The Ocean Crawler Champion Diver Barracuda Point is one of the rare watches in the sub-$1000 price range ($949 to be exact) that I would consider a true everyday watch. Virtually all watches can be transformed by simply changing out the strap or band, but the Barracuda Point accomplishes this transformation better than any others I’ve worked with. Sure the full name is a mouthful to say, but man, what a watch.
The Barracuda Point manages to morph into a dressy-casual watch with a leather strap, a dive watch (which it is at heart) with a NATO strap, a vintage style watch with an appropriate leather or NATO strap, and the fourth style that I feel makes it unique – a sport watch with the available rubber straps. By combining all of these styles into one, I feel that this watch offers a great value for the quality and reliability that it also offers. As I mentioned before, yes other watches can have a strap changed out, but Ocean Crawler watches do this effortlessly. My personal example is when my wife first saw the watch with the rubber sport strap (my personal favorite) which she hated. I switched it out with a brown leather strap without her knowing and showed her later to which she stated it was one of her favorites.
With only 75 of these pieces produced, Ocean Crawler powers the Barracuda Point with a Caliber OC729 – modified Seiko 4R36b – movement. It has an increased power reserve of 44 hours instead of the standard 41 hours. Each watch passes ten different drop tests along with water resistance testing surpassing 1000 feet before being sent to customers, including a high impact hammer test. Ocean Crawler claims the following about their testing. “This shock testing equipment submits the watch to an impact equivalent to 6,000 G – Hundreds of times more than a car crash test. Yet the watch has to remain unharmed and fully functional afterwards, maintaining a high standard of accuracy”.
My absolute favorite feature on this watch is the 4.50mm domed sapphire crystal that adds a vintage element to the overall appearance. The simple 120-click unidirectional bezel complements the crystal and face and a very nice movement with no play or wiggle. The bezel and case are black PVD finished 316L stainless steel and have a diameter of 44.2mm excluding the crown. Case thickness is 15mm, 51.8mm lug to lug, and fits with 22mm straps. A lancette-dauphine style on the hour and minute hands accompanied by excellent lume really stands out in a positive way against the flat black watch face. Little touches of orange on the second hand, minute hand, and Barracuda Point signature contrast well with the greenish tint of the luminous dial markers. Ocean Crawler manages to fit their logo, the watch model and name, date window, water rating, and automatic indicator on the dial without cluttering it. That alone is no small feat to me.
Another interesting fact about the dial is that the color (black) represents the water color of the dive site at Barracuda Point. Other watches in the collection – Blade Wakatobi and Kona Mantas – have their own colors represented. Each watch comes with a black NATO strap and an additional brown leather band. There are also rubber sport straps available for an additional cost. Remember, each item in all three Champion Diver categories is limited to a small number of pieces so if you’re interested in picking one up don’t wait too long.
*All images courtesy of the author
