Hands-On With The New Circula ProSea
Circula, known for its collection of high-quality mechanical tool watches, recently presented its fourth diver. We put it through its paces on dry land and weren’t disappointed. Inspired by the brand’s ProTrail and ProFlight models, the ProSea combines conventional diving watch design with modern elements and techniques.
Hands-on with the new Circula ProSea Automatic
For the ProSea, Circula once again reached out to internationally renowned designer Guy Bove. Probably best known for his role as creative director at Breitling and TAG Heuer, Guy was the one who said, “Less is more, but too little is not always enough.” And that shows. Guy’s designs are often strikingly bold and legible. Ideal for tool watches, the dial design of the new ProSea does not disappoint in this regard either.
A manta-ray-skin-textured dial
As for the dial texture, Circula chose the skin of a manta ray. I had to think about where I’d seen “manta ray” and “dial” in one sentence before, but that was at one of Seiko’s King Samurai and Turtle models. Circula opted for an entirely different design approach, though, and it’s one I really like. The dial doesn’t feature a manta ray, but it does incorporate the manta ray’s skin texture. It resembles many small bubbles, somewhat similar to the structure of shark-skin leather straps that you might have seen. The dial appears spacious and open, and with a relatively narrow bezel, the watch may seem larger in diameter than it actually is.
A well-known case, now with a rotating bezel
As mentioned, the case design of the ProSea dial resembles that of Circula’s ProTrail and ProFlight models. It has the same shape and dimensions. However, the ProSea features a unidirectional, counterclockwise-rotating bezel, while the others don’t. The bezel has a scratch-resistant ceramic inlay. Its numbers and indexes are made with luminous Swiss Super-LumiNova C3 X1, which glows green. As befits a diving bezel, the numbers on the 120-click ball-bearing bezel increase to the right. A different color distinguishes the first 15 minutes from the other 45. The entire bezel is divided into minutes, perhaps inspired by the ISO 6425 dive standard.
Scratch-resistant everything
Having already mentioned the scratch resistance of the bezel inlay, there’s more to discuss on this subject. The entire 316L stainless steel case of the ProSea has been surface-hardened to 1,200 Vickers. This is a very welcome feature for a dive watch or for any tool watch, for that matter. Dive watches, specifically those used for their intended purpose, often unintentionally take bumps and hard hits, leaving them with dings and scratches. Particularly resistant to scratches, the Circula ProSea, with its special sand-textured milled recesses on the sides, will not suffer from that. With a 200m depth rating and a screw-down crown, the ProSea will be an appropriate companion for any (dive) adventure.
On such a scratch-resistant watch, the crystal is, of course, made of sapphire. In the case of the ProSea, it’s slightly domed and features three layers of antireflective coating on the inside to ensure clear visibility. The minute hand provides additional contrast with its C3 luminous filling. At the center of the watch, the glass rises 1.2mm above the 11.7mm-thick case, resulting in a reasonable 12.9mm total thickness. With a 40mm diameter and a 46mm lug-to-lug, the ProSea’s dimensions are compact for a 200m-water-resistant watch.
Solid case back
While ProSea’s dial may not show a manta ray, the case back does. It’s beautifully embossed and smoothed for comfort on the wrist. The case back, like the rest of the case, is also hardened. So is the screw-down crown, which bears the “C” from the Circula logo.
Movement and variations
Inside the ProSea, a reliable Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1a Elaboré automatic movement beats with a power reserve of 41 hours. At Circula’s workshop in Pforzheim, the accuracy has been adjusted to within -5/+7 seconds per day. The ProSea is available in three colors — blue, petrol, and anthracite. It comes standard with a durable black hybrid rubber strap or with an optional scratch-resistant steel bracelet featuring a quick-adjustment folding clasp.
Wearing experience and final thoughts
As I wore the Circula ProSea for a week, it became a friendly and reliable companion. I was often impressed by the good readability under virtually all conditions; thank you, Guy. The one I was able to test was the version with a blue dial and bezel. I’m not sure if that one or the one with the petrol dial and black bezel would be my favorite. The all-black version is probably the safest, but it wouldn’t be my choice because to me it’s too generic. Except for readability, the dial, with its many little bubbles, is the absolute star of the show. I don’t think anyone, without knowing, would immediately see a manta ray’s skin here, but the structure of it is almost mesmerizing. I can imagine that Circula chose “manta ray” for this ProSea’s dial variation since “little bubbles” might not be as appealing.
My test watch’s accuracy is also worth praising, as it was running at not even +2 seconds a day. And I want to applaud the quick fine-adjustment in the clasp. I used it more often than I expected. Because it’s so easy to operate, the fine adjustment is beneficial, allowing you to secure the watch snugly to your wrist.
As usual, the last thing I want to mention is the price. The ProSea costs €1,090 on a rubber strap or €1,290 on a hardened stainless steel bracelet, making it undoubtedly an attractive option. A 200m-rated watch with a hardened case, ceramic bezel, slightly domed sapphire crystal, and a Swiss-Made Elaboré-grade movement is challenging to find at this price point. There’s more to learn about the watch on Circula’s website.
