The New Ianos Amfivios Is Like A Fish In Water On The Wrist

With the Avyssos, Mihanikos, and Dytis, the Greek brand Ianos completed its trilogy of dive watches. That’s what founder Jacob Hatzidimitriou thought, anyway. Then, last year, he released the Ianos OYK. That watch was developed exclusively for active members of Greece’s Underwater Demolition Command (DYK), including the Underwater Demolition Teams (OYK), the country’s most elite military unit. The 300 watches were commissioned by the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation (ACLCF) and given as tokens of appreciation to present and future OYK members for their ongoing service and dedication to their country. When Ianos’s fans caught wind of the release, they started asking for a civilian version of the OYK. That’s why Hatzidimitriou decided to make the Ianos Amfivios.

The great thing is that the Ianos Amfivios is essentially the same watch, except for its black color and the absence of the OYK denomination on the dial. Let’s take a closer look.

The civilian Ianos Amfivios

If you’re familiar with Ianos, you’ll probably recognize the peculiar design right away. The Amfivios’s 41mm bead-blasted case is made of Grade 2 titanium. It also features the nifty strap channel on the case back and the fixed strap bars. Fans greatly appreciate these practical design features, so it makes sense they’re on the Amfivios too. The watch has 49mm lug-to-lug and a 14.68mm thickness, including its domed, AR-coated sapphire crystal. A non-removable titanium case back makes this watch a front-loader and contributes to a 300m water resistance rating.

Inside the Amfivios is Sellita’s automatic SW360 movement. It runs at 28,800 vph, features 31 jewels, and has a power reserve of roughly 56 hours. You operate the movement through the Grade 2 titanium screw-down crown at 3 o’clock. A big difference from the previous Ianos divers is that the Amfivios’s bezel now contains numerals in relief. Before, the bezel was plain, with a simple sandblasted texture and no numerals. This is what makes the Amfivios unique in Ianos’s dive-watch lineup.

A heavily lumed dial

Another great feature of the Ianos Amfivios is its matte, slightly textured dial, which is a true lume spectacle. Just like the Ianos Dytis, its hour markers are shaped like diving stones and made of luminous material, along with the date frame at 12 o’clock and the minute track. This makes reading the time on the Amfivios in darker conditions a walk in the park, especially because the timing elements, like the hands and the lume pip in the bezel, are the same green, while the rest is all blue.

Even the printed logo, model name, and large markings in the running-seconds sub-dial are luminous, so you might even be able to use the Amfivios as a torch in the dark. Clearly, Ianos designed this watch as a functional tool; the sub-dial quickly tells you whether it’s running, and the broad hands make it easy to read the time, even without your glasses.

Like a fish in water on the wrist

On paper, the 41mm Ianos Amfivios might seem like quite a big “fish,” especially with its 14.68mm profile. However, its proportions work well across a wide range of wrist sizes. Even on my 17cm wrist, the Amfivios felt like a fish in water. The signature strap channel helps the case back sit flush on the wrist, while the single-pass rubber NATO holds the watch firmly in place. Even the fixed strap bars have the perfect channel for the strap to pass through, making the Amfivios an ergonomic marvel.

A fresh take on a proper contemporary dive watch

In the current landscape of luxury watches, the Amfivios feels fresh. It’s not made to impress you with its perfectly brushed and polished facets. Rather, it impresses with its deliberately thought-out design, which is functional above all else. As noted, the lightweight Grade 2 titanium case sits perfectly on any wrist, and one glance is enough to tell the time. The case shape and dial design are congruent, making it feel like a watch built for a specific purpose. That’s great because that’s probably also how it feels for military personnel to wear their Ianos OYKs.

You’ve probably already picked up on my enthusiastic tone throughout the article, but I really like the Ianos Amfivios. Again, it feels like a fresh take on contemporary dive watches. I also love that it’s so close to its professional sibling. When wearing this watch, I almost felt like one of those military frogmen. But as its name already suggests, the Amfivios works just as well on land as in water.

Not limited but not easy to get

The Ianos Amfivios is not a limited-edition watch. However, existing Ianos clients have already purchased the first 100 numbered pieces. The remaining 200 non-numbered pieces from this production batch will be available in the next few weeks. If there’s enough interest, Hatzidimitriou might initiate another production run. That’s not guaranteed, though, so if you like this watch, you’d better try to get your hands on one of those 200 pieces.

The Ianos Amfivios costs CHF 2,050 (ex. taxes) and comes with a black single-pass rubber NATO strap.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of the new Ianos Amfivios.