The Skeletonised Edox Delfin Mecano Automatic Dives Into Trendy Waters

Edox’s 200m water-resistant Delfin (dolphin) collection surfaced in 1961. It was touted in advertising campaigns as the “water champion” thanks to its patented “Double O’ring” seal formed by two gaskets to create a watertight seal where the crown meets the case. Having feted its 60^th anniversary with the release of a limited edition with a semi-skeletonised dial – the Delfin Mecano – the brand followed up with permanent editions with fully skeletonised dials in 2022. Diving into hipper, more fashion-conscious waters, the 43mm Delfin Mecano Automatic is kitted out with a trendy skeletonised dial, a contemporary grey PVD-coated case and a military green rubber strap. Positioned as an “urban dive watch”, the Delfin Mecano Automatic is an all-terrain hybrid with an edgy camouflage vibe.

Urban Diver

A much-bandied and seemingly contradictory term used in the industry these days, “urban dive watches” are sporty, versatile models with more than enough water-resistance for recreational dives but endowed with fashion-conscious looks that would not look amiss in urban settings. If Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Street Diver (which took home the GPHG 2021 Dive Watch prize) is a sign of the times, you can bet your bottom dollar that urban divers are becoming a legitimate genre. Believe it or not, there is even a category of “urban safari” watches out there! Let’s just say that urban dive watches are sporty, rugged, waterproof watches with fashionable designs that work well with today’s more casual streetwear looks, even if this means stripping away some of the critical attributes of a dive watch. No doubt a marketing decision to expand the traditional habitat of dive watches and introduce them to a new generation of watch buyers who prize versatility and contemporary design codes, the urban diver is making inroads.

Although it boasts a 200m water-resistant case and is equipped with the brand’s patented sealed crown, you would be hard-pressed to define the Delfin Mecano Automatic as a bona fide ISO 6425 certified diver because it is missing a unidirectional rotating bezel to time immersions and vital plots of luminescent material on key indications.

The 1973 Connection

However, there is an explanation for the flat fixed bezel that takes us back to a 1973 Delfin model with its unmarked 12-sided bezel and six hourglass-shaped screws that have been adopted by the Delfin Mecano and Delfin Day/Date models. Adopting the dodecagonal bezel of its ancestor, the Delfin Mecano ups the contemporary mood of the watch with a slate-grey PVD coating on the 43mm stainless steel case with a height of 12.5mm. The interior surface of the bezel and case feature brushed surfaces. In contrast, the 12-sided external area of the bezel, the screws and the two hinged lug attachments extending from the case over the rubber bracelet are polished.

Camouflage Vibe

Combining a slate grey case with military green (the brand calls it ‘mossy green’) touches on the dial and strap produces a certain camouflage vibe. The skeletonised bridges on the dial suspended above the movement are the same matte military green colour as the rubber strap. They are stylised versions of the brand’s hourglass logo, also featured on the bridge at noon. Slate-grey rectangular indices with lumed areas are attached to the white minute track like the tips of the bridges. While the slim grey hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova spines, the central seconds hand is grey.

Beneath the network of bridges is the brand’s calibre 853, a skeletonised Sellita SW 200 automatic running at a frequency of 28,800vph and delivering a power reserve of 42 hours. Visible from both sides, you can see the openworked barrel on the dial side along with brass elements of the gear train and the Edox-branded rotor on the reverse.

Availability & Price

The Delfin Mecano Automatic is a versatile, resilient, all-terrain watch with trendy contemporary looks that won’t break the bank. It retails for EUR 1,590 and forms part of the permanent collection alongside nine other skeletonised models with different colour combinations and bracelet options.

For more information, please visit edox.ch.