Twinkling Stars
The highlight of the Zelos Blacktip Titanium Aventurine's design is the aventurine (also known as goldstone) dark blue glass dial infused with cobalt and filled with macroscopic reflective crystals that produce a myriad of glittering reflective colored specks that are strongly reminiscent of looking at twinkling stars in a clear night sky, which can be utterly mesmerizing. Zelos have raised the bar here by unusually including the same material in the bezel insert, a very welcome touch that really helps set these watches apart from other aventurine watches.
Originally a closely guarded Venetian invention that is difficult to produce, aventurine glass is generally considered to be a semiprecious gemstone, despite it's man made origin. It should not be confused with the mineral aventurine, a form of quartzite, which is named after the glass for it's similar shimmering aventurescence.
Hidden Benefits to Match
The engineering specifications for this 41mm dive watch is on a par with it's stellar good looks. Hidden benefits include a light but extremely strong titanium case and bracelet that have been surface hardened with a 1200 Vickers scratch resistant finish, which when combined with the scratch resistant domed sapphire crystal and robust high beat automatic movement with Parashock anti-shock protection and 200 meters water resistance rating, make this watch eminently suitable as a daily wear for even the most hardened adventurer.
On the comfort and convenience side, micro-adjustments to the bracelet length can easily be made on the go, without needing any tools, thanks to the hidden ratcheting diver's extension mechanism in the clasp. As we've come to expect from Zelos, the bracelet also features female end links for a better fit, quick release tool-less spring bars for each strap changes, and screwed links, for easy at-home resizing.
A particularly noteworthy refinement is the strong liberal application of Swiss Super-LumiNova lume in a very well thought out cyan (BGW9) and green (C3) two color scheme, with fantastic touches such as the hour hand and major indices being split into three sections with both colors applied, and a lumed screw-down crown.
