The Delma Shell Star Now In Titanium And More Compact
Sleeker, smaller and lighter than ever, the Shell Star becomes an even better dive watch.
The family-owned watchmaking company Delma has quite a solid reputation when it comes to making robust and accessible sports and tool watches. One of the core collections is the Shell Star, a powerful series of dive watches with roots in the mid-1970s. The collection is home to a number of very cool and original models in different materials, colours and configurations, all based on the brand’s first professional dive watch. Next to steel (optionally coated in black) or bronze, the robust dive watch now sheds some weight (and size), as Delma presents the Shell Star Titanium limited edition.
The Shell Star we’ve come to know and love in recent times has always been a rather large yet very robust and capable diver, regardless of the exact model at hand. With its typical helmet-shaped case and protruding crown guards, it’s not your average run-of-the-mill dive watch. This new titanium version shrinks down in size from 44mm to a more wrist-friendly 41mm, topped with a unidirectional rotating bezel finished with a black ceramic insert. At 13.6mm in height, it remains quite thick, but then again, this is a watch capable of going down to 500 meters without any issue. And thanks to the lightweight material it tips the scale at 136 grams only.
The dial for the new Shell Star Titanium follows suit with previous models and has a sandy texture in black, blue or orange. The large applied numerals have an outline in black or orange, depending on the dial colour. The sword-shaped hour and minute hands are finished in white with Super-LumiNova inserts and are paired with an orange central seconds hand. The bevelled date window also has a fine outline to tie in with the rest of the dial. Overall it’s a very strong mix of elements and looks to be very legible, just what you need in a diver.
Visible through the titanium caseback is the trustworthy Sellita SW 200-1 automatic movement. Often used by Delma, and tons of other brands, it runs at a frequency of 4Hz, or 28,800vph. It’s driven by a custom Delma-signed rotor and has a maximum power reserve of 48 hours. The seconds are hacking, which means you can precisely set your watch to the correct time if needed.
The Delma Shell Star Titanium 41mm Automatic Dive Watch is limited to 499 pieces and comes on a brushed three-link titanium bracelet with a deployment clasp. It retails for CHF 1,590, EUR 1,790 or USD 1,890 and is available both online and through selected retailers worldwide.
For more information, please visit Delma.ch.