Nubeo Elysium Review: This NASA Watch Has a Hidden Message

I wanted the white one. It looked like it belonged on the sleeve of a spacesuit. But the white Nubeo Elysium was sold out when I looked, which left me comparing the black and blue versions and asking a perfectly reasonable grown-man question. Which one feels more like NASA?

Blue Galaxy won me over. The white NASA lettering sits low on a wide-open blue dial, just below a little round date window at six o’clock. Then there’s the bright red crown sticking out of the brushed steel case. It looks enough like a button that some part of me wants a little plastic cover over it and a second person to authorize turning it.

Give it a little ultraviolet light

In daylight, there’s enough empty space on that dial to make you wonder why Nubeo left it all there. Shine a UV flashlight on it and up pops “Failure is not an option.” That’s a pretty stern briefing for a guy checking whether he has time to microwave a burrito. Nubeo Watches

There’s a fun bit of space history tucked into those five words. The screenwriters of Apollo 13 came up with the line after interviewing people who worked the mission. Ed Harris delivered it on screen as flight director Gene Kranz, and the real Kranz later used it as the title of his autobiography. So if you read the dial and immediately hear it in Ed Harris’s voice, you’ve got the right guy. nasa.gov

Turn it over and watch the rotor

My favorite reason to pick up an automatic watch is that there’s something to look at even when I already know what time it is. Inside the Elysium is a Japanese Miyota automatic movement. Give the case a slow tilt and you can see the weighted rotor swing through the clear back. That motion winds the mainspring, which stores the energy that keeps the hands moving after I sit back down. Finally, all that talking with my hands is funding the space program. Nubeo Watches

Nubeo drew gauges and switches across the rotor and put the same Failure is not an option inscription along its edge. I like that detail even more than the glow. On the front, you get the clean NASA lettering. On the back, you get a tiny control panel that actually moves.

Would I still pick blue?

At $300, the practical question for me is size. The steel case measures 45 mm across, 48 mm lug to lug, and 13.5 mm thick. If you’re considering one, that 48 mm measurement is the one I’d compare with a watch you already wear. You also get a blue rubber strap, an anti-reflective mineral crystal, and 5 ATM water resistance. Nubeo lists 150 pieces in this color. Nubeo Watches

I’d still happily wear the white one. But if all three were sitting in front of me today, I’d reach for Blue Galaxy. That red crown against the blue is what I’d notice every time I looked down. The hidden message is what would have me handing the watch and a UV flashlight to somebody else and saying, “Here, you’ve got to see this.”

See the Nubeo Elysium Automatic NASA Limited Edition in Blue Galaxy

Why the a.b.art Freiburg 265 Has 31 Holes in Its Dial

I usually go for automatic watches. The a.b.art Freiburg 265 got my attention for a much smaller reason. There’s a single red dot on its black dial, and I wanted to know what it did. Turns out, it’s the date. Finally, a red dot on my wrist that I can leave alone without feeling like I owe somebody an email.

A whole month, one dot at a time

Look closely and you’ll see a ring of 31 tiny openings, each paired with a number. If the red dot is beside 10, it’s the 10th. At midnight, it moves one spot clockwise to 11. What I like about that arrangement is that it gives the month a shape. Even before I read the number, the position of the dot gives me a rough idea of how much month I have left.

There is one trade-off. A conventional date window gives your eye the same place to land every morning. On the Freiburg, you find the red dot and then read the little number beside it. If I’m standing at the front office trying to date a form, a big numeral wins. As a design I’d enjoy looking at every day, though? I’d take the dot.

The number I like almost as much is 6 mm

The black stainless-steel case is 41 mm across and just 6 mm thick. That gives those 31 dates room to spread out while keeping the watch slim enough for a shirt cuff. The flat black leather strap carries that slim profile through, and the white hands stand out clearly against the dial.

Under the sapphire crystal is a battery-powered Ronda 715 quartz movement with Swiss parts. I can leave it on the dresser for a few days, pick it up on a school morning, and head out the door without winding it or resetting the time. The practical limit is the 3 ATM water-resistance rating. I’d wear it to work or dinner and leave it on the dresser for a swim.

The Freiburg 265 makes sense to me because the part you’d show a friend is also the part you’d use. Ask me about most of my watches and you might get a longer answer than you wanted. With this one, I can point to the dial and say, “See that little red dot?”

See the a.b.art Freiburg 265 on the manufacturer’s website · More watch reviews on Ryan’s Wrist Check

Bertucci DX3 Edge Sahara Review: My Favorite Detail Is at Four O’Clock

If a watch crown has ever poked you in the back of the hand, take a look at the Bertucci DX3 Edge Sahara. The little knob you use to set the time sits at four o’clock, a little farther from where your wrist bends. It’s my favorite detail on this $125 field watch, and you don’t need to climb a mountain to appreciate it. Leaning on a desk will do.

I teach special education, and one of the better arguments for wearing my smartwatch is that I use timers throughout the school day. But sometimes I just want to glance down, see how much of a 20-minute reading session is left, and get back to what I’m doing. That’s where an analog watch earns its spot on my wrist.

The Sahara is mostly about the strap

Bertucci calls this version the Sahara, which, given that I live in the Utah desert, means I can probably count it as camouflage.

What I like about the color scheme is how well the pieces work together. The tan numerals pick up the color of the woven nylon strap, while the black dashes down the middle of the strap match the matte black case. The light-colored hands are easy to pick out against the charcoal dial. There’s also a smaller 24-hour scale tucked inside the main numerals, if your day occasionally requires translating 1400 into “I have a meeting in five minutes.”

The strap has a practical detail of its own: you can fold the extra length back through the keepers. I appreciate that more than another inch of nylon sticking out from the side of my wrist.

What does $125 get you?

The DX3 Edge has a 40 mm fiber-reinforced polycarbonate case, a Japanese quartz movement, and a battery Bertucci rates for about three years. I usually gravitate toward automatic watches, but quartz makes sense for someone who rotates through a collection. Leave this one on the dresser for a week, and you can pick it up Monday morning without having to set the time.

Bertucci also rates it for 100 meters of water resistance, and the luminous hands and markers charge from light. The specification that gives me pause is the mineral crystal. I don’t mind a nylon strap looking worn. A scratch right across the spot where I’m trying to read the minute hand would bother me considerably more. If sapphire is on your must-have list, I’d keep looking.

Would I put the DX3 Edge Sahara on a $125 shortlist? Yes, especially for someone who wants a light watch and likes this strap enough to leave it on. The strap, the dial, and that little four o’clock crown are what make this particular Bertucci worth a look. And if the most demanding expedition on your calendar is getting through the school day, I think that counts.

View the Bertucci DX3 Edge Sahara, model 11162, on Bertucci’s website.

VARIO 1945 D12 Bronze Review: A Field Watch I’d Let Age

If you handed me a polishing cloth with the VARIO 1945 D12 Bronze, I’d probably misplace it on purpose. I’m wearing the Fumé Grey version on the army green strap, and what I’d really like to see is this same watch five years from now. I think that green canvas will look even better once the bronze loses some of its shine.

There’s a detail that makes me especially curious: the case is bronze, but the hands are raw brass. The hands can slowly develop their own patina, too. If I take a picture of this watch today and another one a few years from now, the first thing I’m going to compare is the minute hand against that grey dial.

Take a look at six o’clock

Where you’d normally find a big numeral six, there’s a little dial with a seconds hand making its own lap. I like that arrangement on a field watch. When I glance down to see how many minutes are left before the school bell, the two big hands tell me what I need. When I have time to look closer, there’s something worth watching.

That little seconds dial and the railroad-style minute track around the edge are both nods to the “Dirty Dozen” watches made for the British military during World War II. VARIO’s design notes are worth a look if you enjoy that history. My favorite departure from the originals is also the most obvious one: the warm bronze rim against the smoky grey face. The army green strap reminds me of an old canvas field bag. I’d keep it on this one.

How big is 37 mm, really?

The D12 is 37 mm across, 10.5 mm thick, and 45 mm from lug tip to lug tip. If you’re considering one, that last number is the one I’d check. Take a watch you already like wearing and measure from the tip of its top lug to the tip of its bottom lug. Comparing that measurement with 45 mm will tell you more about the fit than a close-up photo ever could.

VARIO tucked the screw-down crown down at four o’clock, a little farther from the back of your hand when you bend your wrist. You also get a sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating on the inside and a 100-meter water-resistance rating. Those are practical choices for a watch that takes its styling cues from 1945.

What happens if you take it off on Friday?

Inside is a Miyota 82S5 automatic movement. It winds as you wear it, you can wind it by hand, and the seconds hand stops when you pull the crown out to set the time. Miyota rates the power reserve at about 42 hours. In practical terms, if you take it off Friday evening and leave it on the dresser, you’ll probably be setting it again Monday morning. Personally, I enjoy lining up that little seconds hand. Your Monday morning may be busier than mine.

Would I choose the bronze? At VARIO’s listed price of $428 USD, I’d choose this version if you like two things: a compact watch and a case that shows its age. If you want the watch to look much the same five years from now, I’d give the steel D12 a look. For me, the whole appeal of this one is getting to find out what those five years look like.

Would you keep the bronze polished or let it age? Let me know in the comments, and check out Ryan’s Wrist Check on YouTube for more of my watch reviews.