Special thanks to Andrew P. who let us borrow his EMV for the test!
We reached out to brand patriarch, founder, and designer, Enzo Mechana himself. In the few emails we exchanged, it was clear that Enzo was a uniquely passionate citizen of the world, someone who had the personality and experience to inspire not only a brand, but a community (he was traveling via motorcycle in Laos when we spoke).
We at Hodinkee love hearing from our readers cheap coach bags, we rely on you to help shape the content we put up, after all, this site is all about you. In the middle of January we received an email from a reader via our Tips form that said we just had to check out some watches that went by the name of Enzo Mechana. This reader praised the brand's craftsmanship, customer service, forum participation, and above all else, philosophy. We were intrigued.
Click here for images of our EMV and see this beast of a watch up close and personal.
The Watch
Enzo Mechana has been a part of the watch industry for over 25 years, working for a handful of manufacturers as well as doing some independent contracts from time to time. He had always dreamt of creating the ultimate divers watch, endearingly inspired by the action heros of his youth, both real and imaginary. We are talking about the masculine stars of the 1960s, the likes of Jacques Cousteau and James Bond. If corporate sponsorships didn't exist, what is kind of watch they would wear while on adventures in the deep sea? They would wear an EMV.
Needless to say, Enzo Mechana is a brand with admirable principles. Couple that with the most rugged and well engineered case we've seen in years and you have a truly unique brand. We can see why Enzo has so many dedicated followers coach factory store, and we are sure the GMT will only further this start-up's presence.
Does the EMV make sense as a daily wearer? That depends, it is large, extremely heavy, and not the most handsome watch we've seen. In fact, while watch shopping with a friend (and AP Royal Oak wearer), we were both asked by strangers to see our wrists. The strangers (who were completely unabreast to the price and social stigma attached with the Royal Oak) were shocked by the weight and magnitude of both, but clearly preferred the looks of the Royal Oak. They were not alone coach factory store, we showed the Enzo Mechana to countless friends coach factory outlet, both watch-fans and complete novices, and not many were impressed with the looks of the EMV. Very few said they would be willing to part with more than $1000 for one, although that number slightly increased once we told them just how impressive of a tool this watch is and how magnanimous its founder is.
MANIFESTO
Enzo Mechana promises to avoid pseudo celebrity endorsements and the "swag for publicity" culture that has infiltrated the luxury goods market. We believe in the quality and value of our watches, and desire customers who understand and appreciate their authenticity.
That said, Enzo doesn't need to the world to love the looks of it watches. The brand has a highly active and clearly passionate fanbase on their community web forum. Enzo himself is a regular participant and has been teasing users with images of his new model, the GMT, for which there is already a waiting list. Also, from the renderings alone, the GMT promises to be a far more attractive watch from a simple aesthetics standpoint, and the much of the Hodinkee inner-circle is eagerly awaiting a real-life image.
It is simply impossible to find a more capable and well-constructed diving watch anywhere in the world, at any price point. We mean that in the most sincere sense, all hyperbole removed. The EMV retails for around $1500 but you can likely find them slightly used on Enzo's own forum (available here) for a few hundred less. Remember, we weren't even able to get one to test, so trying to find a new one for sale will likely be difficult.
Enzo Mechana does not pay a cent for advertising, and they offer no swag for press. In fact, at the bottom of every email Enzo himself sends, it reads:
What Do We Think?
Our first assumption to the questions above were "it's so heavy just to make a point, and no it was not necessary". We were wrong. The more we read about the Enzo Mechana brand and what this watch represents, it became apparent that this watch is not meant to be necessarily wearable day to day, it was meant to be the most durably-constructed watch ever made. In fact, Enzo Mechana describes the EMV as "literally bomb proof, designed to withstand a lifetime of extreme use". The concept is to remove all connotations of status and jewelry from the watch, and replace it with industrial efficiency and high design more in line with a machine (in particular a tank) than a diamond bracelet. The EMV is a tool, simply put.
So just how hardcore of a hardcore diving watch is the EMV? Well, it's certified to 1000M, or 3,300ft, but our guess is it'd be good for an additional league or two. How does this compare with the more mainstream diving watches? It easily trumps the Rolex Submariner (good to 100M), is matched by Blancpain's just released uber-diving watch the 500 Fathoms, and is usurped only by Rolex's insanely monstrous and monumentally expensive SeaDweller Deep-Sea (retail just under $10,000).
We had asked if there was a test model that could be sent to us here in New York coach outlet online, or if there was a retail location that had a watch we could spend a few hours with to get an idea of what his nouveau-diver watches were like. This was impossible, though. Each watch is made in extremely limited numbers and they were all sold out, so Enzo put us in touch with a local owner who was gracious enough to let us borrow his Enzo Mechana EMV for a few days.
The EMV and its similarly-sized brother, the EM001, is an impressive hunk of metal, the likes of which we've never seen. It is the watch's size and weight that you notice first. In fact coach outlet online, it is impossible not to. When first handling the EMV, we were wearing our test LUM-TEC M5, a watch that we had compared in weight to an automatic Omega Speedmaster. The Enzo dwarfed the weight of the M5, to a point that we didn't understand initially. Why was it so heavy and was it necessary?
This is a real man's watch, and we are sure there are thousands of real men out there looking for something that can handle their daily adventures. While it may not be as refined as some of the pieces we are used to reviewing, we would be in danger of missing the point completely if we held that against it. Enzo Mechana makes the best diving watch we've tested, simple as that.
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Click here for Enzo Mechana's official webpage.
With so many diving watches marketed towards bankers, consultants, and CEOs, we take a certain pride in saying this watch is nothing if not a true diver's watch. It is made of thick surgical grade 316L stainless steel, the sapphire crystal is domed and itself over 5mm thick. It is not complicated, in fact it features only a date window. It does however feature a helium-escape valve and luminescent markers, both unwavering requirements of real divers. The standard strap on the EMV is a stainless steel bracelet that is actually screwed to the watch case, but both leather and rubber is also available.
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