A thousand bucks and it's not trying to be a diver
By Dave Kowalski, Chicago ยท
Nice change. So many micro brands only make dive watches, and the Universa II is Halios doing a clean, everyday, go-with-anything watch instead. Blue dial, no date, steel bracelet. 38 mm wide, 11.8 mm thick, 20 mm lugs, sapphire, 100 m.
Inside is a Sellita SW300-1, listed at 56 hours. The SW300 is the thinner, nicer Sellita, the one you find in watches that cost more. That reserve means it survives a weekend on the dresser, which is the bar I care about.
Okay. $995. That's real money for a brand most people have never heard of, and the design, while clean, is quiet. Nobody's going to walk up and ask about it. You'll be explaining "it's a Canadian micro brand, the Sellita's the upgraded one..." and watching eyes glaze over.
For 38 mm and that movement, it's fairly priced. It just doesn't scream value the way some of the cheaper micros do.