I much prefer a bit of dial detail and texture over a flat matte dial or yet another watch using the “particulate effect” that is so common these days. In the case of the Avalon II, I think it works rather well. Often associated with the classic AP Royal Oak, a few other microbrands have recently been championing the wider use of this pattern. The dial itself has a lovely tapisserie pattern stamped onto it. It’s probably my favorite of the four options. The glossy blue ceramic bezel wonderfully complements the rich blue dial. I have the final option in hand, the “Pelagic Blue”. It sits nicely alongside the yellow dial, also with a contrasting black bezel (Coral Yellow). The white-dialed version with a contrasting black bezel (Seaspray White) is a touch more modern. There’s a black dial (Trench Black) with a matching black bezel for fans of the classic look. Nodus offers interested parties a choice of four colors for the Avalon II. Aside from that, the clasp was miles better than the usual generic micro-adjust clasps that have become commonplace on many microbrand dive watches. It only happened a couple of times, but it was enough to be worth mentioning. The only minor gripe I had was that I like my bracelets to wear quite snugly, and sometimes I found that my wrist pressed against the folding mechanism, which, in turn, pressed the extension button. It allows for on-the-fly micro-adjustment without the need for fiddly tools, which is especially helpful if you’re sitting on the edge of the boat, about to start a dive! The side buttons to open the clasp are nicely tucked away and relatively unobtrusive. The Avalon II features Nodus’s new proprietary NodeX extension clasp. The clasp is something worth mentioning in particular. The H-link bracelet was well machined and very comfortable, tapering from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm at the clasp. In terms of finishing, the polished surfaces are smooth, and the transitions between brushing and polishing are smooth with zero finish bleed that I could see. That’s another large watch that wears smaller than its specs might suggest. When viewed from the lugs, the side profile of the case reminds me of the Doxa Sub 300T. On the top side, another bevel, albeit slimmer, traverses the shoulder of the case.
There’s a wide bevel along the underside of the case edge that brings in the feel on the wrist. From my experience, the Avalon II “looks” like it’s more in the ~42mm range. Visual impact is a complicated beast, determined by a number of variables and measurements. I’m a firm believer in that case diameter alone does not define how a watch actually presents on the wrist. First of all, the 48mm lug-to-lug instantly negates some of that size. That said, Nodus employs a few subtle touches that mean this doesn’t exactly feel like a 43.5mm behemoth on the wrist.
#NODUS AVALON PROFESSIONAL#
However, a larger size is not a bad thing for a watch that has aspirations to be a professional dive instrument. That’s slightly larger than the average dive watch in the microbrand scene these days. So, does the Avalon II go the distance and live up to my lofty expectations? Until now, though, I’d never actually seen one of its watches in hand. Comments usually focused on its quality watches, good value for money, and excellent customer service. Back in the days when I used to use Facebook, I was a part of many different microbrand-focused groups, and enthusiasm for Nodus always ran high. I’d followed Nodus for a while, even before I started writing for Fratello. Any brand that makes it this far is doing something right, and that counts for a lot in this sector of the industry. Five years is pretty good going for a microbrand. Nodus is a brand that’s been kicking around the microbrand scene since 2017. So, when US-based microbrand Nodus first got in touch about its upcoming Avalon II dive watch, I was intrigued and obviously keen to see more. As such, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for dive watches. I wanted something that would survive my somewhat lackadaisical lifestyle. I chose it because I liked the chunky and indestructible look, as I wasn’t the most careful with my belongings at that point in my life. While I had technically qualified as a diver at that point, I never chose it to be a diving companion. My very first watch was a dive watch - a Breitling Superocean, to be exact.
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