NTH Barracuda Vintage Black: an in-depth review

Once upon a time an entry level watch collector overly attached to Seiko, who didn’t care much for the whole micro-brand wave for not seing its point or added value. Then came Basel 2019, and what I call Seiko’s crazy repositioning in prices. All of a sudden, the value proposition from micro-brands made more sense to me!

I spent countless hours on the internet and on social media, trying to figure which brand and model would find its way on my wrist next. The choice wasn’t an easy one, given the number of micro-brands that burgeoned in the recent years. It was further complicated by new language, technical codes and normes to get familiar with before making a comparative decision.

I finally decided to go the safe way, settling for an hommage to my absolute grail when it comes to diver watches: the Tudor Black Bay 58. This drastically narrowed the options, most brands deciding to inspire themselves from Rolex rather than Tudor when it comes to their hommage offerings. I therefore signed-up to the SeriousWatches mailing list, and pulled the trigger spending 600 Euros on an NTH Barracuda in Vintage Black. Let’s get straight to business and take a closer look at this beast!

❖ NTH Barracuda: Case

The case profile of NTH Subs is relatively flat, with lugs curving only at their very end. This gives the lugs a rather long look seen from the top

 

Dimensions: The case of the Barracuda is of reasonable size, with only 40mm of width and only 11,5 mm of height, thanks to the svelte Miyota 9015 movement it houses. Its lug to lug dimensions are a wearable 48mm, and it’s lug-width a versatile 20 mm that will please strap lovers.

Overall shape: I’m a little puzzled by the case shape. At first glance, it faithfully mimics the case of the Rolex Submariner. A closer from its side however reveals subtle differences, notably on the lugs. As they sit with relatively little curvature on an otherwise flat case, they look longer than they really are from a top perspective, while a glance from the side reveals that they are actually very short, and barely protrude from the case. This will be a problem for people who enjoy wearing their watches on thick Zulu straps, as they probably won’t fit here.

Case finishing: The case is brushed everywhere except for small polished bevels which are polished. The quality of this finishing is on par to most watches at this price bracket: relatively good, with no sharp edges, and comparable to what one gets on a Seiko Sumo which used to be a reference in its price bracket even before the later was significantly reduced.

Case-back: The closed case-back ensuring a 30 ATM water resistance rating is as plain as they come, which is in line with what Tudor usually does. This being said, the detailing that lacks on a Tudor’s back is largely compensated by exquisite detailing and finishing on the rest of the watch. On the NTH, the finishing is good enough, but not to the point where it makes up for the lack of detailing on its back. This being a “fun” watch from a micro-brand, I wish it came with some sort of engraving in the back.

The back of this case is as plain as they come, in line with the original Tudor’s back. A meh from me on this, as this is not a Tudor but a fun microbrand watch!

Crown guards: There are no crown-guards on the case of the Barracuda, which doesn’t bother me much, but also somehow disqualifies the NTH as a “toolwatch”, particularly as the crown protrudes quite a bit from the case, exposing it to eventual hits and knocks.

No crown guard on the Barracuda, but a very nice crown that falls well in the hand in return!

Conclusion on the case: Overall, the case of the NTH Barracuda is well built, comfortable and fun to wear. It’s reasonable size makes it easy on the wrist despite its straight shape, and its thick lugs make for a larger wrist presence than its diameter would suggest. It’s however worth noting that the level of finishing of the case doesn’t have much over a Seiko Sumo that can be had for 400 USD, and that the corners cut on the finishing of the case-back are a little disappointing for a watch that plays the “fun” card instead of the “refined” one like the BB58 does. I would have loved to see a stamped barracuda there! Last thing that can come as a negative here is the shortness of the lugs, which won’t accommodate thick straps like Zulus, reducing the versatility of the standard (20mm) lug-width. This being said, I wouldn’t want to end on a negative note, as these are small nit-picks. I overall really enjoy the case and its finishing.

The goodies:

– Good size and proportions

– Finishing as expected for the price point

– Design based on the iconic and versatile Submariner

– Comfortable on the wrist

– Good wrist presence despite a conservative size of 40mm

The less good:

– To my tastes at least, the brushing could be a little deeper and more visible

– The design of the lugs, and their small curvature make them look longer than they are, particularly on the bracelet, while leaving limited space for thicker straps

– The case-back couldn’t be plainer, which I don’t mind on a watch that has the overall finishing of a Tudor, but I find to be a missed opportunity on a micro-brand watch of this price-point, and “fun” identity

– No crown-guards, this can bother some, I’m happy with it this way, particularly as I wear the watch on my right wrist.

❖ Dial & Hands

To BB58, or not to BB58? The dial of the Barracuda model is (very) inspired from Tudor’s BB58 model, with its snowflake hour and seconds hand, its circular indexes except for batons at 3, 6 and 9, and reversed triangle at 12. There are, however, small differences between the Vintage Black Barracuda and the Tudor BB58: the slightly larger size, the deep black PVD coated bezel, and the fact that indexes aren’t applied the traditional way (painted or framed and applied) on the dial, but rather sit on a deeper, sandwich style guilt layer. The same goes for the outer minutes rail, the NTH logo at 12 and for the “300 meters” writing at 6. While subtle, these changes make for a quite different “feel” to the watch, making it a more “fun” and less “refined” wear than the BB58.

A dial closely inspired by the BB58, but with subtle differences

There are libraries for those who enjoy long texts: the dial is uncluttered with unnecessary markings or gimmicks. These are kept to a minimum (a nice contract with the original BB58) and recessed, particularly the red font used for the “Barracuda” marking, reminesent of the red used on the triangle at 12 on the bezel. I personally chose the no date version to keep the dial even cleaner, but a date wouldn’t do too much harm on such uncluttered dial.

Read better with snow on your hands: The hands of the NTH are strictly inspired by the ones from the Tudor in their shape: a thick snowflake hour hand, a thinner pencil shaped minutes hand, and an even thinner seconds hand with a snowflake. All hands are of guilt colour with generous lume applications. This handset is iconic, and for a good reason: while in terms of looks, people either love or hate it, no one can argue that this is one of the most legible set of hands ever produced. I personally happen to be on the side that loves its looks, so I couldn’t be happier with what I see!

Despite the sapphire being flat and the dial catching the light easily, the Barracuda remains legible at all angles thanks to snowflake!

To lume, or to lume even more: The NTH Barracuda is very generously lumed, much more so than the Tudor it inspires itself from; this gives the watch a bit of a personality of its own, and adds to the “funkier-more fun” wear feeling it has versus the original Black Bay. All indexes and hands glow from a very bright green I can only guess is C3 Superluminova in the dark. This is also the case for all markers on the bezel, but of course not for the guilt minutes rail – lets not push the vice too far! To my eyes, this is the perfect balance that makes the Barracuda a fun watch without going over the edge and becoming too sporty – which would have been the case with a lumed minutes rail, or a lumed 15 minutes countdown on the bezel. NTH offers these options on other models for the lume freaks out there, but I’m happy it stayed somehow more conventional on the Barracuda. Last but not least, the crown is, as advertised, also filled with lume. This is however more gimmicky, the application seems lighter on the crown’s metal, and it can hardly be seen, even after charging it with the watch sitting on its side. Good to know it’s there, but not something one will notice on a daily wear.

Conclusion on the dial: Overall, I really enjoy the dial of the Barracuda. The combination of round/baton indexes, snowflake hands and utilitarian minutes rail make for extremely good legibility. While the dial itself is of a very nice, deep and matt black, the used technique for the guilt application make for a slight sunburst effect when playing with the light. All together taken, this makes for a mixture of classic and funky dial that screams versatility.

I am however a picky person, or maybe I should even say “always unsatisfied”, and there are small subjective aspects of this dial that could, in my very humble and personal opinion, be improved. These have to do with the used technique for the guilt application. While I really enjoy it on the markings (logo+wr) and minutes rail, I do wish the indexes were of the classic guilt metal circling. As they stand, they look proportionally a tad too small at most angles bare the perfect one where the guilt application is the most visible. Also, while this application on the indexes gives the watch a more “fun” and “dynamic” feel, it doesn’t serve to make it look as refined as the original design of the indexes on the Tudor. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it makes it look “cheap”, far from it! I just think that raised guilt indexes would add some refinements to the mostly “fun” nature of this watch.

Goodies:

– Very good legibility

– Attractive deep black on the dial

– Original guilt application that make for a more dynamic dial

– Uncluttered dial with little markings on it

– Lovely snowflake hands

– Date and no date versions available

– Strong superluminova make reading the watch in the pednumbera a pleasure

Less goodies:

– Hard to find any objective flaw in such an iconic dial and hands design. Very subjectively, I find that the guilt application, while pleasing and making the dial more dynamic, doesn’t make it look more refined from similar dials with regular inserts as indexed

– It’s difficult to get away from the “it’s a Tudor copy” debate with a dial and case so closely inspired from the BB58. I can perfectly understand that, as strangely enough I wouldn’t see myself wearing a strict Rolex Sub hommage like a Steinhart. Yet, I feel the “hommage” bit less on the NTH, probably for very subjective -and therefore wrong in a review that tries to remain as objective as possible- reasons. Still, this watch feels like it tries to be much more “fun” and less “refined” than its original, something in which it succeeds.

❖ Movement

Disclaimer: The NTH is equipped with a Miyota 9015 movement. This is my first watch with a Miyota, and I was very eager to test run it. I was however not able to do this as my unit came with a problem. I have no doubt SeriousWatches will deal with this issue once I raise it with them so I won’t pass any negative judgment over this. I however won’t be able to talk about accuracy here, as mine loses 59 to 63 seconds per day, which is definitely not in the regularly accepted variance range for this movement. What I can however write about is its feel.

Crown design: like on the Tudor, the crown of the NTH Barracuda is large and screw down but doesn’t sit flush in the case when screwed in; there is a small gap of a millimiter or so with the case. The obvious downside to this is that the crown is more exposed, particularly since there are no crown guards to protect it. This makes the NTH (and the Tudor) a good everyday watch, but probably not the best choice for a tool-watch. The up side however is an incredibly easy and precise crown action – I can say without hesitation the most easy to handle I’ve ever experience-. This is not only important with regards to the “pleasure” of using the crown: it also makes it easier to precisely set the time (less risk of moving the minutes hand by accident when pushing the crown back). There is no other way to say it: I LOVE this crown design!

The crown sticks out a lot when unscrewed, which means it comes with a very pleasant feel!

Crown action: When it comes to the crown action, the Miyota 9015 on the NTH feels just ok. Being a little ratchety (at least on my unit), the movement winding feels less smooth than on my Seiko Sumo with its 6R15, and much less than on my Stowa Flieger and its ETA2001 manual wound. This being said, the feeling is by no means “bad”, it’s just not as nice as on my other watches. Really not a deal braker on an automatic watch that is not designed to be hand wound anyway!

Ghost date: Last thing to know as to how this crown feels is that there is a ghost date on the no-date versions of the Barracuda. There is of course nothing NTH could do to this other than using a different movement than the 9015, which I can only imagine would come at some extra cost, could mean a new case design to accomodate different movement sizes, and I’m not even sure such a no date version exists in the affordable Miyota offering -.

Specs: Being from the Miyota 9x series, the movement beats at a smooth 28,800 vph, and is hacking and hand-winding. From what I have read on social media, it should be fairly accurate. However mine came faulty out of the box, losing a consistent 59 to 63 seconds per day, and will be sent back for fixing.

Conclusion on the movement: I think the choice of the Miyota 9015 was an excellent one from NTH. It comes with a very solid reputation in terms of durability and accuracy, is more affordable than its Swiss counter-parts, and feels more refined than its Seiko competition due to its smoother sweeping hand (28,800 vs 21,600 on all 3 handed affordable Seiko movements). Last but not least, it’s much thinner than the Seiko competition, enabling for an enjoyable slimmer profile to the watch. Obviously, I wouldn’t have minded an ETA or Satellita movement thrown in there. This would however come at a substantial cost upgrade, one I’m not sure NTH can afford while keeping its clientele, the watch already being on the expensive side of the entry to mid-level micro-brand world.

❖ Bracelet & Strap

In the box: The NTH Barracuda arrived on a bracelet, like all NTH sub models I have seen on the internet. There also was a very nice Bond Nato strap in the box, but I’m not sure whether that comes standard with all NTH watches, or if it was added by Seriouswatches.com, the retailer I’ve made my purchase from.

Overall specs: The bracelet is made of brushed stainless steel, with solid screwed links. It comes with a classic clasp for a diver watch (push-down with two side locks), and lots (7!) of micro-adjustments to make for a perfect fit on everyone’s wrist. It however doesn’t have a diver’s extension, which will be a downside for divers, but also for people like me who have a wrist that changes size from morning to evening and like a not-to-loose fit.

Feel: Overall, the bracelet is well constructed, comfortable on the wrist and doesn’t pull hair. There are however two strong downsides that are real deal-breakers for me:

– The clasp: not only does it feel less well finished than the rest of the bracelet with some sharp edges, it’s also huge thanks to its 7 micro-adjustments. While this will not be a problem to some (many?), I don’t find this visually appealing nor comfortable when desk diving – which I do a lot-

– Visually speaking, the rigid top center link (some call it “male” link I think) also doesn’t look that great on the wrist to my eyes. It makes the lugs look longer than they are (I actually find them a tad too long – visually- on the bracelet and don’t have that feeling at all on a NATO), and the package look somehow cheaper than on other options like the provided NATO.

Conclusion on the bracelet: It’s sad to say as it was close given an overall decent build quality, but the bracelet ends up being the Barracuda’s weakest point. Its bulky clasp and -to my eyes- unpleasantly looking “male” link sent it right to the bottom of a drawer, and the watch is now worn exclusively on NATOs. This really is a big drawback, for several reasons:

– As I live in hot Kinshasa, I had ruled out watches that came without a bracelet option during my initial search, and seing it in a drawer is a bummer.

– Also, while not offering anything out of the ordinary in terms of specifications, this isn’t a cheap watch at 600 Euros, I would have been more indulgent on this point had it been proposed around 500 like some of its competition with similar specs, but we need to look at the NTH in its context and competition.

– Last this poses an issue with regards to NTH’s current business model, where all Subs (which constitute the majority of their offering) are proposed only on bracelet options, for the full price. This means that if I want a Nacken in blue because I love my black Barracuda, I’ll have to pay the full price for a second same bracelet… that will end-up at the bottom of the same drawer!

The issues I find with the bracelet may not be perceived the same way by others, as they are subjective. To those who also feel them, they may not be a deal breaker. But to me they are, at least for a potential second purchase from the brand. I’m nobody to give Chris recommendations, particularly as so far his business model has proven to be successful. But if he want to consolidate his client base by having more second watch buyers, maybe upgrading his bracelet or proposing a slightly cheaper non bracelet option could help. Again, just maybe, as a humanitarian I’m nobody to teach anyone lessons about how to run a watch business; I’m just sharing personal opinions here, and explaining why, with its current line-up, I am not considering a second purchase from them.

The NATO that came in the box is very nicely done, and its colours pair the dial perfectly, for a look that’s much cleaner than my nail on this picture!

NATO in the package: The Bond NATO that also came in the package thankfully saved the day for my Barracuda. It seems to be of very good quality, has just the right thickness to feel sturdy and comfortable without being bulky, and has some nice hardware that also feels good on the wrist. Picky people will notice that the NATO’s buckle is polished while the rest of the hardware is brushed, or that its length is slightly shorter than usual, which can make it difficult to “flap” for people with larger wrists. But to my wrist it’s perfect, very good looking, and I never concretely see the clasp when wearing the watch to mind that its polished.

❖ Overall Conclusion

Time to conclude on this review, and it’s not the easiest conclusion I’ve had to write. As mentioned before, this was my first step in micro-brands, and one I decided to take largely due to the “value for money” proposition it sold on paper. This came very timely as my beloved Seiko brand decided to take directions that venture out of my pocket’s reach.

A close-up of this gorgeous and very fun / lively dial

A lovely, fun and versatile watch to wear during week-ends: Overall, I really like the Barracuda: it’s a beautiful watch, with great wrist presence, and care in its finishing. The guilt application is nicely done, even if I would have preferred regularly framed indexes, the hands are gorgeous and so is the overall dial, the bezel’s black looks amazing and its action is precise, so is the crown action… This is by no means a Tudor BB58 replacement, and while being a VERY close hommage, I have a feeling it wasn’t really designed to strictly copy-cat it, this one seems to be made to be much more “fun”, and less “refined” in its execution… which is great with me!

Metal bracelets and painful frustrations – no BDSM here: I however can’t help but feel not fully satisfied when looking at it. This doesn’t come from the fact it’s loosing 60 seconds per day, as mentioned above, I can perfectly understand that such things happen, and have no doubt Seriouswatches will handle this issue. It has to do with the bracelet, and the resulting price positioning. Human minds are weak, particularly mine, and I can’t help but compare with what I know best: what Seiko was offering in the good old days, for about the same price point. I bought my Seiko Blumo for 690 Euros in an AD shop back in the days (yes, I know, don’t rub it, only God can judge me), and a few months back one could find them for 380 Euros on the grey market. I know, it has a Hardlex crystal instead of sapphire, and no top quality PVD coating on its bezel, but it has a bracelet I was happy to wear, and I’m a bracelet guy.

Value for money: not the best, not the worst: As it stands, NTH positioned itself in the higher price-bracket applied by most micro-brands. A current comparison could be with the Steinhart Ocean One GMT Premium in 39mm, which comes with an ETA 2893 elabore grade for close to the same price. I’m sure Chris knows this, and that this marketing positioning was done willingly, and I have absolutely no problem with that. I’d therefore probably not feel any related frustration, had the bracelet, and particularly its clasp and male link, been of a slightly better quality that would make me want to wear it. I’d still feel that strict VFMwise, it may not be the best deal out there, but not every brand has to function with a business model based on miserable margins, so I’d be fine. But 600 Euros and a bracelet not good enough for my wrist is a little steep to digest.

No “no-bracelet”, no second Sub: Another last, but relatively big frustration I have with this is that there are no “no bracelet” options proposed by NTH for a slightly cheaper price. The reason it frustrates me is that I really like the Sub line’s case design, and also really enjoy what Chris is doing with its dials, with new and different options coming out regularly. But I couldn’t justify buying a second Sub at full price only to have a second same bracelet sleeping in a drawer next to the first one. Which, in other words, means I won’t be able to buy another Sub, however much I like it, at least until their bracelets are eventually upgraded, or at least with a second option (bracelet type) proposed.

To infinity, and beyond! As a final word, let there be no mistake: despite this small frustration, I love my Barracuda, and don’t regret my purchase at all – I’m planning to keep this one and have fun with it for a while, and would buy it again if I could go back in time -. It’s an absolutely fun and well made watch, and I can say my first “dive” into the micro-brand world is so far a pleasant one. I’m not totally converted, but that’s only because I have a Mido and a Citizen that sit very high on my next hit-list. Who knows what will come next, but I certainly won’t exclude micros from the pick!

I hope youv’ve enjoyed this detailed review, please let me know what you think of the watch, or of micro-brands at large, down in the comments section. You don’t have to register to post, it’s hassle-free and I love the interactions when they happen. Thanks!

And a last shot for the road. I really like this watch!