Ergon Adventum
Have you purchased a Genta-inspired microbrand yet? They have been all the rage the past year and a half, for some reason or another, and here is another one, the Ergon Adventum. I think I have reviewed at least five different Genta designs myself here at Watchreport, but that does not even scratch the surface. There are many others, some on preorder right now, some I didn’t want to review, and some that, well never contacted me to review. I reached out to Elshan from Zelos, who is a partner or co-owner of Ergon, and asked to send one of these along for review. I chose to review this one for a few reasons: it has a standard removable bracelet, meaning it is not integrated so strap changes are easily done, the very cool dial texture, and it has a Miyota 9015 movement for a price tag of $359.
Many of these styles of watches have had Seiko NH35 movements, especially at this price, a few have had some Swiss movements, but were considerably more. I wanted to check this piece out though, because I wanted to see how they could produce this watch with the Miyota movement for the price tag, or more specifically, what did they do to the watch to get the price tag down, using the higher priced movement? Well, you do get a great movement for the price, but there are a few comprises you should know about.
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 40mm diameter, 10.5mm thickness, 50mm Lug to Lug
- Weight: 170 Grams
- Case: CNC Machined 316L SS Stainless Steel
- Bracelet: 316L SS Integrated Style Bracelet with Fliplock clasp and Solid end links
- Water Resistance: 100m with screw-down crown
- Lume: Superluminova C3 X1
- Movement: Miyota 9015 with color-matched date wheel
- Crystal: Sapphire with inner AR coating
- Price $359
https://ergonwatches.com/
So as you can see in the specifications, you do get a lot for your money with the Ergon Adventum. But before I get to the fine details, let’s discuss the brand and model name for a minute. I’m, not a fan. Ergon kinda sounds like Aragon, especially when said quickly, and Adventum sounds like a made-up word until I looked it up quickly and saw that it has something to do with the Bible. I am not sure if that is what they were going for, or if they meant to use it for something that means adventure, but that doesn’t make sense either, as this is not a watch you would take on any adventure in my opinion, it is not built for it nor does it look like an adventure watch.
Naming aside, this is another microbrand that is produced in China, and I am not sure who the other partner is with Elshan who runs the brand. I dealt with Elshan to ship it to me and I asked about partnership and all he told me was yes, it is another brand under his umbrella, but that was it. Knowing that Elshan and Zelos are involved was good enough for me though, he is a huge presence in the microbrand world and has quite a few other brands he is involved with. This is the second model from the Singaporean brand and I have to admit, I was not aware of their first model at all, and until I saw the Advetnum, I don’t think I was aware of the brand in general. I might have seen it on Instagram at some point but didn’t pay attention for whatever reason. The first model was a bronze watch, very different to this one, though at a very affordable price as well.
The best part of this watch has to be the dial. An attractive dial with Interesting Ocotogan shapes and this teal color really is gorgeous. The dial is darker around the edges and gets lighter towards the center of the dial, a fume looks somewhat, and while I normally would not pick a teal dial as my first choice, this one stood out to me. Also available is a black dial, which also has the same dial texture, and a full lume white dial, which does not, rather it has a flat matte dial, because of the lume compound applied to the dial. All versions have an outlined color-matched date at the 6 o’clock position, along with applied markers that have a chrome finish, as do the hands. Otherwise, the dial is kept clean and simple, with only a logo and water resistance.
Speaking of water resistance, a feature not always found in watches like this is a screw-down crown. The Adventum has one, but due to its design and lack of texture, it is hard to grip and I find it a pain to screw back down, as my fingers just slip off it. I am glad that it has one though, and for the 100m of water resistance, as I prefer watches that I do not have to worry about getting wet. The crown has the same lower case e found on the dial, and while it is nice to have a signed crown, I do not find this logo particularly attractive and would have been okay if they left it off.
The case finishing of the Ergon Adventum is where things start to get a little muddled. It seems some in the comments section of the Youtube video took my comments about finishing the wrong way, so I hope to make it a little clearer here. This is by no means a rough-finished watch. What do I mean when I talk about finishing? The brushing, the polishing, the overall texture and feel of the piece. There are no rough edges anywhere, and really no weird strokes or unfinished areas looking all around the watch. In fact, it does have a very nice case back as well, something I always appreciate.
It just comes down to the fine details, and I feel this watch has lesser finishing so they could accommodate the Miyota 9015. The case does have polished chamfers which look good but the vertical brushing which is present on the case sides and top of the case, is a large grain, that is not always straight and the bracelet finishing is lacking as well, and the just looks a little cheaper than I expected. It is not a horrible case finishing, and at the end of the day it is a $359 watch, but hey, this is a review after all, and this is what I am here to point out.
Another thing that caught my eye was the clasp, but before that, let’s discuss the bracelet. As I stated, this is one of the first watches of this design from microbrands that actually has a removable bracelet, which you can switch out for a leather or rubber strap (neither are included). Quick change pins are on the back of the bracelet as well to make things a little easier if you do not like messing with screws or spring bars, and overall they still managed to make the bracelet look integrated so it really does not interrupt the design flow.
The bracelet does use screws for the links as well, and then we get to the clasp. The clasp is very functional, and it is one you have seen on Zelos watches among many others. Problem is, it belongs on a dive watch, not on a watch such as this. It is definitely better than a dual deployant butterfly clasp with no half links, and this does over 6 micro-adjusting holes, but it just looks way out of place and shows me they just grabbed a clasp out of a parts bin and stamped a logo on it. Again, in fairness, this is a $359 watch.
One area where Ergon definitely did not cheap out is the lume. X1 C3 SuperLumiNova was used and as you can see below, the resulting glow is fantastic, not just for a watch of this design, but in general. I have seen so-called dive watches with lesser lume, even from brands twice the price if not more.
On my 7 1/2 inch wrist, this Advenutm fits very nicely and is very comfortable. I removed 3 links to get a very good fit and didn’t have to mess with the clasp holes at all. The dimensions are such that it should be comfortable on a wide range of wrist sizes and wears comfortably all day long.
There is no denying this is a budget watch. This is not Haute horology and is a basic microbrand offering, but they have dropped a good hi-beat Miyota 9015, for those that are sick of the NH35 so many inexpensive microbrand watches have been using the past few years. Because of that movement, the finishing is sacrificed a little, but you are still getting a great-looking dial, sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, 100m WR, and an attractive case back, all with a comfortable fit.
Nothing extra is included like you may be accustom to with many of the Zelos sister brands, and the packaging is very sparse, matter of fact, the little travel pouch is kinda cheap looking and doesn’t hold the watch and warranty card very well at all, but who cares about the packaging. For $359, you’re not shelling out a lot of money and getting a good movement in an attractive watch with a punchy bright dial. Overall, I think they nailed what they were going for-an an affordable watch with a good movement.
