An Introduction To BOLDR Watches

“Audentes Fortuna Juvat” – Fortune Favours the Bold. Or could that be the Boldr?

At ZULUDIVER we share your enthusiasm for adventure and all outdoor activities. Consequently, our watch straps are designed to cope with the toughest environments and any new equipment we offer must also meet the same stringent standards.

For some time, we have sought to align ourselves with a watch brand who share our passions and beliefs and earlier this year we were excited to discover our chosen partner – The Boldr Supply Company. Boldr will be a new brand to many ZD followers so let us introduce you to their world.

Based in Singapore, Boldr manufacture watches that are contemporary, functional, and built to be used and abused every day. We were immediately taken by the name - a clever play on words from an outdoor watch company looking to make an impression. Does the title refer to bold explorers seeking new challenges or is it a reference to the impressive presence of a million-year-old rock discovered while exploring?

There are many Boldr watch models which can be divided into two principal design genres: outdoor/adventure and pure diver.

Surface adventuring with Boldr

The Venture models are sub-divided into the Venture Automatic, Venture Field, Venture Medic, Venture Wayfarer, and the Venture GMT. These models all share a highly functional 38mm titanium case design with offset crown or a central crown and pushers for the chronograph variant. There are very close design parallels across the range, which builds a highly distinctive Venture family look. The base model Venture is a classic field watch design with either a Japan quartz or NH35 Seiko automatic movement. It is a solid, non-nonsense unit which draws inspiration from military field watch specifications and adds a contemporary twist to those designs. Ventures are available in multiple colours such as Carbon Black, Jungle Green, Navy Blue or Sand Storm.

All Venture watches have a water resistance of 200m and a screw-down crown with custom embossed Boldr logo. High legibility is further enhanced with Japanese Superlume and a flat sapphire crystal lens with anti-reflective coating. All Boldr Venture watches are supplied as standard on a Military Nylon Strap with custom titanium buckles.

As you move through the Venture range the models have additional complications beyond the standard field watch. The Medic is a chronograph watch with two highly specialized functions to measure pulse rates and respiratory counts. Powered by a SII VK64 Mecaquartz Chronograph movement the watch has clearly marked indexes and specific health-tracking scales to make it a valuable tool for professional medical staff, be they civilian or military.

The Wayfarer harks back to the classic world of exploration when the requirement for a 24hr sub-dial was the only guaranteed way to be sure that a critical radio call or timing checkpoint was not missed. Trekking the Arctic, where it is dark for six months of the year, it is remarkably easy to confuse 0700hrs with 1900hrs on an analogue watch. This is also a common dilemma for cave explorers and submariners. However, with the Venture Wayfarer this problem is eliminated due to the inclusion of an essential 24hr dial at the 9 o’clock position.

A GMT watch is still the global explorer’s best companion. If you are a regular traveller, once you start to use a GMT hand, it becomes a constant in your life. Powered by a Ronda 515.24H quartz movement and with the ability to show a second time zone, or be set to home time for a 24-hour function, the Boldr Venture GMT will serve you well as you navigate foreign lands and always give you a reassuring pointer to home.

If your tastes run to a more complex and larger classic field watch, then look no further than the Expedition I and II ranges, coming soon to ZULUDIVER. Named after famous mountains or deserts these outstanding 200m water resistant outdoor watches boast an impressive array of technical functions and capabilities. From independently operated compass bezels to aid navigation and full dial luminescence the Expedition range really has been designed with the explorer in mind.

Beating inside all Expedition watches is the bulletproof Sellita SW200. A Swiss automatic calibre widely considered to be the principal competitor to the ETA 2824. With a diameter of 25.6mm and a thickness of 4.6mm it is not overly large, which permits the neat dimensions of the Expedition I and II. The SW200 features a 38-hour power reserve, a vph of around 28,800 and an accuracy of +/- 12 seconds per day.

If you are tempted, for example, by an Expedition I Rub’ Al Khali for your next outdoor watch, then stay tuned to follow the exploits of Boldr Ambassador Jukka Viljanen who will be undertaking a trek across the Rub’ Al Khali “Empty Quarter” desert in early 2023 wearing an Expedition I for the journey. At ZULUDIVER we will bring you updates and images when Jukka’s amazing journey begins.

Sub-aquatic exploring with Boldr

If your adventures or profession take you under the waves, then Boldr also has your needs covered with their dive series – the Odyssey.

This range is is coming soon to ZULUDIVER in three principal models, the steel Freediver, a Bronze variant and the Regatta.

The 300m Freediver is a 40mm classic style diver but with many subtle design features we have come to expect from Boldr. Legibility and contemporary style work together making the Freediver a watch for all occasions. Inspired by the sheer will and bravery of freedivers who push to the limits, this watch honours those qualities.

The 316L stainless steel case and bracelet are of a design which has evolved beyond so many similar watches on the market today. The angular design is striking and reminiscent of a piece of essential sub-aqua equipment. The beautifully textured dial is uncluttered with unmistakable legibility and available in white, green, blue or red. Blue lume gives the watch excellent low light capability and a bright orange spear point second hand allows for accurate time keeping. The 120 click dive-compatible unidirectional bezel is made from ceramic to withstand scratches and long-lasting exposure to water. The Odyssey Freediver has a custom case back depicting the mythological Kraken sea monster depicting confidence to face the unknown of the deep.

Within the waterproof case beats an anti-magnetic Japanese Cal. 9015 Automatic movement with 42 hours of power and Parashock capability. The Boldr Odyssey Freediver fully meets ISO 6425 dive standard criteria and is a highly capable watch but if you want something truly special then it is also available on a limited basis with a meteorite dial extracted from fragments of the 4-billion-year-old Muonionalusta Meteorite, which was discovered in the Arctic Circle.

As we saw with the recent Watches and Wonders releases, Bronze is still very on trend and Boldr have adopted this material for the second model in the Odyssey range – the Bronze.

Whilst these watches retain the family name, they are very different in design to the Freedivers. The 45.5mm cases are made from CuSn8 bronze. CuSn8 is an alternate term for phosphor bronze, which is an alloy of copper, tin and around 0.30% phosphorus. This mix is highly specialised due to the low level of impurities, resistance to corrosion and minimal reaction to oxygen.

Bronze Odysseys are pure dive watches with 500m water resistance, triple lock crowns and professional helium escape valves. They are equipped with a unique powerful luminesce designated Lumicast. This is a '3D' lume due to the raised nature of the hour markers, which are built by combining ceramic parts with Super-LumiNova.

Powered by an SII NH35 movement with 24 jewels, a power reserve of 41 hours and additional protection from Seiko’s Diashock proprietary anti-shock system, Bronze models are also ISO certified.

Specially selected Druber fluoroelastomer rubber straps finish off these high-end aquatic units. Each model is limited to 100 pieces with individual serial numbers.

The Odyssey Regatta hails from the world of professional sailing and has a large wrist presence, measuring 45.5mm with a thickness of 18.2mm (including sapphire crystal) in a 316L stainless steel case with brushed finishes. The case also benefits from a 60-click bidirectional ceramic bezel, helium-escape valve, specialized nautical tachymeter and a triple-lock screw-down crown. It is limited to 100 models only.

Powering the Regatta is the venerable Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement with a 44-hour power reserve. This allows for seamless timekeeping while skimming the surface or exploring up to 500m (1650ft) beneath it. The admiral blue dial uses white boat-shaped skeleton hands that stand out without obstructing the sub dials. The hands, indices and tachymeter scale are all coated with Swiss Super-LumiNova for excellent legibility in any situation.

Boldr watches are an exciting addition to the ZULUDIVER portfolio and represent everything contemporary in the worlds of exploration and underwater time keeping. In keeping with ZULUDIVER’s philosophy the company are keen to give something back to the planet. Boldr are working towards using 80% sustainable, environmentally friendly materials in their products and packaging. They also donate a percentage of their profits to charity, with $30 from every sale of a Venture Field Medic going to COVID-19 relief funds. With the Venture range starting at just £269 and the Odyssey range peaking at a reasonable £1329 Boldr watches offer outstanding value for money, ruggedness, design flair and true technical capability and at ZULUDIVER we are proud to offer their watches.