MEET THE WATCH: NTH DevilRay Prototype by Janis Trading

A few months ago I had the pleasure of attending a WatchUSeek Get-Together that happens twice a year in Atlanta, Georgia. These meetings of fellow watch collectors are truly happy events filled with camaraderie and sharing. At least thirty people attended and it lasted many hours. There were still pockets of watch nerds chatting when I left the meeting. Don’t worry… “watch nerd” is not considered derisive in our circle. It’s a term of affection and we wear it with pride.

One of those nerds happened to be a pretty big name in the watch community. To be honest, I missed the memo that Chris Vail from Janis Trading would be at the event with a suitcase full of NTH Watches, and I was happy to meet this friendly and charismatic watch designer in person. This was fortuitous because I have always been an admirer of NTH Watches and Lew & Huey Watches from afar, but I had never gotten the chance to handle any in person. There were no fewer than 24 watches ready to be tried on, admired and compared. I could have spent the entire time of the meeting in that suitcase alone exploring different models and color variations.

Now, that’s a large suitcase!

Chris has a giant suitcase full some of the biggest hits of the brand and a few novelties, like a customized watch that had the absolute finest engraving that I have seen on its case. It was so stunning, that I just might have to save up to get one of my watches engraved… out-of-fashion-trends be damned, especially when it is done at this level by master engraver, Viljo Marrand.

Engraved watch by Viljo Marrandi in Estonia

Watch collectors simply cannot know everything about all the brands making watches these days. Apparently, I had not yet read about NTH Watches name origin when I asked Chris what the hell that name meant. It means 2 things: a “Nod To History” and also the phrase “nth degree.”

To use it in a sentence…”These watches are so meticulously designed that they take their nerdiness to the nth degree!” From my experience, I would say the name fits perfectly.

NTH Watches is a line of watches that is celebrating its 5th anniversary in business in 2018. You would assume that a brand that has only been around for five years would only have a few models of watches under their belt, but you’d be wrong in this case. Janis Trading is prolific and has produced a dizzying number of unique SKUs in this short time. Not bad at all. They must be doing something right.

There are a lot of microbrands competing for our dollars in the $500 to $1000 category. Microbrands are getting a lot of social media attention and giving some larger brands something to think about. Microbrands can move faster, make fewer per model, and take more chances with designs that larger watch manufacturers with deep heritage and investors. Microbrands can potentially target popular trends easier than larger brands who have to be more conservative when making thousands of any particular watch. It only makes sense that larger brands that own their own factories and have a distribution network of worldwide retailers to support must be cautious with their designs. One wrong model and they might find themselves sitting on thousands of unsold watches.

On the other hand, microbrands, like the ones created by Janis Trading, use specialized manufacturers who can handle smaller orders so volume can be tailored to demand. Additional production runs can be initiated for popular models so it is a way of balancing investment and production for microbrands who are often small teams of enthusiasts or even a single person wearing all the hats of a business. Don’t be surprised if you find out that some Swiss manufacturers also use similar Asian factories for components of their watches.

Janis Trading website

I am not going to pretend that I have an intimate knowledge of Lew & Huey Watches or NTH Watches. This was my first exposure up close so I am new to the game. However, there is plenty of press out there already on these brands and scores of watch reviews, videos, and articles available. Instead, I want to share a unique view of the actual prototype of one of NTH Watches coolest designs, the NTH DevilRay “prototype”.

This cushion case automatic diver hits so many design cues from great watches from the past that I think it’s destined to be an instant classic, perhaps because it takes the best parts of classic watches and re-interprets them with modern materials and production precision. Even though it might look some classic designs, the NTH DevilRay is not an homage. Watch collectors who like the look of vintage dive watches can wear the NTH DevilRay without worrying about rare parts, value, rarity, seals, breakage or getting it wet. This modern watch has 500 meters of water resistance and is ready to be a part of practically any adventure you have in mind.

Turquoise NTH DevilRay by Janis Trading

Watch designers order pre-production models from their factories before large-scale production begins, and the model that Chris let me borrow for a few weeks is one of those test watches. Even with exact measurements, instructions, and planning, most companies do not go directly from concept to CAD to production without having checks and balances between those steps. Cautious control of the production process, including materials selection, fabrication and finishing will always yield a better watch than leaving decisions to the discretion of a manager of an Asian factory. Talking with Chris made it clear that he knows every millimeter of the watch in what it is supposed to look like. He left nothing to chance.

Could the NTH DevilRay be a work of art? I vote YES.

Seeing the NTH DevilRay prototype is a privilege because many watch designers never publically share their prototypes. However, the NTH DevilRay prototype shows a design that is almost to the level of the finished production models. In fact, many people would assume that this was the actual model that is available on the Janis Trading website right now, but it is not. Chris was quick to point out parts of the design that were improved during the final production. Anyone looking at this NTH DevilRay prototype should know that the production model will look even better, even though it looked dang nice to my eye.

Prototype versus production NTH DevilRay. Photo: Janis Trading

Production improvements include:

• The depth gauge is more visible on the final production from all angles
• The crown is slightly longer on the production piece (3.5mm versus 2.9mm)
• The bracelet links on the production piece are all better made and better finished
• The bezel sawteeth and the sides of the bracelet links are all brushed, not polished

Chris let me borrow the watch for a few weeks as he traveled overseas and I wore it practically every day in many situations. He literally handed it to me as I left the meet-up. What a guy! Spending concentrated time with the NTH DevilRay let me formulate an accurate opinion of what it would be like to own such a watch. The overall impression that I was left with is that this was a well-crafted dive watch worthy of its $700 price tag. By the end of this review, you might agree that you will be getting a lot of watch for the money.

I gave the NTH DevilRay a good trial (albeit landlocked)

This style of cushion case is reminiscent of the 1970s and vintage design is in vogue right now. It’s not just that people feel nostalgic for the daring styles of the 1970s, but these classic designs worked from an ergonomic standpoint too. Through the rise in popularity of vintage watches, collectors have been rediscovering how great these older watches are to wear, and how distinctive they look.

Rear view of the NTH DevilRay. Photo: Janis Trading

Some of today’s watch designs are downright boring by comparison and perhaps too large on the wrist. Modern reinterpretations of classics make these styles more readily available to modern collectors who do not feel comfortable navigating the somewhat risky world of vintage watches.

NTH DevilRay’s cushion case is inspired by another era

I’ll let the photos do most of the talking, but I wanted to mention my favorite elements of the case design including the cushion shape, the large crown, and the inset sawtooth bezel that sits “below the case surface.” This allows a taller bezel, which is easier to grip while keeping a manageable height of 14mm.

A deep set bezel keeps the height down

The side profile shows the double-domes sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating, short lugs that slope down, integrated solid end-links, a large lume-filled crown, sawtooth bezel and a screwed bracelet links.

NTH DevilRay’s Classic Profile. Photo: Janis Trading

Despite the dimension of a 43mm case with a 46mm lug-to-lug distance and a 14mm height, the NTH DevilRay has great wrist presence and comfortable wearability on my 6.5″ wrist. It just felt right and that is coming from someone who is starting to wear smaller watches. The almost square design will fit many wrist sizes mainly due to the short lug-to-lug measurement. The roughly 6.9-ounce full-link weight can be felt, but the weight feels distributed due to the case design and balance between the watch head and bracelet.

NTH DevilRay 1970s style cushion case

The photo below shows the intricacy of finishes, facets, and surfaces. New details reveal themselves under scrutiny. Did you notice that the crown is also sawtoothed to match the bezel? The prototype NTH DevilRay was .5mm thinner and had a .6mm shorter crown than the production model. Luckily, the lumed crown engraving made it to production (see next photo). It’s a neat trick to see this on your darkened nightstand because in daylight the crown simply looks engraved but glows at night.

Detail of the case finishing, which has brushing and polishing

The back of the case features a deeply-engraved devil ray, one of the coolest underwater creatures that I have had the pleasure of witnessing. They glide like strange underwater bird-sharks, both earthly and seeming alien at the same time.

An engraving that is nice to look at but cannot be felt on-wrist

When I saw Chris’s big suitcase full of watches, this NTH DevilRay with the knockout turquoise-colored dial is the one that I could not stop admiring. It is simply gorgeous, and the tropical color is not that common on watches that I see on the street. It’s a standout, especially with the 3-dimensional indices that are edged with polished stainless steel. In the darkness, the lume shines bright with a wonderful blueish green color of the new X1 Superluminova. In dim lighting situations, the polished edges reflect even the smallest amount of light defining the indices. The outer edge of the dial  (rehaut) is made in a medium grey that helps improve the legibility of the indices and it also makes the dial look smaller.

The DevilRay’s unforgettable turquoise dial

Some people may not be aware that the NTH DevilRay has a visual depth gauge. I am using the term visual instead of mechanical or digital that uses water pressure to display your diving depth. The NTH DevilRay uses a rainbow-colored scale and color theory to give an approximation of depth. Divers know how drastically colors are affected the deeper they go underwater. Water filters parts of the spectrum out of the light streaming down from the surface. I find this feature to be cool as hell.

The inner bezel visual depth gauge relies on how colors change at depth

It adds a splash of color to the dial and gives you a great story to tell the other scuba divers at the bar. The final production of the dial will have a more prominent gauge than the prototype.

An appropriate example of the spectrum of light and the visual depth gauge

There is a lot of science involved with how certain lightwaves are filtered/blocked by water that is denser than air. Long wavelengths are affected first such as red. Then shorter wavelengths are affected after that going through the spectrum of colors (aka ROYGBIV). An approximation of depth can be determined based on what color is visible on the NTH DevilRay’s depth gauge, but many factors could change what you see underwater including the time of day, visibility, water type, turbulence, thermoclines and even one’s perception of color. Just take a look at the video below to get a gist of what the NTH DevilRay’s depth gauge is attempting to do.

Obviously, Chris has no claims to use the depth gauge under real scuba diving conditions to determine the bottom time, but it’s a cool trick that thinks outside of the norm. I think it is very creative, and beautiful.

This is the first sawtooth bezel that I have ever handled and there is real function behind the cool looking form. A diver bezel is almost universally a uni-directional one that turns only counterclockwise. The action on the DLC-insert bezel was excellent making 120 precise clicks.The orientation of the sawtooth edges means that they are “grippier” one way than the other. This is hard to explain, but your finger glides over the sawteeth if you try to turn the bezel clockwise, but grabs your finger when rotating the bezel counterclockwise. It brings visual interest to the bezel too. Chris said the finishes on the production model are brushed and not polished as seen on this prototype.

The sawtooth bezel is sharp! (but not literally). The production model is brushed.

The bezel has two scales on it including a 12-hour bezel and also a graduated minute bezel. Travelers might know how to use the 12-hour scale as a GMT, and the minute scale is perfect for counting minutes on safety stops or how long you have left on your lunch break. If I am being picky, I found it difficult at times to locate the zero marker amongst the visual complexity of the bezel in extreme lighting conditions with glare and shadows (see below). That comes with the style of this design, but maybe a small pip of orange or a lumed bead would make it easier to find the zero-point at a glance.

Extreme light testing

At first glance, you might think taht you recognize the orange minute hand in the style of an Omega-Proplof, but that is not really so. The NTH DevilRay’s hands are much more complex, and dare I say interesting than an average orange sword hand. Chris said the hands were designed to align perfectly when they pass each other. In other words, the segment of the minute hand is exactly the same lenght as the hour hand including the needle tips. This perfect overlap illusion is clever, and more proof that it’s the small details that make a watch interesting.

The custom-shaped hour and minute hands relate to each other

Obviously, the minute hand is in orange because that is the hand that is most important to divers. They need to be able to see the minute hand quickly to read the time off of the dive bezel.

The NTH DevilRay is ready for your water adventures

The bracelet could be one of my favorite details of this watch. They are often the area that brands scale back on to save money, but not here. The NTH DevilRay’s bracelet projects quality, and there is a certain heft to it that is felt from the moment you pick it up. It is not overly heavy, but it feels solid like the way the doors on a luxury car have mass. Obviously, much of this has to do with the solid link metal bracelet and milled deployant clasp that has a few tricks up its sleeve.

The NTH DevilRay does not have drilled lugs like many tool watches, but before you complain, this is one of the best fitting case-to-bracelet unions I have experienced. Unlike some other microbrands (and even big name brands) the bracelet goes on and comes off with ease. This is a welcome change for anyone who has struggled with trying to put a bracelet back on and could not easily do it. I believe the generous “cutouts” in the end-links give your tool more room to pry out the spring bars. Bravo!

I bet you were wondering why this tool watch does not have drilled lugs. Chris considered this carefully because he also likes this feature on watches. In the case of the NTH DevilRay, drilled lugs would not have worked with this case design that has multiple facets connecting in the area that the holes would have been drilled. Trying to machine this area of overlapping planes would not have been ideal creating an opening that was more conical. Because of the lug cutouts, this lack of drilled lugs is not a big deal.

A great fitting bracelet with easily accessible spring bar access

The bracelet is a 5-link affair that is that is flexible and stylish. The links are applied with screws, a real upgrade in this price range. The bracelet is reversible too so the user can choose between high-polish links or brushed. I would opt for brushed because that fits the tool watch vibe of the beautifully brushed case.

Improvements were made to the finishes on the final production

One of the big improvements on the final version is reworking the bracelet so it will not bind. I have to admit that I never noticed this behavior on my wrist. I did find an example of this in a snapshot. Chris fixed this for final production, which is another example of his attention to detail. I don’t think anything gets past his eagle eyes.

An early prototype bracelet

The clasp incorporates many coveted features that are seen on high-end luxury watches. It is not a stamped metal clasp and it has been milled from a single piece of billet stainless steel. This allows greater precision, which in turn allows Janis Trading to pack it with useful features. It has a push button diver’s slide extension that is addicting to play with. I found myself adjusting it to make the bracelet comfortable throughout the day. Like many people, my wrist size can change slightly as I do different activities and this toolless micro adjustment should be considered for every braceleted watch. Anyone who has had a problem getting a perfect fit with metal links will appreciate this. Once you experience a deployant clasp like this one, you might become more critical of the common stamped versions that are not as versatile.

The milled clasp provides a new level of comfort for bracelets

Adding or removing links was so easy to do with the screw-links. This is a massive upgrade over the collar pin variety that is more typical, even on more expensive watches.

Screw-in bracelet links and excellent clasp

Would this expansion clasp work to fit over a wetsuit or drysuit? It really depends on the wetsuit. I had a pretty thick wetsuit and it did not extend from my normal wrist size to large enough width to fit over the material. In those cases, the NTH DevilRay is just a quick change away from a NATO strap so problem solved.

Lume on a dive watch is like peanut butter to jelly. In fact, one of the ISO standards for being a dive watch is having strong luminescent markers. The NTH DevilRay does not disappoint in the fireworks department because the hands, indices, dual scales and even the engraved crown are filled with lume.

The NTH DevilRay’s lume is strong and liberally applied!

The extra potent X1 Superluminova comes alive with even a little bit of light and lasts a long time. It passed the movie theater test and was bright enough to easily read time, for a whole movie. Many watches do not pass this test because they fade quickly.

Even the bezel is fully lumed

By sheer luck, I was able to handle and test a memorable dive watch that I had only seen online. I can testify that photos do not do the NTH DevilRay justice and it is a watch that has to be seen to appreciated and worn to believed. It is not a cookie-cutter clone of some famous watch, but perhaps an improvement on concepts and styles that were once popular decades ago. It is a wearable example of history, yet built with modern manufacturing and quality. It is waterproof to 500 meters, has lume that you could read a book with and looks like a diving champion sporting the turquoise blue dial.

All of the thoughtful design and aesthetic upgrades make the NTH DevilRay a serious value-for-money proposition. Need more evidence? The watch is powered by an STP1-11 automatic movement with a 44- hour power reserve, beating at 28,800 BPH rated with an accuracy of +/- 15 seconds a day. It comes with a 2-year warranty for $700.

To wrap up, it looks more expensive than it is and that gives me great joy to know that you can get this much watch for the money. If you are looking for historical-looking dive watches, but do not want to have the hassle and expense of servicing one, give the NTH DevilRay a look. You might be pleasantly surprised that it is just what you are looking for… plus a little more. Three of the four colorways are still available as of July 2018 at www.janistrading.com/devilray/

NTH Devil Ray Color Options