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier.
The expedition will cover roughly 180 kilometres of glacial terrain—an environment that tests both equipment and endurance. It’s a fitting proving ground for a dive chronometer designed with practical reliability in mind.
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Specifications & Pricing
The Ref. 5330 Dive Chronometer is housed in a stainless-steel case measuring 39 mm in diameter, 12.2 mm thick (including the crystal), and 46.5 mm lug-to-lug, with a 20 mm lug width. The case features alternating brushed and polished finishes with crisp chamfers and offers 300 metres (30 ATM) of water resistance, along with Serica’s anti-magnetic construction.
Inside is the SoProd M100 automatic calibre, a Swiss mechanical movement beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz). The COSC-certified chronometer movement features 25 jewels, a 42-hour power reserve, and decorative Côtes de Genève finishing. It drives central hours, minutes, seconds, and the newly introduced date display at three o’clock.
The watch features a matte black dial with cream Super-LumiNova Grade C3 for strong low-light legibility. Protecting the dial is a 2 mm-thick double-domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inner surface.
The Ref. 5330 is fitted to Serica’s distinctive Vesper stainless-steel bracelet, available in short, standard, and extra-long lengths, and includes an additional SERICA PLD® white-and-red elastic nylon strap.
Retail pricing is $1,990 USD (VAT included) or €1,690.
A Brand That Moves with Intention
What makes Serica interesting is how deliberately it evolves them. The Ref. 5330 is a perfect example.
Adding a date complication might sound like a small step, but in the context of Serica’s carefully guarded design language, it represents an incremental shift. The watch remains unmistakably Serica—balanced and functional.
And if my encounters with Jérôme Burgert and Gabriel Vachette are any indication, that sense of precision and care isn’t accidental. It’s simply how they approach everything they do.
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About the Author
Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.
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I’m not sure who was asking for a date window, but I really like the bezel.