“I lusted over this watch for some time, before pulling the trigger. Can not be more pleased with the quality, design and experience. This is my second Islander watch, and I will certainly be acquiring more! I paired mine with their CLASP-02 and couldn't be more pleased. Such an improvement over my former Seiko SNXS79, though not at all a fair comparison.”
“The new ISL-36 is such a terrific watch that I actually bought two. Initially I bought the ISL-39 with the gray dial and fluted bezel. I loved it so much I went back for the black dial. The specs and quality combine to make this a daily wear champion.
What makes it so good:
1. The 38mm size is perfect for this watch. I have a 7" wrist, so I wear larger watches with no problem. However, IMHO this style is made for 38mm.
2, The quality of the styling and materials is exceptional. I love the excellent J style bracelet, the front and back sapphire crystal, the smooth bezel, the Miyota 9015 movement, and the 11mm thickness. I even think the applied Islander logo looks great. This watch is appropriate for any setting.
3. Terrific quality at an affordable price makes this my go-to daily wear watch. Also makes me wonder why the big brands charge so much for oftentimes lesser quality watches.
What could make it better:
1. I would love to see drilled lugs on future releases.
2. Offer an "O" style bracelet for this model.
3. A double domed crystal (my personal preference)
4. Offer a smooth and fluted bezels for all models in this line.
Bottom line, this Islander is a remarkable timepiece at a very affordable price. Well done Marc and everyone at Long Island Watch.”
“I looked for a nice 38mm dresswatch for a long time before i found this! Its a lot better than all the alternatives, Saphire glass, 38mm, 28800bpm, 100m water resistans! It fits like a glove on my 6-1/2" wrists, after wearing it a few weeks in -6s/day, Amazing!”
“I’ve had this watch for about a month and I am incredibly pleased. Resurrecting the SARB(esque) case is quite simply a stroke of genius as it’s one of the most iconic case designs in recent memory. The fact that the case has actually been slimmed down by using the Miyota movement makes it even better. I have small wrists (6.2”/15.7 cm) and the watch sits perfectly, although I’m sure it would look good on much larger wrists as well.
The dial is understated but well executed, as the applied markers appear to float on top of the matte black. The applied Islander logo is another outstanding detail. Finally, the star of the show is the fully aligned chapter ring...what a treat!!!
Other nice touches include the signed crown, the sapphire crystal, and, of course, the J-style bracelet which is simply outstanding.
Critiques? A couple. First, there was a small smudge on the brushing on one of the lugs that I didn’t notice until I’d been wearing the watch for a few days (and haven’t really noticed since). Also, I’m not crazy about the handset. I can’t give a specific reason why, so I’ll just say that in my opinion it’s the only tell that this is a $350 watch, not a $3,500 watch.
Overall, this is an outstanding effort, an outstanding value, and an outstanding watch that I very much recommend. Oh, and it keeps good time too (mine is running about -9 seconds/day).”
“I took delivery of the ISL-36 a few days ago & frankly I was a bit disappointed. The watch ( almost a complete homage to the SEIKO SARB 033) looks better in pictures than in real life. It is an unpleasant watch to look at, but somehow I expected that it would look if not better in person, at least equal to the website photos.
The real negative though was the bracelet. It looks pretty until you peal the stickers. It feels kind of " light weight " not as substantial as I expected & all edges are sharp. Sharp not to the point of cutting your skin, bur sharp enough to make wearing the watch uncomfortable.I took mine off the second day & put a leather strap on the watch, which improved things a lot.
Now you may say what do you expect for the price of $349.00 ? Well frankly I have bought watches from another microbrand based in Brooklyn N.Y. producing dive watches, who use much more refined bracelet on watches that cost around $200.00 to $ 332.00.”
“Incredible watch. High quality and solid attention to detail. Both durable and elegant. The movement is top notch, it runs about 5 second slow a day. Every design choice that went into this watch just makes sense. The only this I would change about this piece is that I would prefer the oyster style bracelet over the jubilee. If Marc decided to sell an oyster style bracelet for this watch, I'll be the first to pick it up!
One design choice I would like to recommend is a different color date wheel. All of the Islander watches have a standard white date wheel. It would be nice to see a black date wheel to go with a black dial.”
