Menu
Grab your mask, snorkel and your best swimsuit: we’re off to meet the latest novelty from FORMEX.
The white version of the 300m REEF has just been announced and we’ll share our experience with it.
Being based in Paris, diving at 300m isn’t an activity we do regularly. However, there are quite a few bodies of water in Paris. So, get your ticket, get on the metro and get off at the station Opera to meet us. We will be waiting for you in the middle of the Place Vendôme with the new RREF on the wrist.
There we are. Let’s take Rue de Castiglione to go to the Jardin des Tuileries. In this month of October, the sun is still heating up Paris it is not uncommon to come across Parisians sunbathing around the various bodies of water that structure the garden.
With a diver certifier COSC on the wrist, immersion in water of a few centimeters shouldn’t be of any problem for the watch. But we wanted to put it back in its natural environment, as if to give it back its freedom.
Rest assured, there were quite some intrigued looks towards us. If Parisians are used to see weird things, seeing two young people diving a watch in water just to take picture must have been a first for most of them.
As for the Jardin des Tuileries, we chose to wear the watch with the blue bezel and the rubber strap black. A rather sporty composition that lent itself perfectly to the location. Indeed, joggers and cyclists are very present in the Jardin des Tuileries.
However, in the Jardin du Luxembourg the population is quite different. The Senate borders it, and students from the Sorbonne come here to study. That’s why, the sporty look had to give away to chic. No problem. A few seconds later and the stainless steel bracelet has replaced the rubber strap, as for the blue bezel, it has been changed with the stainless steel one, one of the three other possibilities.
Yes, one of this novelty’s particularity is the possibility to change choose and change the color of the bezel between four colors: blue, green, stainless steel and black.
Let’s see how it’s done.
Yes and no!
No because on first sight the only thing that changes is the dial. The case is still the same as well as the markers, the bezel and the crown.
BUT, yes because improvements are hidden. Almost invisible and yet essentials. Let’s begin with the movement.
The automatic Sellita SW300 certified COSC is the one giving life to this new piece. With such a certification you can be sure of the reliability of the movement. Its 42 hours of power reserve are sufficient enough and you might end to only wear this one.
Adjusting the bracelet to the millimeter, made possible by the patented fine adjustment system, is a real relief for those with a non-protruding wrist. With the fine work over the case, horns fit perfectly on your wrist. Now that you are one with the watch, let’s dwell on the dial.
This white dial is as if encircled by the bezel. With 120 clicks for a half-minute accuracy, the bezel is a key element in that novelty. It’s the concrete example of the close relationship the brand has created with its clients. Indeed, this option has been suggested by many of them so they are at the initiative of this improvement. By challenging the brand like that, Raphael Granito and his teams are able to show what they are capable of.
The first step was to find a reliable system to dismount the bezel without any tool other than a thumb. One has to be able to change quickly and simply its Reef in the morning. And it’s a mission accomplished. The bezel stays perfectly in place, it’s not complicated to dismount it and the thumb movement is easy to take.
FORMEX’s ingineers had to rework the case to make the bezel exchange possible. As no such work was carried out on the older versions, current REEF owners do not have the possibility to exchange their bezel.
This piece is indeed a reef. In addition to being a reference to the sea and diving universe, this name suits it perfectly.
It is both raw and polished as by the broom of the waves. The vertical brushing on the horns comes as if it were beveling against the rounded edges of the bezel. Plus, the texture of the stainless steel worked to create the teeth and the firmness required to change the bezel are perfect examples of how this watch lives up to its name
This texture work is also found on both bezel and markers.
To obtain this relief rendering on the numbers of the bezel, FORMEX used the Femto-laser. It’s a technology allowing to carve something by evaporating some of the material without burning it. That way the finishing is more precise and in one same block of material.
As for the markers, the brushed finish combines perfectly with the Super-LumiNova which illuminates the dial with a soft, cool blue light.
We would have prefered paying tribute to the brand’s name, which is the contraction between Forme and Extreme, by putting on a neoprene suit, but we had to composed with our environment. However, know that i we are committed to placing a watch in is natural environment.
But let us ask you a question:
What would you do with this watch and an illimited budget?
Tell us about the location, the activity or those who would accompany you…
Let yourself dream and share with us your dream in the comments!
