I saw these watches in one watch store. They were good looking and the price was ok. So I wrote the company and they sent me a watch in for a review. What I chose was the Bergstern diver B023G113. To me it spoke the most, the other ones were boring and subtle.
“Bergstern was the official time keeper of the Tour de Pologne. Held as part of the UCI World Tour 2016, it ranks the highest in the UCI classification, with top cyclists competing over its 6 stages. The cold and wet conditions of this year’s Tour demanded particular concentration from the riders. Tim Wellens outclassed all rivals in the final individual time trial in Cracow.
The Brand
Bergstern is a distinctive brand, whose foundations are underpinned by exceptional, strong and noble inspirations. The first of these is the enchanting beauty of the Swiss landscape, its purity, grandeur and majesty. A place where the mountains seem to touch the heavens, reaching for the stars. The second inspiration, however, is the strength of human character and all the traits that enable it to develop, improve, steadfastly strive for success and fulfil bold dreams.
Swiss quality
The hallmark of Bergstern timepieces is quality, aspiring specification at an accessible price. Bergstern watch cases are made from stainless steel or titanium. Depending on the model, the glass is mineral or sapphire. At the heart of every Bergstern watch is Swiss reliability and precision in the shape of a Ronda movement, with functions such as chronograph tailored to the character of the model. The right bracelet, rubber strap or natural leather strap is selected for each model.”
So the watch came in this nice hard box. The packaging was nice. I kind of compare this company to Seiko or any other brand that sells 300$ watches. And for the price, you get nice packaging. At least you have enjoyment unboxing it. Many watches over 500$ have a lot worse packaging. You take the watch out of the box and you can feel that it’s made in Switzerland. The finishing and materials and the general feel of the watch speak for itself. The first con that I notice is the bezel. You can’t rotate it so that immediately raises questions. If you can’t rotate it, then why you name it has markers on it? If you can’t rotate it, it’s worthless and you can’t measure anything if you are a diver. It really was kind of stupid making the bezel, making the marking on it to measure time and not making it rotating.
The case is made from Black ion plated stainless steel. The case size is 44.5mm, lug to lug height is 54mm and thickness is 12,5mm so it’s pretty hefty watch and won’t suite a small wrist. But of course, if you want you can wear it, I know many people with small wrists who wear even 50mm watches. The finishing is really top notch on the case. The polishing job is amazing for the price. The top of the lugs are brushed and the rest is polished. The bezel is black with white markings. I like the styling, but as I said previous, I dont like that the bezel doesn’t rotate, to me it’s a stupid design mistake. The case back is a screw on with specs and logo engraved on it. The crown is polished and in a decent size. It’s easy to operate. The crown is signed. Sadly it isn’t a screw down but the water resistance on this watch is 10ATM (10m) which is ok-ish for a light swim in the lake.
The dial to me makes the watch stand out. The pattern is this square tile look. Really gives the watch a more pricier watch look. The dial is black with outer seconds ring in black with 20min orange stripe. The inner ring shows 24hours markers. The applied markers and in stainless steel polished with lume. The lume isn’t the strongest, but it works and does what it supposed to do. On 6 0’clock you will find a date window. The hour and minute hands are in polished stainless steel with lume. The second’s hand is in orange color to match the outer ring and give it a pop of color.
The movement is Ronda 515. A pretty popular Swiss Made quartz that many companies like to use for their watches. I have this movement in my Scurfa Diver One I reviewed last year. And it is still running great. No problems there. But we will see how long-lasting will it be. The rubber strap is nice and has that vanilla scent to it. But I don’t like these type of straps, it really raises the watch and gives it a bigger look than it has. I more like the Isofrane style straps. It would give the watch a lot better and fancier look. Like imagine the bright orange Isofrane strap with this piece, it would look gorgeous. The buckle is made from stainless steel and is signed with the Bergstern logo and has brushed finish.
Overall I like the piece. It has its own styling, fun pop of colors. But the only con is the non-rotating bezel. But none the less the quality is very good for the price and you get a lot of watch for the price. Can I recommend it? Well…..yes.
Price: 249eur @ artelioni.com
- Movement: Quartz
- Calibre: Ronda 515
- Case: Steel
- Case size: 44,5 mm
- Crystal: Mineral
- Strap: Rubber strap
- Clasp: Clasp
- Water resistance: 100 m
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