by Russ Michaud
The Ultimate Tool Watch
Choosing your outfit for the day, items that go in your pocket, tools in your bag and the watch on your wrist is the routine of nearly everyone in this day and age. The latter maybe more specific to someone who frequents a publication such as this, but the routine still doesn’t vary much from person to person. Those choices are often ones of aesthetic, comfort and convenience for the day ahead.
However, some people have careers that demand more. Construction, underwater welding, forestry or, in my case, an oil rig, can be difficult or even treacherous. One’s ability to remain sharp, energetic and productive while in the midst of an adverse environment is paramount. The clothes we wear and the tools we use must exceed expectations in keeping us going day after day. If you’ve found yourself in a situation like this, or have chosen such an environment for your career, Sēl Instruments have developed the optimal solution to, what I’ve found to be, the ultimate tool watch.
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Deepwater
I’ve worked in the offshore oilfield for 7 years as an engineer on an ultra deepwater drill ship. If you’ve ever seen Deepwater Horizon, or like many, have family or friends who work in this industry, you may have an understanding of just how intense this line of work can be. Twenty-eight days straight, 12 hours per day of eat, work, sleep, repeat. The need for a tough tool watch is more important than ever.
On a mission with the Omnidiver XOS 42
I was sent the Omnidiver XOS 42 with a specific review task to accomplish. Wear it for a 28 day hitch offshore, and report back. I had read about the specs and dimensions in a really great review on The Calibrated Wrist from Mike Compeau so I won’t get into the weeds with all that. When I first read about it in Mike’s review, I was nervous I wasn’t going to like it. As I typically prefer a watch in the 40-42mm case diameter, this watch just looked bigger. While the case size is a 42mm, the bezel hangs over 1mm on either side giving a bezel diameter of 44mm, so not traditionally small by today’s standards.
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Then, when I initially unboxed it, I was immediately stricken with how light it was. I’m not new to titanium watches so you’d think I’d expect it, but it still surprises me. Fitting the rubber isofrane strap was different from most watches, but generally straight forward. Line up the articulating lugs with the screw holes on the case, insert screws into the threaded holes, and tighten with the provided hex wrench. No finicky spring bars to mess with, and I am not at all upset with that. I’ve had spring bars fail before at work and aside from fixed lugs, there hasn’t been any other strap or bracelet attachment options until now. This might seem like a small detail to some, but it’s along the lines of “building a better mousetrap” for me.
The top lug to strap adapters differ from the bottom for one obvious reason. The large knurled titanium crown at 6 o’clock means the bottom lug adapter is split into 2 sections allowing it to straddle each side of the crown, and articulate the strap around it. This may seem confusing on paper, but it makes total sense in practice. With the strap having two separate points of articulation, you get a case that will fit multiple wrist sizes quite easily. On my 8” wrist, the strap adapters sit nearly horizontal, while on someone with a smaller wrist, they’d hang down to the sides, to accommodate their wrist shape. The crown at 6 o’clock is a huge advantage and gives my wrist plenty of room to move and keeps a crown that’s typically at 3, from digging into my wrist.
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Moving to the excellent dial, one major standout design choice are the hands. They are big, bold, and slam full of lume. The minute hand sports a chevron pattern,and is shaped like an inflated version of a syringe hand. While the hour hand doesn’t fit any traditional watch hand shape, It’s a large circle with stripes crossing through it diagonally, and a small triangle which points to the outer edge. It reminds me of the “caution” black and yellow painted stripes around the rig to warn workers of pinch or trip hazards. The seconds hand is mostly long and slender with a circular counterbalance, and is very different from the rest of the hands. All together combined with the brightly lumed indices and bezel markers, you get a lot of glow on the dial. Legibility is off the charts thanks to the deep matte black dial contrasting with all the lume, which is made in house by the way.
That bright lume is a must for me. Dark engine rooms, alarms going off at night, all types of situations I’ve found myself in over the years have made it clear that if the watch I wear to work doesn’t have a decent glow, it’s going to be inconvenient to use and thus won’t last long in my collection. The Omnidiver’s lume is not only bright, I found that it’s incredibly long lasting and usable at any hour it needs to be.
The Omnidiver XOS 42 at work
This watch took a bit of a beating while I had time with it. I have to be honest, I felt nervous working at sea with a watch that I needed to return in one piece but that’s what I was here to test. Reaching into salty crab filled sea strainers, maintaining hot, oily engines, and rigging chainfalls and shackles up are just some of the things I put it through. The grade 5 titanium is insanely tough and scratch resistant. The bezel insert must be made of adamantium or some other super hard alloy. I thought I had scratched it multiple times, only for the scratches to just rub off and disappear entirely. There is engineering wizardry involved in that no doubt. The bezel is chunky and grippy in all the best ways. Mainly because it was easy to manipulate while wearing thick gloves, and the bezel click was tactile and satisfying. Its shock resistant “Labyrinth FLUX” system kept all the knocks and left hooks at bay, and after a month of wear, the Selitta SW200 was only off by about a minute. I’m more than happy with that.
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Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a bold watch. Its presence commands attention, especially from the crew. My rig coworkers would often comment, “damn what kind of watch is that? looks tough” or “that thing is huge, must be heavy”. It’s easy to think that. When I take it off my wrist and let them hold it, the disbelief is evident. “why is it so light”? I get it. I remember that feeling of picking up my first titanium watch. The size doesn’t match what it feels like in the hand. The overall peer review from my shipmates is that it looks like it “belongs” in a place like this. The perfect ensemble watch to go with a hard hat and steel toe boots.
But its looks can also be divisive. The XOS is not elegant, polished, or posh. It’s here to clock in, get dirty, and get paid. You’d feel out of place at a business meeting or at the newest trending brunch spot with this on your wrist. It’s a true tool watch and its features are a testament to that. In the offshore oilfield, those are features we look for in all of our tools. Some design elements can be divisive enough to be characterful, and I think that’s what this is. It’s designed with purpose, not fashion in mind. SēL instruments didn’t choose the easy path in designing this watch, they chose the best path, and with the Omnidiver XOS, the proof is in the pudding. I can in good faith attest that this watch is oilfield rated, tried and true, and a must have for any tool watch enthusiast who refuses to settle for “good enough”
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About the Author
Russ Michaud is a husband and father to a young daughter, living in a charming 1800s farmhouse in New Hampshire. A veteran of 11 years in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force, he now works rotations in the offshore energy industry in the Gulf of Mexico. When he’s home he restores vintage audio gear, tinkers with his 1966 Land Rover Series IIA, teaches himself the art of film photography, and retreats to the family’s quiet lake cottage. Watches have been his constant companions from silent submarine depths to noisy rig helidecks; reviewing and writing about them is simply the latest chapter in a lifelong obsession. You can follow him on Instagram or through his own blog.
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