“I'm a Male w/5.9~ inch wrists. I was looking for my first 'proper' watch that I can wear casually. Budget was £650~ max.
I started my research off by only looking at < 35mm watches and couldn't find many (excluding taking a risk with vintage). I tried on a few at stores and settled on the Max Bill 34mm (albeit quite pricey). I didn't bother looking/even trying 38mm~ but one day decided to try on some 38mm sports/diver (with 45~mm lug-to-lug) and surprisingly the size/proportion looked decent on my wrist! So that's when I had more options and found the SKX013, but sadly discontinued.
Someone recommended me the Islander 38mm on this website as a pure upgrade to the 013 and it looked perfect and at a tasty price.
And I have to say the watch is great on me. Lug-to-lug sits within my wrists (just about) but doesn't look odd/too big. Quality is great. The crown does take some getting used to in terms of twisting it back in place/resetting it. I don't quite like the chain as it's quite...shiny? I might just purchase one that has the style/design of the Submariner.
Website is super safe/reliable to order from (I'm from UK) and order arrived I think after 4/5 days (arrived much earlier than ETA). Super happy with this purchase”
“The bezel is too tight, almost impossible to turn without, let's say, special effort. The usual recommended fixes you find online, like applying some lubricant, did not help much. Normally I would have tried to get a replacement but since I decided to mod further with a coin edge bezel and a case with no crown guards, I didn't want to bother. Hopefully the problem will not persist with the new components.
I hope Islander does a better job of quality control.
Make no mistake tough: The rest of the watch is great for the price. I have no other complaints* except for the bezel tightness. The timing bezel to me is half the reason to get a dive watch.
* Also the minute hand is too short for me but that's a design quirk of the original SKX013.”
“It’s was for the 17th birthday of my son on 29th of may. Today je don’t have see the watch but i know it will be a beautifull gif. It’s the third watch i sell at liw and it’was always a good deal and a incrdedible value for money. I comme back again to purchase at liw”
“All I can say is wow! This is the watch that the “other “ watch company should’ve built in the first place. The quality is top notch , materials are top notch and the price .. anyone can afford one by skipping a few meals out.. lol. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this brand to anyone .”
“I bought this for my nephew's 18th birthday in August, so it hasn't been worn yet. That being said, the watch is gorgeous. The fit and finish are akin to a very expensive dive watch. The crown and bezel operate as well as, if not better than, those on the Seiko SKX013. The sapphire crystal is a huge plus. The use of screws rather than pins in the bracelet is very much appreciated. I think this will be a great watch that he can wear for years.”
“I bought this watch after looking for a Seiko SKX013 and finding that it had been discontinued. I am so glad that I did! The Islander has all the features that I wanted that were lacking in the Seiko...sapphire crystal, hand winding/hacking ability, drilled lugs, ceramic bezel. The only critique I would give is that the jubilee bracelet it came on is a little too bling-y for my taste, but it was easily remedied with a swap for a curved end rubber dive strap. Would be nice to see that as an option in the future, but now I have a great jubilee bracelet to dress it up if I need to. The watch runs a bit slow at around -6 seconds per day, which is well within the specs for the movement so I'm not too concerned. I'll just monitor it for a while to make sure there aren't any drastic discrepancies. Perfect diver for slender wrists!”
“I really like this watch. I had wanted to get an SKX013, but with them being discontinued, the price seems to have doubled. I actually think this watch is better in terms of the movement, band, crystal and just in general. Very happy.”
