Three hundred meters on a pilot watch is a weird flex
By Dave Kowalski, Chicago ยท
But I'll take it. Most pilot watches are rated like they're scared of a puddle, and this Yema shrugs off 300 m. Pull a kid out of the deep end at the Y, no problem.
Yema's a French brand going back to 1948, and the interesting part here is the YEMA2000 movement, which they make themselves. In-house automatic, 42 hours, in a $550 watch. A few years ago nobody was doing that at this price. Big respect.
The case is 39 mm wide and 13 mm thick on 19 mm lugs, black dial, steel bracelet, sapphire. On paper the width is perfect. The thickness is not. 13 mm on a 39 mm watch means it sits up off your wrist like it's trying to see over the dashboard. Shirt cuffs will notice.
And 19 mm lugs. Why does anyone still do 19. Half the good straps on the internet are 20 and they won't fit.
Last thing, and it's a real one. In-house movement from a smaller company means you're trusting their service down the road. A Seiko NH35 can be fixed by any guy with a loupe in a strip mall. The YEMA2000? You're probably mailing it to France. I'd still consider it at $550. Just go in knowing that.