Just a little while ago I was made aware of a new watch club unlike any other called
The Keeper Box. This new club was not like the rest which you pay for mystery watch to be delivered to you either monthly or quarterly. With the mystery plan subscription there is always that chance that you don't really like what you get when you open your box. This leaves you with a couple of options to either accept it, sell it or trade it, most likely losing some money in most cases.
With The Keeper Box they do things a bit differently. The Subscription allows you to wear up to 9 watches per year for a low monthly cost. You do have to pay a single one time styling fee which goes away after your first year. The watches that are sent out are tailored to your specific criteria that you select yourself. The nice thing about this is that you can wear a watch for a few weeks and if you decide you like it you can purchase it for a set price depending on your plan. If you decide that its not a keeper then you simply return the watch within the specific time frame and your next one will ship within the next shipping period.
Now there are other benefits to this subscription model as you can receive free upgrades, spectacular deals on watches all without the risk of being stuck with something you don't like. If you want to learn more about The Keeper Box and the plans with some amazing watches you can click on the link below.
Now for the opening of The Keeper Box! I had chosen to go with the LUXE plan which has a up-front fee of $469 and $99 per month for watches between $725-$1300 a month. The box came packaged nicely with plenty of bubble wrap and tissue paper.
Included in each box is a card which tells you to share your experience on social media, how to ship it back or purchase it, and on the back if you are returning it a small questionnaire to fill out and put back into the box.
Now to my surprise I received and ALSTA Nautoscaph IV!
The ALSTA NAUTOSCAPH IV takes many of it queues from the original NAUTOSCAPH but with upgraded materials while keeping that retro look. I was always a big fan of ALSTA mainly due to JAWS the movie and especially RIchard Dreyfuss as Hopper wearing the Superautomatic with that porthole bracelet which I will discuss at the end. I was eager to dive into this watch and see if this would be a keeper or something to send back.
SPECS:
Case: 316L Marine grade brushed stainless steel
Dimensions: 40mm diameter case, 51.3mm lug to lug, 20mm lug size, 16.2mm thickness including crystal, 43.4mm.
Crown: Screw down, polished stainless steel
Bezel: PVD-coated steel, unidirectional
Dial: Matte black with applied C3 Super-LumiNova
Hands: Tapered sword with C3 Super-LumiNova. Orange seconds hand with C3 Super-LumiNova insert.
Movement: Automatic Seiko NH35A, 24 jewels.
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Caseback: Stainless steel, engraved
Glass: Sapphire crystal
Water-resistance: 999ft/300m
Shock Resistance: ISO 1413
Anti-magnetic: Field strength of 4,800 A/m (ISO 764 compliant)
Bracelet: Alsta “Valencia” bracelet with safety deployant clasp. 20mm at end tapering to 17.7mm
Moving up close to the dial everything is done quite well. There was minimal dust around the dial but nothing major. The C3 Super Luminova is applied generously and shines bright. The markers are all spaced evenly around the dial with e logo print being crisp and clear.
The date window at 3 o'clock is cut nicely and has a clean date wheel.
The hands are nicely finished which is always refreshing to see up close.
The PVD coated bezel has a great feel to it although for me feels a bit thin. The markers are clean and painted well with no overfill. The lumed pip was a bit off as seen below almost spilling over into the triangle. The one thing I found to be an issue for me was the bezel is extremely stiff. You really need to put in some strength to turn it
.
Brushing on the case is fine and smooth. The crown is easy to operate and grip with out much play.
The caseback is numbered and etched nicely, brushing around the bottom portion of the case is a bit thicker that the sides.
The Valencia Beads of Rice bracelet is just beautiful and the finishing is amazing. Very comfortable to wear and easy to adjust.
The clasp is very comfortable and comes with 4 micro adjustments. White not milled it is decent quality.
The watch wears nicely on my 7.5" inch wrist size but I could see people with anything smaller having issues with it wearing nicely on the wrist.
The lume is solid with no complaints or issues.
So with the ALSTA I found myself thinking for a few days if I would keep it or send it back. The watch retails for $795 but from The Keeper Box I would only pay $469 if I wanted to keep it. So I found myself really liking this watch but there was something holding me back from purchasing it, and that was the SuperAutomatic 50th anniversary edition or non anniversary edition. These versions have a much smaller case , porthole bracelet and much more appealing to me as these are basically a reissue of the watch Hopper wore in from the movie JAWS. So after a few days I decided to return it and search for the true JAWS watch.
With my experience this is what I really like about the the Keeper Box, I can wear it and enjoy it, return it or keep it. Sending back the watch I just had to fill out the card that came with the box as to why and drop it off at the post office after printing my own label. It was a very positive experience and allowed me to get up close with an ALSTA and what I should expect from the SuperAutomatic version if and when I should get one. Overall very happy and looking forward to my next watch.
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