Recently, I picked up this watch to be my casual and weekend wear. I wanted something unique looking, with a tachymetre on it. Nezumi is a brand I have seen for a while and their designs are top notch, so I decided on the Loews model after a lot of back and forth.
Specs
Really quick, this watch doesn’t check any of my usual boxes for a watch I would buy. It has a mecha-quartz movement. This is a hybrid movement where the time is kept with a standard quartz movement, but the chronograph features uses a mechanical movement so you get that hacking movement on the timing hand and instant reset. A bit of a best of both worlds approach, while not being perfect at either.
Further, there’s no bracelet option, something I much prefer. The watch is only water resistant to 50 meters — enough for daily use, but not something you are going to swim with.
However, it does have a lot of positives on the specs, including the double domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on it — a place many watches skimp out on. Also super-luminova on the markers as well.
Perhaps most impressive is the case size at 40mm and only 11.75mm tall — it is low profile while still looking substantial.
The Design
Nezumi as a brand has a vintage racing vibe to it, but the designs aren’t trying for a patina look, nor are they basically replicating every watch out there. They are using faded colors and classic styles to achieve this and I think as a whole they are highly successful at it.
The Loews model I selected is REF. LQ1.302 with the brown leather strap. I wanted the more subtle Tachymetre design with the same color being used there and just the sub-dials popping in white. The face itself is a dark flat charcoal with depth being achieved via the sub-dials and applied indices.
All of that really means it is superb looking. The only thing you don’t get on this watch is the current second indication as the time is indicated only in hours/minutes and a sub-dial showing a 24 hour time. The other sub-dial tracks minutes for the chonrograph, while the orange hand tracks seconds for the chronograph.
Wear and Use
One reason I like the mech-quartz movement is because it plays well for a weekend watch. I can always put it on and the time is close enough for weekend wear. I don’t have to set it, there isn’t even a date to fuss with. However, if you use the chrono you get that hacking movement indicative of a mechanical watch — it’s not perfect but again for two days a week it’s fantastic.
The strap is also quite a gem on this watch. It is thin, but not flimsy at all. This means it is comfortable and maintains its low profile nature — often watch straps add far too much bulk, but not here.
As a weekend watch it blends well with any casual outfit you don, but in the office it is out of place.
Overall
For the price, this is a fantastic watch which would only be made better with a full automatic movement for the watch. That aside, I couldn’t be happier with this watch. It adds that subtle casual style I have been missing in my collection and does it in a really unique way. I doubt I’ll run into someone else wearing this, and I do like that.