Hands-On With The Angular Papar Cenote Titanium + Blue And Rose Gold Titanium
You’ve got to hand it to Papar Watch Co.; the young American brand certainly has a unique way of doing things. It all started with the radically brutalist Anillo GMT, and now the Cenote debuts. The Cenote Titanium + Blue and Rose Gold Titanium are dive watches with a design that builds on the angular, edgy case shape of the Anillo GMT. With the Cenote, Papar presents a Grade 2 titanium and ceramic 200m-water-resistant watch with a 40mm diameter and a lovely 10.9mm thickness. While larger than the Anillo, it’s still no giant. It’s also not a heavyweight. The Cenote, including the strap and buckle, weighs just 60 grams. These specs and looks call for a closer inspection.
The arrival of the Papar Anillo GMT a while back didn’t go unnoticed. The watch, equipped with a Miyota 9075 flyer-style GMT movement allowing you to set the hour hand independently, is a functional design piece. With its angular 36 × 43 × 12mm case, the proportions are different from what you typically see. The four new Cenote models speak the same design language but are probably easier to understand.
Hands-on with the angular Papar Cenote
The Papar Watch Company is the brand of husband-and-wife duo Josh (the designer) and Emily (the chief creative officer). The brand operates from the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, and the name Papar has roots in Mexico, where the brand was originally founded. Emily and Josh find inspiration in vintage watch design, brutalist architecture, and — please believe this — paper planes. The name is a combination of papel, meaning “paper,” in Spanish, and doblar, meaning “to fold” in the same language. You can indeed see the “folded” shapes of the Anillo’s case and, to a lesser extent, in the Cenote.
Photo by Dorian D1 on Unsplash
The Cenote is named after a natural depression, or sinkhole, formed when limestone collapses, exposing the aquifer. The term originates from the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, where the ancient Maya often used cenotes for water supplies and sometimes for sacrificial offerings.
You could certainly dive into a cenote with either iteration of the Cenote on your wrist, as these watches both have a 200m depth rating. Each colorway is limited to 100 numbered pieces, and they’re available now on Papar’s website. The 40mm case, with a 10.9mm thickness and 47mm lug-to-lug, is muscular and faceted, and it looks contemporary industrial when executed in gray titanium. With a rose gold PVD coating, however, it appears more 1970s retro-futuristic. The Cenote is not your run-of-the-mill dive watch, but it’s also not as controversial as the Anillo GMT that got the ball rolling for Papar.
Dive into that dial
A titanium case topped with a ceramic bezel insert is the starting point for the two Cenote models. You see a dive watch with a twist, but when you dive deeper, it gets even more twisty. I’m referring to the dial. First, the indexes are cutouts. A crescent moon with upward-pointing tips sits at 12 o’clock, and crisp triangular hands mark the hours and minutes. That’s not all. Throughout the month, the color of the indexes subtly shifts.
The automatic 4Hz Miyota 9015 powers a color-gradient date disc. Instead of 31 dates, you get various shades of blue or pink, changing the mood of your Cenote in a natural rhythm. It’s an evolution of Papar’s trademark color-changing logo, which debuted on the Anillo GMT, and it adds yet another touch of out-of-the-box creativity and fun to a type of watch everyone is very familiar with. Is a color-changing disc functional? No, it isn’t. Is it different? Yes, it is, and it’s also fun.
Wearing the Cenote Titanium + Blue and Rose Gold Titanium
The first thing I noticed when wearing either Cenote is that the watch has presence on the wrist. The cool Titanium + Blue model, with its blue sailcloth strap and titanium pin buckle, is the more outspoken of the two. Brushed gray titanium, combined with a matte blue 120-click unidirectional dive bezel, says “tool watch” in a compelling voice. The beige Super-LumiNova fumé dial is something special, and Papar claims it’s the first of its kind. Its beige tone softens the design in the light, and dynamic indexes shift color from a medium to a very light blue. In the dark, though, the dial’s lume glows brightest on the perimeter and slowly but surely fades toward the center. It’s a fascinating site, a treat for its wearer, and a nice talking point at the same time.
The Rose Gold Titanium version is the more classically toned Cenote of the two. Its case’s finishing is more traditional, with contrasting high-polished accents that highlight the angular lines. The gloss-black ceramic bezel insert and dial are in line with the shiny case details. The moving disc beneath the dial with its cutouts features sunset colors, giving the watch a tropical look.
The hands of the Cenote Rose Gold Titanium and Titanium + Blue are filled with green-glowing luminous material. More lume is on the bezel markings of the two Cenote models, but there, it glows white.
Choosing between the two Papar Cenote versions: heads or tails?
Choosing between the two Cenote dive watches is choosing between heads or tails. The engraving on the case back depicts a monster rising from the water. You need to put the two watches together to see the aquatic beast in full because the Rose Gold Titanium shows its head, while the Titanium + Blue shows its tail. So, heads or tails?
My choice would be the Titanium + Blue version with the gradient lume dial. This is the version that speaks to me more. Especially in the dark, this Cenote truly looks like a cenote into which you could dive and disappear. In both cases, a 40mm titanium watch that weighs just 60 grams, including the sailcloth strap, provides an effortless wearing experience. The price is also nice and light, by the way, at just US$995. The only thing that might take a bit of effort is getting used to the design of the Cenote. But if you dig the angular design language Papar speaks, you might be in for an interesting and ongoing conversation with your unusual dive watch.
