Joined
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11,594 Posts
Name of Reviewer: Mark (AKA andrema)
Watch Reviewed: Florijn Drie (Three)
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Company Contact Information:
Phone: +31-85-0021354
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.en.florijnhorloges.nl/collection.php
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/florijnhorloges
About Florijn from the company website:
Background
In 2014 FLORIJN introduced its first watch model. Passionate watch lover Hans Heuvelman had taken the initiative; his passion for watches stemming from the fact that time is one of the most precious things on earth (and everyone here seems to be in chronically short supply of it). This wealth deserves to be carried around in a way that fits its value, with mechanical ingenuity. A watch offers this possibility!
After having collected, viewed, assessed, purchased and sold watches for many years, the time had come to translate this experience into their own watch brand.
The name
FLORIJN is of Dutch origin. The first guilder (in Dutch gulden, meaning ‘golden’) was called FLORIJN, after the Florentine lily from the arms of the city of Florence, where in 1252 the first major golden coinage since the Carolingian period was minted. With FLORIJN we wanted to refer to all the good that the Netherlands have produced without being nationalist. We think of Dutch landscapes, beautiful buildings and architecture (Berlage, Rietveld, Koolhaas), dikes, dams and embankments. Traditions of tolerance, salesmanship and conviviality. FLORIJN feels at home in all these circumstances. And FLORIJN finds its way across borders, as the Dutch have always done. As a companion who travels with you, whether for business or leisure.
Design and vision
As a Dutch brand we are inspired by Dutch Design, something we are famous for worldwide. FLORIJN wants its own place in this tradition. In general, Dutch Design is described as ‘simple and powerful’, without being simplistic. This is expressed in clean lines and functionality without any frills.
Our objective is to offer a pleasant, comfortable, affordable and reliable watch; clearly indicating the time and date and suitable to wear in any circumstance.
Quality and reliability is established by using materials like stainless steel and sapphire glass. Also our choice for a reliable and durable mechanical Seiko movement, so no batteries are needed anymore. Since the watch is waterproof for 300 meters (30 ATM), the watch can be used in all humid circumstances. Your FLORIJN went through a quality assurance process before it will be send to you.
Because of our cost structure and our direct relationship with suppliers and factories, we can offer you the most value for money with FLORIJN.
Stock image:
Watch Specifications:
· Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel
· Case Diameter (mm): 45.0
· Case Length Total (mm): 53.0
· Case Thickness (mm): 14.1
· Crystal Material: Sapphire
· Dial Color: Black
· Screw-down Crown
· Crown Diameter (mm): 7.0
· Strap Material: 316L Stainless Steel
· Lug Width (mm): 24.0
· Movement: Seiko NH 35
· Water Resistance: 30 ATM / 300 Meters
Price: $395 (€351) UPDATE - $354 (€326)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florijn is a Dutch watch company that was founded in 2014. Their first model is simply named "Florijn" and it comes in three model variations . For this watch review, the company has donated one of its Florijn Drie diver models for review. This is a stainless steel diver, with an automatic movement, sapphire crystal and black, DLC finish.
Florijn Drie Diver
Packaging:
The Florijn packaging is actually rather nice given the price point of the Drie diver watch. The padded watch box is covered in a nice, black textured material with a "pebbled" surface. It appearance is quite unique and soft to the touch.
On the top of the top lid the Florijn logo is printed in a red metallic finish, which gives the box a nicely finished appearance. The inside of the box is lined with black velour throughout all of its surfaces. The inside of the lid has an elastic pocket, which holds the watches warranty as well as other as other information regarding operation of the watch.
Case and Crystal:
The Drie's case is constructed of 316L stainless steel and has a DLC ("diamond like carbon") coating. The case has a nice brushed finish along the entire case surface, with a more textured brushing on the case sides and a more fine brushing along its tops surfaces. The finishing on the case looks very nice and is consistently applied throughout the watch. The overall case shape itself is a fairly traditional design, but with the beefier dimensions and scale of a tool dive watch.
The Drie’s sapphire crystal sits just above the surface of the watch's bezel. At the six o'clock position, there is a "loupe" or date magnifier installed. This is a feature on many watches that is quite polarizing, with proponents on each side of this design feature. Fortunately, Florijn has addressed this matter straight on and is now offering their models with the option of no-loupe/magnifier. This will be covered in a bit more detail, with photos, below.
The Florij's DLC coated bezel has a glossy, polished finish, which is a nice contrast to the brushed surface of the case. The bezel design is rather unique, with dual-purpose bezel insert scales as well as an 8-notched grip design. The brushed bezel insert contains a countdown diver's scale as well as a 12-hour scale for tracking time in dual time zones. The insert has a rather busy design, however, if you can get past this, it is actually very practical in its approach to the functionality as well as real life use of the watch.
The bezel action of the watch is very nice, with no play and firm clicks though out the entire 120 positions.
The watch's 316L stainless steel screw-in case back is finished in a DLC coating and has a fairly simple design. The field of the case back is polished, with the matte center. The Florijn logo is engraved into the center of the case back and the watch's technical information engraved in a circular pattern around the outside of the matte center area.
The Drie has a nicely sized, 7.0mm crown, with the Florijn logo engraved into its polished end. The crown is fairly easy to manipulate when setting the time and it has a nice, smooth feel as well as nice action.
Dial and Hands:
The dial is flat black in color with large, raised hour markings and company logo painted in red at the 12 o'clock position on the dial. In addition, there is a beveled date window at the 6 o'clock position, with a large cyclops above it to magnify the date. As you can see from the photos below, the dial of the Three Diver includes some nice details, such as an integrated chapter ring.
The hands are traditional baton hands. They have a white painted frame and white Superluminova luminous paint applied. The bright white tone of the hands coordinates nicely with the marker color and makes it extremely easy to read against the black dial of the watch.
One nice feature included with the watch is the chapter ring. The ring includes a 60 second/minute scale as well as notched sections to integrate the ring with the 3D hour markers and the dial. As you can see in the photo below, these details are quite nice in appearance and crate a very unique look for the watch.
As you can see from the photos, the Superluminova used on the dial and hands has a nice greenish tone. The lume is fairly bright when fully charged, but tends to fade quickly. As you can see from the photos below, when it is fully charged it glows nicely.
Straps:
The Drie comes with a custom silicone rubber strap installed. The 22mm strap is designed with a ribbed design along its length and includes matching black stitching around its perimeter. The strap includes recessed channels along its underside to provide comfort and to allow air circulation to your wrist while being worn. Despite its 5mm thickness, the strap is actually quite supple and conforms nicely to the wrist when worn. However, due to its silicone composition, the strap tends to gather lint easily and requires some maintenance to keep clean.
In addition to the rubber strap, the watch is sold with a red and black NATO strap as well as a black leather strap (stock photo below).
The strap comes with a DLC coated buckle. The buckle has a nice brushed finish and has Florijn logo engraved into its surface.
Movement:
Seiko NH 35
The Florijn comes equipped with a Seiko NH 35 automatic movement, which winds and hacks. This movement is a widely used and dependable movement that is used across the industry.
• Manufacturer Seiko
• Caliber Number: NH35A
• Movement Type: Automatic – 24 Jewel
• Vibrations Per Hour: 21,600 bph
• Shock System
• Power Reserve: 41 hours
• Winding Direction: Bi-directional
• Hacking? Yes
• Diameter 27.40mm (outside) / 29.36mm (casing)
• Height 5.32mm
• Functions Hours, minutes, central seconds, date calendar
• Country of Manufacture Japan/Malaysia
For more information on the movement, visit this link: http://calibercorner.com/seiko-caliber-nh35a/
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Wrist Shots:
For reference purposes, my wrist is 7.25 inches.
The Drie measures 45.0mm in diameter and 53.0mm in length. With these dimensions, the watch is a fairly robust watch. Despite its oversized dimensions, the watch's short, downward sloping lugs make it wear very comfortably on the wrist.
Overall, this watch looks very nice on the wrist and has a unique overall appearance in person.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall impression and final thoughts:
The Florijn Drie (Three) Diver has a very unique design. Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of the watch and its design elements make it distinctive amongst the wide selection of divers in the market today. The finishing throughout the watch and the components utilized are very nice. Given this is the first model produced by Florijn, the watch is very well thought out and the total package provided is a good value at $395.
While preparing my review and evaluating the watch, I noticed a few features that could be improved or changed to accentuate the look and/or functionality of the watch. As I do with all of my reviews, I have compiled these points and have listed them below. Please note, these points are fairly nit-picky and the watch has a nice design and quality notwithstanding these few points:
· As it is currently designed, the bezel insert is rather busy looking. I would have preferred if they offered two separate bezel options (or include two bezels) to cater to the needs of the wearer. I prefer divers bezels, so I would have preferred to see a more traditional styled bezel insert on the watch. However, as the bezel insert is currently laid out, it offers the wearer more functionality, which I understand is the intent of the Florijn designers.
· In addition to the bezel insert layout, I would have also preferred to have an illuminated pip included on the bezel. This would allow better functionality of the divers bezel in low light conditions.
· The watch currently includes a silicone strap installed. This strap material tends to attract and hold lilt and other debris. It would be a nice upgrade for the watch to change the strap to a caoutchouc rubber strap, which would eliminate the lint issues and need to constantly clean off the strap while worn.
· The watch reviewed is a model, which includes the magnifier cyclops for the date at 6. Although in person the appearance of the loupe isn't too distracting, I prefer the cleaner look of the new optional non-cyclops models. I feel this helps to better balance the watch and provides it with a much more streamlined design.
As I said previously, these points are fairly minor or nit-picky and are definitely not "deal breakers" for me.
Well, that concludes my review …Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments ~ Mark
Watch Reviewed: Florijn Drie (Three)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Company Contact Information:
Phone: +31-85-0021354
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.en.florijnhorloges.nl/collection.php
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/florijnhorloges
About Florijn from the company website:
Background
In 2014 FLORIJN introduced its first watch model. Passionate watch lover Hans Heuvelman had taken the initiative; his passion for watches stemming from the fact that time is one of the most precious things on earth (and everyone here seems to be in chronically short supply of it). This wealth deserves to be carried around in a way that fits its value, with mechanical ingenuity. A watch offers this possibility!
After having collected, viewed, assessed, purchased and sold watches for many years, the time had come to translate this experience into their own watch brand.
The name
FLORIJN is of Dutch origin. The first guilder (in Dutch gulden, meaning ‘golden’) was called FLORIJN, after the Florentine lily from the arms of the city of Florence, where in 1252 the first major golden coinage since the Carolingian period was minted. With FLORIJN we wanted to refer to all the good that the Netherlands have produced without being nationalist. We think of Dutch landscapes, beautiful buildings and architecture (Berlage, Rietveld, Koolhaas), dikes, dams and embankments. Traditions of tolerance, salesmanship and conviviality. FLORIJN feels at home in all these circumstances. And FLORIJN finds its way across borders, as the Dutch have always done. As a companion who travels with you, whether for business or leisure.
Design and vision
As a Dutch brand we are inspired by Dutch Design, something we are famous for worldwide. FLORIJN wants its own place in this tradition. In general, Dutch Design is described as ‘simple and powerful’, without being simplistic. This is expressed in clean lines and functionality without any frills.
Our objective is to offer a pleasant, comfortable, affordable and reliable watch; clearly indicating the time and date and suitable to wear in any circumstance.
Quality and reliability is established by using materials like stainless steel and sapphire glass. Also our choice for a reliable and durable mechanical Seiko movement, so no batteries are needed anymore. Since the watch is waterproof for 300 meters (30 ATM), the watch can be used in all humid circumstances. Your FLORIJN went through a quality assurance process before it will be send to you.
Because of our cost structure and our direct relationship with suppliers and factories, we can offer you the most value for money with FLORIJN.
Stock image:
Watch Specifications:
· Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel
· Case Diameter (mm): 45.0
· Case Length Total (mm): 53.0
· Case Thickness (mm): 14.1
· Crystal Material: Sapphire
· Dial Color: Black
· Screw-down Crown
· Crown Diameter (mm): 7.0
· Strap Material: 316L Stainless Steel
· Lug Width (mm): 24.0
· Movement: Seiko NH 35
· Water Resistance: 30 ATM / 300 Meters
Price: $395 (€351) UPDATE - $354 (€326)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florijn is a Dutch watch company that was founded in 2014. Their first model is simply named "Florijn" and it comes in three model variations . For this watch review, the company has donated one of its Florijn Drie diver models for review. This is a stainless steel diver, with an automatic movement, sapphire crystal and black, DLC finish.
Florijn Drie Diver
Packaging:
The Florijn packaging is actually rather nice given the price point of the Drie diver watch. The padded watch box is covered in a nice, black textured material with a "pebbled" surface. It appearance is quite unique and soft to the touch.
On the top of the top lid the Florijn logo is printed in a red metallic finish, which gives the box a nicely finished appearance. The inside of the box is lined with black velour throughout all of its surfaces. The inside of the lid has an elastic pocket, which holds the watches warranty as well as other as other information regarding operation of the watch.
Case and Crystal:
The Drie's case is constructed of 316L stainless steel and has a DLC ("diamond like carbon") coating. The case has a nice brushed finish along the entire case surface, with a more textured brushing on the case sides and a more fine brushing along its tops surfaces. The finishing on the case looks very nice and is consistently applied throughout the watch. The overall case shape itself is a fairly traditional design, but with the beefier dimensions and scale of a tool dive watch.
The Drie’s sapphire crystal sits just above the surface of the watch's bezel. At the six o'clock position, there is a "loupe" or date magnifier installed. This is a feature on many watches that is quite polarizing, with proponents on each side of this design feature. Fortunately, Florijn has addressed this matter straight on and is now offering their models with the option of no-loupe/magnifier. This will be covered in a bit more detail, with photos, below.
The Florij's DLC coated bezel has a glossy, polished finish, which is a nice contrast to the brushed surface of the case. The bezel design is rather unique, with dual-purpose bezel insert scales as well as an 8-notched grip design. The brushed bezel insert contains a countdown diver's scale as well as a 12-hour scale for tracking time in dual time zones. The insert has a rather busy design, however, if you can get past this, it is actually very practical in its approach to the functionality as well as real life use of the watch.
The bezel action of the watch is very nice, with no play and firm clicks though out the entire 120 positions.
The watch's 316L stainless steel screw-in case back is finished in a DLC coating and has a fairly simple design. The field of the case back is polished, with the matte center. The Florijn logo is engraved into the center of the case back and the watch's technical information engraved in a circular pattern around the outside of the matte center area.
The Drie has a nicely sized, 7.0mm crown, with the Florijn logo engraved into its polished end. The crown is fairly easy to manipulate when setting the time and it has a nice, smooth feel as well as nice action.
Dial and Hands:
The dial is flat black in color with large, raised hour markings and company logo painted in red at the 12 o'clock position on the dial. In addition, there is a beveled date window at the 6 o'clock position, with a large cyclops above it to magnify the date. As you can see from the photos below, the dial of the Three Diver includes some nice details, such as an integrated chapter ring.
The hands are traditional baton hands. They have a white painted frame and white Superluminova luminous paint applied. The bright white tone of the hands coordinates nicely with the marker color and makes it extremely easy to read against the black dial of the watch.
One nice feature included with the watch is the chapter ring. The ring includes a 60 second/minute scale as well as notched sections to integrate the ring with the 3D hour markers and the dial. As you can see in the photo below, these details are quite nice in appearance and crate a very unique look for the watch.
As you can see from the photos, the Superluminova used on the dial and hands has a nice greenish tone. The lume is fairly bright when fully charged, but tends to fade quickly. As you can see from the photos below, when it is fully charged it glows nicely.
Straps:
The Drie comes with a custom silicone rubber strap installed. The 22mm strap is designed with a ribbed design along its length and includes matching black stitching around its perimeter. The strap includes recessed channels along its underside to provide comfort and to allow air circulation to your wrist while being worn. Despite its 5mm thickness, the strap is actually quite supple and conforms nicely to the wrist when worn. However, due to its silicone composition, the strap tends to gather lint easily and requires some maintenance to keep clean.
In addition to the rubber strap, the watch is sold with a red and black NATO strap as well as a black leather strap (stock photo below).
The strap comes with a DLC coated buckle. The buckle has a nice brushed finish and has Florijn logo engraved into its surface.
Movement:
Seiko NH 35
The Florijn comes equipped with a Seiko NH 35 automatic movement, which winds and hacks. This movement is a widely used and dependable movement that is used across the industry.
• Manufacturer Seiko
• Caliber Number: NH35A
• Movement Type: Automatic – 24 Jewel
• Vibrations Per Hour: 21,600 bph
• Shock System
• Power Reserve: 41 hours
• Winding Direction: Bi-directional
• Hacking? Yes
• Diameter 27.40mm (outside) / 29.36mm (casing)
• Height 5.32mm
• Functions Hours, minutes, central seconds, date calendar
• Country of Manufacture Japan/Malaysia
For more information on the movement, visit this link: http://calibercorner.com/seiko-caliber-nh35a/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wrist Shots:
For reference purposes, my wrist is 7.25 inches.
The Drie measures 45.0mm in diameter and 53.0mm in length. With these dimensions, the watch is a fairly robust watch. Despite its oversized dimensions, the watch's short, downward sloping lugs make it wear very comfortably on the wrist.
Overall, this watch looks very nice on the wrist and has a unique overall appearance in person.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall impression and final thoughts:
The Florijn Drie (Three) Diver has a very unique design. Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of the watch and its design elements make it distinctive amongst the wide selection of divers in the market today. The finishing throughout the watch and the components utilized are very nice. Given this is the first model produced by Florijn, the watch is very well thought out and the total package provided is a good value at $395.
While preparing my review and evaluating the watch, I noticed a few features that could be improved or changed to accentuate the look and/or functionality of the watch. As I do with all of my reviews, I have compiled these points and have listed them below. Please note, these points are fairly nit-picky and the watch has a nice design and quality notwithstanding these few points:
· As it is currently designed, the bezel insert is rather busy looking. I would have preferred if they offered two separate bezel options (or include two bezels) to cater to the needs of the wearer. I prefer divers bezels, so I would have preferred to see a more traditional styled bezel insert on the watch. However, as the bezel insert is currently laid out, it offers the wearer more functionality, which I understand is the intent of the Florijn designers.
· In addition to the bezel insert layout, I would have also preferred to have an illuminated pip included on the bezel. This would allow better functionality of the divers bezel in low light conditions.
· The watch currently includes a silicone strap installed. This strap material tends to attract and hold lilt and other debris. It would be a nice upgrade for the watch to change the strap to a caoutchouc rubber strap, which would eliminate the lint issues and need to constantly clean off the strap while worn.
· The watch reviewed is a model, which includes the magnifier cyclops for the date at 6. Although in person the appearance of the loupe isn't too distracting, I prefer the cleaner look of the new optional non-cyclops models. I feel this helps to better balance the watch and provides it with a much more streamlined design.
As I said previously, these points are fairly minor or nit-picky and are definitely not "deal breakers" for me.
Well, that concludes my review …Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments ~ Mark
I remember reading about Florijn not too long ago, and thought they sounded like a great company, and made some really great watches also. Now can see that is all true. Wow, awesome Mark !!! :smile-thumb: What honestly impresses so much is how Florijn seems like they were able to make such a different looking design all the way around. I mean every part of the watch from the lugs, to the bezel, and date cylops work so well, and make the watch stand out. While at the same time being almost classic, and in a category of many of the famous German watch designs. Think it honestly is pretty remarkable. Even that strap is something special ! 
