Erebus Origin: ticks every box for £271, and I still don't want one
Geth hates micros
As you know, Geth hates micros. I hate them, and you probably all do. But I've got another one here tonight, sent in by my friend John Goodenough, the man with the exotic and very rare surname. It really is his name. Shut up, bros. This is the Erebus Origin, from Jodie, the YouTuber, selling twerps at a reasonable price. Erebus is apparently the primordial Greek god of darkness and gloom. You wouldn't have thought so, because this dial is not white but silver. Get rid of it immediately. But the watch itself isn't too disgusting.
You get a little cloth, a screwdriver for the links, a thank-you card, and a 2-year warranty, which for a microbrand is pretty good. Normally it's one.
The numbers
41 mm case, 12.6 mm high, 47 mm lug to lug. Not too long, except these end links barely move, so the real lug to lug is 51.7. Still not too bad. On my 19 cm wrist it wears, I have to say, extremely well and comfortably. About 170 g, 20 mm lugs, 200 metres. Inside, a for-the-beach Seiko NH35: 24 jewels, 21,600 vibrations, hacking, hand winding, 41 hours of power reserve, and on my timegrapher app it's running about +4 to +5. Quite good. £271, or $356, which for what you get is a really good price.
The bits that are actually good
The bezel action is one of the high points. Ceramic insert, really good action, and it lines up perfectly. For the beach. Never give up, bros. Flat sapphire with six layers of AR on the underside, clear as anything, no hue. BGW9 all round the bezel and on the hands, excellently applied, glowing blue. It is a brilliantly loomed watch, you can't lie about that. Signed screw-down crown, beefy crown guards, date at 6, not too much text on the dial. Screwed links, quick-release spring bars. And the drape. Look at that drape. Wonderful drape.
Everything but nothing you want
Everything is brushed, no polished surfaces. Boring design, sharp edge finishing. Look at this dial: blatant Helm. There's some Tudor in there, the blue one looks very much like a Pelagos, I'm sensing Zenith rip-off vibes, and this H-link bracelet is a blatant Zenith rip-off. They're trying to be everything and following the trends. The clasp is very long and quite thick, and the micro-adjust isn't really on-the-fly because you have to take the watch off. It's fiddly. Can't even make it work. Get rid of it.
Verdict
It ticks the boxes. A daily beater with great lume, a ceramic bezel, a micro-adjust clasp, screwed links and quick-release spring bars for £271. It offers a lot. It really has everything but nothing that you want. It does everything you could ask for, yet somehow I just don't want one. Why don't I like this watch? I don't know. If you want it, John's selling it. Stay freaky, never give up.
