Studio Underd0g 02 Series 37mm (Midnight)

As the current horological hot property that they are, the sophomore release from Studio Underd0g had to do something interesting. To follow on from the brightly coloured series 1 chronographs, it couldn't be any old 3 hander to make the cut. 

What we got was definitely innovative, with a series of full lumed dials with a disc of sapphire crystal sitting on top that features the indices and branding. This dial design is undeniably the calling card of this line of watches, and the main reason why you would consider buying this watch. 

I spent a little bit of time handling the "Pink Lem0nade" variant, with its gradient yellow to pink dial that somehow still glows a single even hue once the lights go out. A domed crystal, hand wound Selitta movement and caseback engraving of a jellyfish complete the package. 

This is a piece I seriously considered purchasing when it was first released, but ultimately decided against after spending some time handling it. This was primarily for 2 reasons, which I will discuss as follows.

The first is that I felt most of the money had been put into the dial, and fair enough! It is the main feature of this watch, after all... but for the asking price, I feel they could have done a bit more with the case finishing, and an easilly scratched fully polished bezel seems a bit at odds with something that pitches itself as a field watch.

The second point is that I found the 37mm size a little too compact for my personal tastes (38 to 39mm is my personal sweet spot for 3 handers). The 18mm lug pairing also limits strap swatch options while feeling a little too skinny for the watch; I personally feel a 19mm spacing would have worked better (I mean, if you're not going to choose the ubiquitous 20mm spacing you may as well go all out right?). But thats just, like, my opinion man, and Studio Underd0g certainly haven't had trouble selling these by the hundreds...

If you're after something a bit different that genuinely innovates and pushes forward what can be done with watch design, this might be the right watch for you! Just make sure you're happy with the smaller wearing dimensions and polished bezel and you'll have one heck of a conversation starter on your wrist!