Nodus Avalon Diver – $625 – $650
This thing ticks a ton of boxes. Produced by a micro brand in LA using Miyota guts, the Nodus Avalon is a 300m water resistant, automatic diver, with a really good looking cushion case, and an attention to small details that you’d expect in 300m divers much, much pricier.
43.5mm cushion case but wears smaller. Bezel width is 42mm. Lugs are 20mm.
I can’t even recall how I first heard about the brand. I know Huckberry has carried them in the past, but the Avalon diver is a new addition to their lineup and hasn’t been on Huckberry as of yet. That said, ordering from Nodus direct was easy. And I was super impressed when my new purchase showed up.
Assembled in LA with a Miyota heart beating inside.
Assembled in Los Angeles and running off a dateless, hacking, handwinding, Miyota 9039, the Nodus Avalon leans on a 42mm bezel / 43.5mm case width 1970s style cushion case that looks and feels great on the wrist. It wears smaller than the 43.5mm case diameter, and owners with average sized wrists should be plenty happy with how it looks and wears.
The full range of colors. Stainless or Matte Ceramic Bezels (+$25) available on each.
Lug width is 20mm, and the bracelet looks and feels great. No rickety feel here. Solid, but comfortable. That Miyota movement is one of the thinner automatics out there, so Nodus was able to cut down on the bulk, while still making a substantial feeling diver.
300m water resistance and a double domed sapphire crystal is greatly appreciated.
The crown is set at 4’oclock which… I mean, some of us just love a crown that’s not at 3 o’clock. I don’t know why, but it looks all kinds of right. That crown is also secure, yet not a pain in the ass to operate. It’s obvously a screw down at 300m of water resistance, and it threads easily, cinches great, and won’t rip up your fingers if you need to unscrew it and reset the time.
Lume is impressive. This was taken in a small shadow behind a couch.
Lume is incredible, as shown above. There is a greenish tint to the indices and hands that doesn’t quite come across as intense on their site, but the performance of that glow-in-the-darkness really is something. 300m water resistance means it’s built to take quite a bit, and you can get in a lake and thrash about and not worry about it. Which is nice. Sometimes one needs to take a break and… thrash about in a lake.
Knurled grip stations on the bezel. Brushed case and bezel with some polished edges.
The orange accents on the seconds hand and the AVALON model name at six o’clock are smart choices. The font of the brand and the logo itself are sporty but refined. The knurling on the 120 click unidirectional bezel is as functional as it is great looking.
Solid caseback. Terrific grip and action on the screw down crown which helps when it’s wet…
as demonstrated above with the water droplet hanging off the crown.
It is, quite frankly, a hell of a watch. Sometimes micro brands make weird looking stuff. Or watches that don’t feel as solid as they look in the promotional materials. That’s not the case with the Nodus Avalon. It is solid, it is handsome as hell, and it should find a prominent place in many a fella’s watch rotation.
Even if that rotation consists of just one watch. The Avalon could handle that job too.