Today we are taking a look at a pretty robust diver from a company called Neymar. And I got to say, the watch looks good, but the company is a bit sketchy and the whole marketing thing is very strange too. Before I say something I will say that the watch is great and I almost have nothing bad to say about it, but the site and marketing campaign for the watch is very sketchy. Basically, the thing that makes me cringe a bit is that they used genuine Rolex Deep Sea pictures and just put on their logo on it. In the pictures on the site, the watch has different shape case and lugs than in real life. If I was thinking of buying it and saw this, I would immediately say no. But I hope they will fix this thing in near future with real watch photography.

The company is called Neymar and is based in Hong Kong. Before you say something bad, I need to add that Hong Kong and China makes amazing watches for super cheap prices in my opinion. They are pretty new to watch business as I started to notice them about 2-3 months ago on some forums. They make diving watches that are capable of doing 1000m under water. Of course, I don’t know how true is this claim, but from what I can see and how it is built it looks like something that could possibly go that deep. They also make some Panerai style cushion case watches, some officer style watch and another diving watch. They all come in bronze colour. The one we are looking today comes from the 1000m diver watch collection. The version I chose is the stainless steel one. They also have black PVD coated one, two-tone versions with yellow and rose gold  (yellow gold/silver and rose gold/silver). I went the classic route as the other ones felt oo “blingy” and silly.

Neymar diver is basically a Rolex Deep Sea homage. I don’t dislike homages. And this is an interesting watch to me as I really like the Deep Sea, but it is just out of my budget. And also not many companies have done the homage to that particular model, most of the choose to do Submariner homages instead. The watch came in a regular style cardboard box. Inside you will find too to remove links on the bracelet, warranty and all the papers. When I took the Neymar diver in hands it felt really heavy with the bracelet, you could really kill someone with all that weight. Also, it was pretty big. But I understand why it is so big and heavy, it is because of the 1000m water resistance. The polishing was done really good, but I’m not a fan of polished surfaces on a tool/sporty watch. Of course, there are some exceptions, but rarely. When I unboxed the watch the first impressions were good.

The case on the Neymar diver is made from 316L stainless steel. The case is really big and chunky, but that is expected at 1000m water resistance rating. The diameter is 43,5mm, lug tip to lug tip is 53mm. The case is 15,8mm thick and lug width is 22mm. On the wrist, the watch sits really big, but I like the size. I also tested it on rubber diving strap and it wore a lot smaller on a strap than on bracelet. On the strap, it felt like 42mm. On the 3 o’clock we have a big crown with crown guards protecting the crown from knocks, that is pretty typical for diving watches. The crown is screw down and the action on it feels good, it is easy to grip and wind the movement. It is also signed with the “N” of Neymar. The bezel has a ceramic insert and has a really good action to it. It has zero wobble or play in it. The case back is very simple, it has a couple of specifications and logo engraved on it and to unscrew it you need a special tool, which is a bit hard to get hands on. At least for me in Latvia, not many watchmakers can open the case back for me, only the ones which deal with Rolexes. The case back also could use a better finishing, but I guess Neymar is all about function and that you don’t see the case back while wearing the watch and that’s why it doesn’t need to look good. The sides of the watch are polished, just as the portion between lugs, and bezel, but the rest of the case has brushed finishing. On top of the dial sits a domed sapphire crystal, I would love it to be double domed, but it is just my personal preference.

On 9’oclock on the side of the case, you will find the helium valve. Unless you’re a professional diver, chances are you won’t ever have to use the helium escape valve. Mostly, the feature is there for professional divers diving to depths greater than 250 feet for extended periods of time. At depths greater than 250 ft, the gasses in water become toxic. When divers go on expeditions at these depths, they have to travel down in a diving bell, which is highly saturated with helium and hydrogen to counteract the toxic air found at these depths. This is where the helium escape valve comes in handy. Because helium atoms are extremely small, they easily slip inside a watch case. This becomes a problem when the diving bell makes its ascent to the surface. As the bell depressurizes, so does the watch. The build-up of helium atoms inside of the watch case could damage the watch and the resulting pressure could pop the crystal off of the case. However, if a watch has a helium escape valve, it can be opened during decompression to expel helium safely out of the watch. There are two types of helium escape valves: automatic and manual. The one we have here is automatic and under pressure, it opens and lets the gasses out. On the manual one, you usually need to unscrew it.

The dial is done in classic Rolex style. Black glossy dial, maxi style white markers, date window is on 3 o’clock. The hands are also classic Rolex style with that Mercedes hour hand. The chapter ring has also some style cues from the Rolex Deepsea with that 547 fathoms printing and writings on it. The logo maybe is a bit too big for my taste, but overall it looks good on the dial and isn’t taking all the attention from the dial. The lume on the dial is Super BGW9 which is also applied to the bezel and has this cool blue colour to it. At full charge, it glows very long, but it isn’t the brightest one.

The movement inside is a Seiko NH35, which as we know is a great workhorse movement and it performs really good too. I got -8 seconds a day. the power reserve is about 42 hours which is quite ok for these movements. Seiko advertises the movement as 44h, but in real life, it only lasts 42h. The bracelet has solid end links and that oyster bracelet styling. The bracelet is solid, it has a bit of rattle, but you can’t argue at price like this. The only thing is probably that I don’t like the polished middle portion of the links. I think it looks too “blingy”. I know that Rolex does this too, but in my opinion, a tool watch doesn’t need so many polished surfaces. The clasp is a decent one, not stamped, but milled. It has only two micro adjustments, which for me isn’t a problem, but I know that many guys need them. Also, I was surprised to not find a diver extension, as this is marketed as a professional diver with 1000m water resistance.

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Overall the watch is impressive for the price. You get a low of watch for the small price. You get stainless steel case that is rated at 1000m water resistance, helium escape valve, sapphire crystal, ceramic bezel and automatic movement. It isn’t for everyone due to its large size and I don’t know how much you can trust the 1000M water resistance rating (maybe I will test it in near future and update the article) but from the looks and quality, I think it is a great watch for a big wrist.

Price: 399.99$ 369.99$ @ www.neymar-watch.com

Product Description
– Case size 44 mm, strap 22 mm, all stainless steel;
– Professional helium valve at 9H, in order to be able to lead during external pressure reduction (e.g. emerging) the accumulating helium fast enough from the watch;
– Central second indicator;
– Date indicator at 3H (quick winding with the crown on 3H at Pos. 1 clockwise rotation);
– High-quality automatic movement ;
– Professional one side rotating bezel system;
– Super BGW9 luminous;
– WR 100bar ( 3300 feet ) water resistant;
– Domed thick sapphire glass;
– Screwed bottom “moderate temperature assembled”;
– High-quality diver metal Strap.