“I could easily point out the obvious value, upgrades, and excellent build that the new Islander line of watches have. However,it goes well beyond that for me. Many times when considering a purchase, the product becomes the main focus. And while I understand and believe that premise to be true, all to often we forget the service that follows. I was recently purchasing a watch for someone as a gift & ran into some issues. Marc never changed his overall goal of simply trying to help me. I have purchased watches costing over 2K, and NEVER had the level of service that IW provides. After Marc showed me what he and his company are all about, I ordered this Islander Pepsi Diver for my daily watch. I will wear it with pride, and not just because it is a great value and looks incredibly, but because I know IW understands the sale of their products, is just the starting point of developing long term / repeat customers!”
“I am more than happy with the beauty and overall quality of the ISL-03 Dive watch. From its solid-link bracelet to sapphire crystal and luminous ceramic bezel, it is a gorgeous watch. Add to that the striking dark blue dial, and SuperLuminova, and it is an amazing value for $299. The only negative is that the screw-down crown sometimes cuts into my wrist.”
“The Islander 3 is overall a good watch with a lot of standard features that are not available stock on a Seiko SKX like sapphire crystal, screw pin bracelet, fully lumed bezel insert, drilled lugs and hacking/hand winding.
However, there are some things that can be improved such as the lack of branding on the clasp, bracelet integration into the case, the way the crystal refracts light, the bezel mechanism, and the quality of assembly. The first watch I received had a movement that randomly stops and a sticky bezel. The replacement that Marc kindly sent me had a seconds hand with a small amount of back play when setting the time, a slightly misaligned chapter ring, and a sticky bezel. I decided to keep the second watch as it was running very accurately. My local watch maker got the bezel working normally with silicone lube and confirmed that based on the design, it can be turned both ways, probably to accommodate the GMT versions of the watch.”
“Bought mine today, the right way, on eBay. Saved about 45%. Very nice finish and details. I love the blue face, and ALL the lume is very bright. I would have loved it to come with an Orange or Red Hour hand, but that's ok. Put it on my Timegrapher and out of the box it is running just -2 seconds per day! OUTSTANDING!. It's a little tall at 14mm, so it may be my summer watch. I may fit the metal strap later (mine came on the Seiko Rubber) just to see how it feels. Overall a very nice package, I hope Marc sells many and keeps introducing new models. Nice way to start 2020.”
“I have been researching buying my first watch for more than a year. I gravitated towards Seiko because of the combination of cool looks and affordability but they didn't have all the features I wanted. When I first saw the Islander watch I knew I have found what I wanted.
I have been wearing the watch for about 3 weeks and I'm enjoying it very much. I like it's weight, it feels like it means business, this is not a lightweight watch; I love the fully lumed bezel and the fact that the logo on the crown is properly aligned - that's a nice little touch that shows attention to detail. The bezel is properly aligned, of course.
Suggested improvements: I would like to see a version with a sunburst effect on the dial. The bezel was rather stiff at the beginning but it gave way and it's way better now. Better, longer lasting lume?
Finally, I enjoy the fact I'm perhaps one of the (if not the only one) few owners of an Islander watch in my country ;)”
“The watch arrived after 14 days maybe due to the holiday mail rush. The watch itself is perfect and as described. It has been running on time since i put it on my wrist. so far very happy with the watch.”
“If I didn’t get this for Christmas I was gonna buy it, for sure! It’s a no brainer. If you once had a love affair with the skx that slowly dwindled into dissatisfaction, you must buy this watch. Marc has improved on every single one of the skxs’ Short comings. For a reasonable price! I am eagerly waiting for more Long Island models. Can’t wait to get an eta or Selitta based model. Thank you Marc!”
“This may well be one of the most accurate (-1/+2 seconds per day) automatic watches I've had the pleasure to own - unfortunately, unscrewing the crown was never reliable or easy to do fresh out of the box. It's now jammed in position unable to be fully extended to set the time and date or to permit hand winding. Neither can it be completely screwed down.
This is clearly a quality control issue that (hopefully) warranty service can resolve. A pity since it's so accurate.”
