Duzu has returned to their diving roots with their latest release, the Coral Bay. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Duzu, they are an Australian based company. This is their third release and quite possibly their most impressive release. What I appreciate about Duzu is that they stay true to their unique DNA and that they haven’t jumped on the homage bandwagon. I was initially impressed with the Coral Bay when I first handle the prototype and now the actual production piece.
The stainless steel case feels substantial. It measures in at 42mm with a lug space of 22mm. The watch doesn’t wear substantial though, it wears like you would expect a “smaller” case to wear. The case design is definitely a highlight of the Coral Bay, especially the crown and crown guards. You will have absolutely zero issues gripping and operating the 9mm custom crown in all conditions. By conditions I mean in wet/dry/hot/cold/with gloves/bare hands.
The edges of the crown were designed with a “no slip grip” mindset that is apparent by the large grooves cut into the circumference of the crown. I never like to worry about the watch on my wrist whether it will “be ok” when I’m wearing it for outdoors activities. Duzu certainly shares that thought process judging by the design of the Coral Bay. The crown guards are a great example of this design plan. I appreciate the crown guards quite a bit not only for their appearance but for the mass amount of protection they offer the oversized crown. For those concerned about it digging into the back of your hand/wrist, you need not to worry as this case wears extremely similar to a 44mm Panerai. Similar in terms of both size and weight (off the bracelet it’s extremely lightweight), which translates into fantastic wrist presence for the Coral Bay.
The bezel on this watch carries over that same experience that the crown possesses. The large, brushed finish stainless steel bezel is an example of “form and function”. The utilitarian appearance teamed with the function makes the experience exactly how you want a bezel to function. All the components come together nicely; easy to grip, rotates smoothly and most importantly functions precisely. I definitely use the bezel on my watch multiple times during the day. I don’t want to deal with a bezel that’s hard to grip or one that is going to move after setting it in place.
While we are on the pleasing subject, the case back should please both fans of exhibition case backs and those like myself who appreciate a solid case back. Wayne did a little something extra with the Coral Bay case back which in my opinion took it one step further. The manta ray etched on the small sapphire crystal porthole view into the ETA 2824-2 movement is a fantastic detail. That simple Manta Ray is an example of how a small detail can take the personality of a watch so much further. It should be noted that DUZU only made 17 with the ETA movement, and the rest come with a Miyota 9015.
The lugs definitely carry over that same rough/badass attitude design language of the crown guards. I love the strong geometric shape these lugs are designed with. What really completes the lugs for me is the squared shape meshed together with angular design. The lugs are more angular than curved.
The bracelet is equipped with a vertical brushed clasp that is finished off nicely with a large engraved d logo. The clasp buttons and the clasp itself, all function smoothly and without any issues. There’s also a nice micro adjustment so you can fine tune the fit when you are on the go. The best part is you don’t need any tools to do so.
The dial on the Coral Bay is clean and legible, not overly busy in anyway whatsoever in terms of too much text, unnecessary details, etc… Duzu gives you only what you need on this dial and they have executed it with simplistic beauty. I like that the date window doesn’t eliminate any of the hour or minute markers which helps keep symmetry on the dial. I also like that Duzu’s design choice of a black date wheel with white printed numerals. It’s an eye sore/distraction when a watch has a black dial and the date wheel is white. The date window is neatly placed between the 4H and 5H markers.
The Coral Bay’s dial features a classic three hand layout with three oversized numeral markers at 3, 6, 9. What about 12 you ask?!? Well Duzu went creative and placed their d logo at the 12H position.
Only 17 were made with the Swiss Automatic…This is 1 of the 17!! Sold out & Discontinued!
BRAND: DUZU
MODEL: Coral Bay – Swiss Automatic 1 of 17
MOVEMENT: Automatic – Swiss
CASE: Stainless Steel
CROWN: Screw Down Crown with Guards
SIZE: 42mm
LUGS: 24mm
DIAL: Black Dial
BEZEL: rotating Diver
CONDITION: Pre-Owned – As-New!
BOXES/PAPERS: Yes/Yes – Complete! – Comes everything you see in the pics!
WATER RESISTANCE: – 300m
STRAP/BRACELET: – 2 – Original DUZU Stainless Steel bracelet with all links & Additional DUZU Blue/Grey Rubber dive strap with signe steel buckle.
