Before I start I should say that this prototype has been lent by Elshan at Zelos for perusal at our upcoming London GTG. It just so happens that I have pre-ordered this watch, so it is quite possible there may be some confirmation bias going on. With that in mind, please keep reading for quite a few words and almost as many pictures.
There are many posts about it in our Dive Watch Forum, but I know a couple of people who reside mainly here in Public have expressed an interest in this watch too, so I'll post up my thoughts here.
![Image]()
The very first time I saw this watch I was excited about it. It has a lot of the traits I had recently been looking at to fill a very vague "chunky-casual" spot in my collection. Not a usual spot that needs filling, but we always find an excuse to buy another watch, eh?
The imaginary checklist I went through in my mind was something like this:
Chunky? Check
Wearable on my 7 inch wrist? Check
Casual? Check
Interesting case? Check
Meteorite dial? Check - ok, this last one wasn't originally on my checklist, but as soon as I knew it was an option it suddenly seemed just as important as anything else.
![Image]()
(image from Zelos website)
![Image]()
(image from Zelos website)
There are several version of the Hammerhead available:
With a bronze case you can either opt for a black dial with ceramic bezel, or a bronze bezel with a choice of gunmetal grey, blue or meteorite dial
With a stainless steel case the choices are black, blue or meteorite dial, or a grey dial with Damascus bezel insert.
I opted for the stainless steel case with meteorite dial in the pre-order and this is the version that Elshan has sent over for our upcoming London GTG. Let's start by pointing out the obvious - it's not a demure watch. If you're looking for something unassuming and refined that will slide under the cuff neatly then this probably isn't the watch for you. With a diameter of 44mm and height to the top of the highly domed sapphire of 17mm it's a fairly big watch to start with, but it has two tricks up its sleeve.
1) Due to the case shape, angles, large crown and domed crystal it looks even bigger
2) Because of the short lug to lug and crown position, it wears a bit smaller.
It probably wears much more like a chunky 42mm watch, which is a big plus for me.
![Image]()
![Image]()
The case sides measure about 8mm in height, but this is split between a brushed surface towards the bottom and a polished, angled surface on top. Those angles help to make the case more interesting but also help to break it up and reduce the appearance of just how much of it there is in the first place. The bezel adds another 3mm and the domed sapphire sits another 3mm on top of that. The slight protrusion of the case back makes up the rest of the thickness.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
The lug to lug length is under 50mm which is one of the things I always look for. Aside from my trusty Stowa Prodiver, and my Seatime before that, I know that 50mm is about as large as I like to go. This (relatively) short lug to lug accentuates the chunkiness of the watch, which can be a good or bad thing. As I said at the start, I was on the lookout for a deliberately chunky watch. The downside is that it becomes a little top heavy and can 'slop' around on the wrist if you don't manage to get a perfect fit with the bracelet or strap. Due to pre-order funding surpassing the first target the watch will ship with the canvas strap in addition to the stainless steel bracelet. I don't have the bracelet with this prototype but it looks really good - nice and chunky with an adjustable clasp.
![Image]()
(image taken from Zelos website)
I am hoping that the feel of the bracelet is as good as the watch and the clasp means I can get a perfect fit. If so, I expect to wear it on the bracelet at least 90% of the time. The canvas strap it also comes with is quite impressive but I find the holes are just slightly out of place for me to get a great fit though, so the watch does end up moving about more on my wrist than I would ideally like. If you can achieve a perfect fit then the distressed canvas look works really well with this dial.
![Image]()
![Image]()
And onto the dial. Oh, that dial!
A meteorite dial isn't something I thought I would ever need, or even want, on my watch but I've got to hand it to Elshan - it just works. There's so much depth and texture in it, and I assume the pattern on each one will be unique. As I saw more photos being release I did start to worry that the dial texture would seriously hamper the ability to read the time at a glance. I won't lie and pretend it's still as legible as a 'big-white-hands-on-a-jet-black-face' pilot watch, but time-telling isn't really sacrificed. When you glance at your watch to read the time, there it is. When you glance at your watch to catch the patterns of that meteorite dial, there it is. In abundance. The small date window does get a little lost against the dial, but I would rather have a discreet, colour-matched date at 6 than a disruptive one at 3.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
Despite saying that the time is not difficult to read, I'm as guilty as anyone of taking photos that really show off the dial. To redress the balance a little, here are a few snaps to show what it looks like when you're not trying too hard to capture the meteorite.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
Next up - the crown. The eagle eyed amongst you (or maybe just those of you without cataracts) will have noticed two things about the crown.
1) It's lumed
2) It's…errrr…a bit big
The first of these is pretty gimmicky and may well appeal to as many folk as it appals. The first time I saw this done was on the Omega DSOTM and also recently on the NTH subs. There are probably a few more out there, but they haven't registered with me. Again, it's not something I look for in a watch, but it's one of those fun things that fall into the 'you shouldn't take it too seriously - it's just a watch' category. In any case, you can't really see the lume on the crown when looking at the watch face on, so it's pretty easy to ignore or forget about.
![Image]()
The second point about the crown was a bit of a worry for me. The size, both thickness and length, wasn't something that initially stood out, but as I saw more photos emerge it appeared to grow and grow with each image, until it became comically large in my mind. With the watch in hand, or on my wrist, I now see that I shouldn't have worried. The size is entirely in keeping with the general aesthetic of the watch and also makes it incredibly easy to use. As it is positioned at 4 o'clock the size is really of no concern when being worn.
![Image]()
For a long time - probably the first 2-3 years of my time here - I was a firm fan of the flat crystal. It seemed cleaner, avoided distortion and helped keep a watch slim. Over time I have experienced watches with all kinds of crystal and all different levels of dome. I am now a massive dome fan, and this one looks good. The inner AR is decent, but not amazing, but the effect of the applied indices slipping away under the dome distortion at extreme angles is very pleasing.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Inside is the NH35 which is likely to be reliable, but nothing too special. I ordered this watch for the case and dial more than the movement though. I got to handle several other Zelos watches before and was rather impressed with the quality. The bronze cased Abyss watch such a solid watch with a lot of really nice details I kept a much closer interest in Zelos since then. The Hammerhead looked like the one for me, and based on my experience so far with the prototype I'm very happy. I hear there are planned improvements to the lume, bezel action and an engraving to go on the case back for the final production version, but if Elshan just shipped me a bracelet and said this one was mine I wouldn't be too unhappy.
![Image]()
![Image]()
There are many posts about it in our Dive Watch Forum, but I know a couple of people who reside mainly here in Public have expressed an interest in this watch too, so I'll post up my thoughts here.
The very first time I saw this watch I was excited about it. It has a lot of the traits I had recently been looking at to fill a very vague "chunky-casual" spot in my collection. Not a usual spot that needs filling, but we always find an excuse to buy another watch, eh?
The imaginary checklist I went through in my mind was something like this:
Chunky? Check
Wearable on my 7 inch wrist? Check
Casual? Check
Interesting case? Check
Meteorite dial? Check - ok, this last one wasn't originally on my checklist, but as soon as I knew it was an option it suddenly seemed just as important as anything else.
(image from Zelos website)
(image from Zelos website)
There are several version of the Hammerhead available:
With a bronze case you can either opt for a black dial with ceramic bezel, or a bronze bezel with a choice of gunmetal grey, blue or meteorite dial
With a stainless steel case the choices are black, blue or meteorite dial, or a grey dial with Damascus bezel insert.
I opted for the stainless steel case with meteorite dial in the pre-order and this is the version that Elshan has sent over for our upcoming London GTG. Let's start by pointing out the obvious - it's not a demure watch. If you're looking for something unassuming and refined that will slide under the cuff neatly then this probably isn't the watch for you. With a diameter of 44mm and height to the top of the highly domed sapphire of 17mm it's a fairly big watch to start with, but it has two tricks up its sleeve.
1) Due to the case shape, angles, large crown and domed crystal it looks even bigger
2) Because of the short lug to lug and crown position, it wears a bit smaller.
It probably wears much more like a chunky 42mm watch, which is a big plus for me.
The case sides measure about 8mm in height, but this is split between a brushed surface towards the bottom and a polished, angled surface on top. Those angles help to make the case more interesting but also help to break it up and reduce the appearance of just how much of it there is in the first place. The bezel adds another 3mm and the domed sapphire sits another 3mm on top of that. The slight protrusion of the case back makes up the rest of the thickness.
The lug to lug length is under 50mm which is one of the things I always look for. Aside from my trusty Stowa Prodiver, and my Seatime before that, I know that 50mm is about as large as I like to go. This (relatively) short lug to lug accentuates the chunkiness of the watch, which can be a good or bad thing. As I said at the start, I was on the lookout for a deliberately chunky watch. The downside is that it becomes a little top heavy and can 'slop' around on the wrist if you don't manage to get a perfect fit with the bracelet or strap. Due to pre-order funding surpassing the first target the watch will ship with the canvas strap in addition to the stainless steel bracelet. I don't have the bracelet with this prototype but it looks really good - nice and chunky with an adjustable clasp.
(image taken from Zelos website)
I am hoping that the feel of the bracelet is as good as the watch and the clasp means I can get a perfect fit. If so, I expect to wear it on the bracelet at least 90% of the time. The canvas strap it also comes with is quite impressive but I find the holes are just slightly out of place for me to get a great fit though, so the watch does end up moving about more on my wrist than I would ideally like. If you can achieve a perfect fit then the distressed canvas look works really well with this dial.
And onto the dial. Oh, that dial!
A meteorite dial isn't something I thought I would ever need, or even want, on my watch but I've got to hand it to Elshan - it just works. There's so much depth and texture in it, and I assume the pattern on each one will be unique. As I saw more photos being release I did start to worry that the dial texture would seriously hamper the ability to read the time at a glance. I won't lie and pretend it's still as legible as a 'big-white-hands-on-a-jet-black-face' pilot watch, but time-telling isn't really sacrificed. When you glance at your watch to read the time, there it is. When you glance at your watch to catch the patterns of that meteorite dial, there it is. In abundance. The small date window does get a little lost against the dial, but I would rather have a discreet, colour-matched date at 6 than a disruptive one at 3.
Despite saying that the time is not difficult to read, I'm as guilty as anyone of taking photos that really show off the dial. To redress the balance a little, here are a few snaps to show what it looks like when you're not trying too hard to capture the meteorite.
Next up - the crown. The eagle eyed amongst you (or maybe just those of you without cataracts) will have noticed two things about the crown.
1) It's lumed
2) It's…errrr…a bit big
The first of these is pretty gimmicky and may well appeal to as many folk as it appals. The first time I saw this done was on the Omega DSOTM and also recently on the NTH subs. There are probably a few more out there, but they haven't registered with me. Again, it's not something I look for in a watch, but it's one of those fun things that fall into the 'you shouldn't take it too seriously - it's just a watch' category. In any case, you can't really see the lume on the crown when looking at the watch face on, so it's pretty easy to ignore or forget about.
The second point about the crown was a bit of a worry for me. The size, both thickness and length, wasn't something that initially stood out, but as I saw more photos emerge it appeared to grow and grow with each image, until it became comically large in my mind. With the watch in hand, or on my wrist, I now see that I shouldn't have worried. The size is entirely in keeping with the general aesthetic of the watch and also makes it incredibly easy to use. As it is positioned at 4 o'clock the size is really of no concern when being worn.
For a long time - probably the first 2-3 years of my time here - I was a firm fan of the flat crystal. It seemed cleaner, avoided distortion and helped keep a watch slim. Over time I have experienced watches with all kinds of crystal and all different levels of dome. I am now a massive dome fan, and this one looks good. The inner AR is decent, but not amazing, but the effect of the applied indices slipping away under the dome distortion at extreme angles is very pleasing.
Inside is the NH35 which is likely to be reliable, but nothing too special. I ordered this watch for the case and dial more than the movement though. I got to handle several other Zelos watches before and was rather impressed with the quality. The bronze cased Abyss watch such a solid watch with a lot of really nice details I kept a much closer interest in Zelos since then. The Hammerhead looked like the one for me, and based on my experience so far with the prototype I'm very happy. I hear there are planned improvements to the lume, bezel action and an engraving to go on the case back for the final production version, but if Elshan just shipped me a bracelet and said this one was mine I wouldn't be too unhappy.
