Quick Look: FANOS Osimiri
Posted: Tue May 18, 2021 1:22 pm
FANOS [fæˈnuːs]
A term of Greek and Egyptian origins which translates into lantern; a guiding light.
FANOS Watches is a brother and sister team based in Quebec, Canada with the ambitious goal of self-designing and producing a dive watch with serious chops for an impressive price.
FANOS agreed to send me a review unit so I could get a feel for Osimiri. For full disclosure, this was planned to be a full review, but at the last minute, the review unit was returned to FANOS damaged. Because of careless negligence by an "influencer", both the ETA 2824-2 movement and the screw-down crown have been rendered inoperable. This ends up causing grief and financial loss for the creators that put so much heart and soul into these projects, along with affecting reviews down the line.
That being said, I agreed to give Osimiri a quick look as I can still comment on the overall construction quality and details, which are honestly really, really good.
Osimiri is constructed entirely of Grade 2, 900HV Hardened Titanium and has a 50ATM (500 meters) water resistance rating. Titanium is a lightweight, yet ultra-strong material that is perfect for use in tool watches. Osimiri also has that silky smooth tactile feel unique to titanium, and being Grade 2 it has scratch-resistant properties. All-in-all, Osimiri felt really nice in the hand, and on the wrist is really light; It's lighter than my Rado Captain Cook while being larger.
The bracelet is the same titanium material, articulates well, and is comfortable. The clasp was a personal let-down (a very minor one, if I am honest) as it is stamped but I am happy to report that the production versions of Osimiri will have a milled clasp. That definitely adds to the cachet of being a tough tool watch.
Rounding out the case is a screw-down crown surrounded by almost, dare I say, voluptuous crown guards. The FANOS logo is engraved (and lumed!) onto the crown as well. On the opposite side of the case, you'll find a helium escape valve; a nice thing to have if or when the owner explores the depths with Osimiri.
The bezel is a ubiquitous 120 click unidirectional unit with a nice, smooth ceramic insert with quite legible markings. Osimiri's crystal is domed sapphire with three layers of anti-reflective coating. Lying beneath that crystal is a matte black (matte blue is also available) dial with bold applied indices that are inset to the chapter ring. A nice touch.
Both the dial markers and bezel markers are coated in Swiss BGW9 Superluminova lume, and FANOS has informed me that the production model will have a more even, brighter application. The lume on this review sample looks good to me, judge for yourself.
FANOS also sent the available rubber strap. It has anti-dust properties and is nicely molded and fitted to the case. It's quite comfortable as well, and is long enough for my above-average-sized wrists. It's secured by a signed buckle, also made from titanium.
To sum up, I think FANOS has put together a really good package. Given the specifications, the idea that something like this can be had for ~$500 USD is mind-boggling. Add the fact that this was created by a two-person team and it's their first watch, well, I guess you just might have something special.
I'm pleased to mention that the Kickstarter for Osimiri has reached its goal. Hopefully, they'll be able to get to some of their stretch goals as well!
Visit the Kickstarter here: https://bit.ly/3whaG0U
A term of Greek and Egyptian origins which translates into lantern; a guiding light.
FANOS Watches is a brother and sister team based in Quebec, Canada with the ambitious goal of self-designing and producing a dive watch with serious chops for an impressive price.
FANOS agreed to send me a review unit so I could get a feel for Osimiri. For full disclosure, this was planned to be a full review, but at the last minute, the review unit was returned to FANOS damaged. Because of careless negligence by an "influencer", both the ETA 2824-2 movement and the screw-down crown have been rendered inoperable. This ends up causing grief and financial loss for the creators that put so much heart and soul into these projects, along with affecting reviews down the line.
That being said, I agreed to give Osimiri a quick look as I can still comment on the overall construction quality and details, which are honestly really, really good.
Osimiri is constructed entirely of Grade 2, 900HV Hardened Titanium and has a 50ATM (500 meters) water resistance rating. Titanium is a lightweight, yet ultra-strong material that is perfect for use in tool watches. Osimiri also has that silky smooth tactile feel unique to titanium, and being Grade 2 it has scratch-resistant properties. All-in-all, Osimiri felt really nice in the hand, and on the wrist is really light; It's lighter than my Rado Captain Cook while being larger.
The bracelet is the same titanium material, articulates well, and is comfortable. The clasp was a personal let-down (a very minor one, if I am honest) as it is stamped but I am happy to report that the production versions of Osimiri will have a milled clasp. That definitely adds to the cachet of being a tough tool watch.
Rounding out the case is a screw-down crown surrounded by almost, dare I say, voluptuous crown guards. The FANOS logo is engraved (and lumed!) onto the crown as well. On the opposite side of the case, you'll find a helium escape valve; a nice thing to have if or when the owner explores the depths with Osimiri.
The bezel is a ubiquitous 120 click unidirectional unit with a nice, smooth ceramic insert with quite legible markings. Osimiri's crystal is domed sapphire with three layers of anti-reflective coating. Lying beneath that crystal is a matte black (matte blue is also available) dial with bold applied indices that are inset to the chapter ring. A nice touch.
Both the dial markers and bezel markers are coated in Swiss BGW9 Superluminova lume, and FANOS has informed me that the production model will have a more even, brighter application. The lume on this review sample looks good to me, judge for yourself.
FANOS also sent the available rubber strap. It has anti-dust properties and is nicely molded and fitted to the case. It's quite comfortable as well, and is long enough for my above-average-sized wrists. It's secured by a signed buckle, also made from titanium.
To sum up, I think FANOS has put together a really good package. Given the specifications, the idea that something like this can be had for ~$500 USD is mind-boggling. Add the fact that this was created by a two-person team and it's their first watch, well, I guess you just might have something special.
I'm pleased to mention that the Kickstarter for Osimiri has reached its goal. Hopefully, they'll be able to get to some of their stretch goals as well!
Visit the Kickstarter here: https://bit.ly/3whaG0U