This new Wren Diver 38 Crimson is just US$1,595, feature-packed, and exclusive to the Time+Tide Studio
Zach BlassWatch enthusiasts are constantly nitpicking the details, down to the micron, with each passing new novelty. As people who love, live, and breathe watches, we in the niche catch things that most of the mass market would never recognise or let irk them. Things like 4:30 date windows, or whether or not a minimum of three drilled holes exist on a folding clasp to offer some sense of micro-adjustment. This is the biggest advantage Wren has in its arsenal. Founded by Craig Karger, Wren benefits from the fact that its founder is both a down-the-rabbit-hole watch geek and collector and the founder of the watch publication Wrist Enthusiast. Craig is in the weeds, and with over 10 years under his belt owning and reviewing watches, he brings this eye for detail to his watches. The latest in his popular Wren Diver collection is no exception, and this new Wren Diver 38 Crimson has the twist of being an exclusive Time+Tide Boutique Edition (which you can buy at our NYC Discovery Studio or on our Time+Tide Shop USA website).
Ahead of the launch today, Craig gave me a one to get hands-on with, and I decided to really test the watch while on vacation in Aruba at the end of April. So, with ample hands-on experience, let’s run through the details of the watch, and then I will reveal my final verdict.
The case
Craig is always quick to point out that the Wren Diver 38 is one of the thinnest automatic dive watches on the market – and for good reason. Despite being an automatic watch with a domed sapphire crystal, the case clocks in at just 10.7mm thick (10mm if you exclude the crystal). This allows the Diver 38 Crimson to sit nice and low on the wrist for a watch of this category. Compared to a Submariner, it is approximately 2mm thinner. With a diameter of 38mm, hardly anyone would take issue – 38mm is a modern Goldilocks size most adore. And for the real ones that know what makes or breaks the fit of a watch on your wrist, the lug-to-lug is just 45mm.
Befitting of a tool watch, the watch is almost completely satin-brushed, with accents of mirror-polish coming through on the shoulders of the lugs. A red ceramic insert rests within a coined steel bezel frame that is easy to grip both in and out of the ocean, in my personal experience. At 3 o’clock, you have a screw-down crown that better supports the 200-metre depth rating printed on the dial.
The dial
I jokingly asked Craig whether or not the red hue of the Crimson was inspired by my signature sunglasses’ rose-coloured lenses or by Kevin O’Leary, a supporter of Wren watches who has even worn a Wren Diver on Shark Tank, and his love for red bands. At the end of the day, the choice of a red execution ultimately stems from Craig’s strong emphasis on distinct dial hues and gradients to make his dive watches, which compete in a highly saturated segment of the market, stand out more. And, to Craig’s point, there are very few red dial watches compared to your more common blue, green, black, white, and silver. Especially in the dive watch category.
The blood red colour of the dial and ceramic insert pops without being too loud, and its gradient works great to elevate the legibility of the dial – offering a darker backdrop against the hour indices and outer minutes track to make them both very easy for the eye to discern. The domed sapphire crystal is subtle, only raising the thickness of the watch by .7mm, and offers that acrylic crystal sensibility without any of the fragility. With the red colour of the dial as well, when I would look at the time in the ocean under the cloudless Aruba sky, sun beaming on the crystal, there was never a moment or angle where the reflection made it feel like I was staring into a mirror. In any setting, the time is very easy to read.
Speaking of legibility, the Wren Diver 38 Crimson uses the highest grade Super-LumiNova in both its bezel timing scale and sandwich construction dial. With a full disc of lume resting beneath the gradient red surface, this dial really lights up in darkness – as a proper dive watch should.
A quick final dial note: despite us only having a date configuration to photograph, there will be date and no-date versions of this watch available for purchase. So, while Craig has done a great job of positioning the black-on-white dial-contrasting date window at a 6 o’clock position to blend in as an hour index, the real nitpicky purists have a no-date option at their disposal. In fairness, Craig did call out to me that colour-matching a date window to a gradient dial does not make sense unless you can perfectly create a consistent gradient on the date disc.
The straps
As with other Wren Diver watches, the Diver 38 Crimson is offered with both an interchangeable flat-link bracelet and a rubber strap. The flat-link bracelet follows the same finishing style as the case, primarily satin-brushed like a tool watch bracelet should be. A ratchet diver’s extension in the clasp serves as access to micro-adjustment, allowing you to slide the extension in and out whenever you would like via a second set of twin triggers. Knowing how much many watch buyers prefer this, Craig was adamant that the bracelet must have links secured by screws rather than pins.
The bracelet, as it tends to be, is definitely my preferred strap option. However, I will call out the fact that the construction of the bracelet has a male end-link and some fixed flare that creates an effective lug-to-lug beyond the 45mm span of the case top to bottom. That being said, the forced camber works well on even my smaller 6.5-inch wrist. So, while it may look a little large in a first-person perspective on the wrist, in 3rd person looking in a mirror, your mind will definitely be put at ease. And, in the warm Aruba heat, the gap created by the camber around my wrist actually worked well to leave some necessary real estate as my wrist swelled up in the warm weather. The interchangeable system, a thin horizontal trigger on the underside of the connecting link, is very well made and easy to use.
While I wore the bracelet more often than not, while on the beach and while heading out for lunch and dinner, the access to an additional rubber strap was a game-changer for when I would go play tennis. The bracelet, in moments where I was covered in sunscreen, made more sense as it is easier to clean – they don’t call it stainless steel for nothing. But, for an arm-swinging activity like tennis, the rubber strap made more sense as it can be worn tighter more comfortably, ensuring the watch really doesn’t move on the wrist while being active.
You have a choice between a red FKM rubber strap or a black FKM rubber strap in addition to the flat link bracelet. The red rubber strap gives a far bolder foil to the bracelet, though I should call out that the red rubber strap is not 100% colour-matched to the dial and bezel insert. The black rubber strap offers a middle ground, the contrast making the dial and bezel the star of the show. Anyone who will harp on the fact that the red is not an exact 100% match should definitely opt for the black, but I will say I personally prefer the red rubber strap. Go big or go home, I say.
The movement
Exhibited beneath an exhibition caseback is a 42-hour automatic ETA 2892 movement that is often held to be the most reliable movement on the market. Though the bridges and mainplate of the movement are not finished in a manner you have not seen before, the aesthetic is definitely elevated with its bespoke openworked rotor that brings the brand’s wren bird logo to the movement side in a handsome way.
In terms of my personal experience with its accuracy, I observed that my Wren Diver 38 Crimson was losing approximately two seconds per day across the week I was away in Aruba on vacation. As much as I really do not love my watches losing time, minus two seconds per day is not just within COSC tolerances but also Rolex Superlative Chronometer tolerances. To be clear, the movements are not chronometer certified, but Craig definitely seeks to ensure the ETA movements inside his dive watches are performing very well – my personal Diver 38 Crimson emblematic of that.
The verdict
In my discussions with Craig, who, if you have yet to realise this by now, is not only an industry colleague, but someone I also consider a friend, I am always very frank with him whenever we discuss his watches – for past, present, or future designs. One thing we often say to each other is how the watch feels somewhere between an Oris dive watch and a Tudor Black Bay, despite being less expensive than both of them.
Considering you have a beautiful red gradient dial, a red ceramic insert (which we joke he can pull off despite the stresses it may or may not cause Rolex), and rock-solid ETA movement, all housed within a well-proportioned and ultra-thin-for-the-dive-watch-segment 200-metre water-resistant stainless steel case that can be affixed to a bracelet with a micro-adjust system and an interchangeable system brands far more expensive do not make the effort to utilise, bundled with a high-quality robust-yet-supple FKM rubber strap (that has quick-release pins on the underside). Admittedly, a run-on sentence there, but it just means I can run on with how many features and how much value are packed into this US$1,595 watch. Yes, just US$1,595. I honestly do not know how he or we even make money on this thing.
No watch is perfect. There are always objective and subjective criticisms to be made. You’ve already read a few of mine. But, at this price point, hardly any would be fair. In terms of a better, thinner-cased, higher-quality, and collector-favoured feature-packed design at this price, little to nothing really beats it in my book.
Wren Diver 38 Crimson Time+Tide Boutique Edition pricing and availability
The Wren Diver 38 Crimson Time+Tide Boutique Edition is now available exclusively via the Time+Tide NYC Discovery Studio (460 Broome Street) or the Time+Tide Shop USA website. Price: US$1,595
| Brand | Wren |
| Model | Diver 38 Crimson |
| Case Dimensions | 38mm (D) x 10.7mm (T) x 45mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 200 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Domed sapphire front, flat sapphire caseback |
| Dial | Red, fumé gradient finish |
| Strap | Interchangeable stainless steel flat link bracelet, folding clasp, micro-adjust extension Additional quick-release black or red FKM rubber strap, steel pin buckle |
| Movement | ETA 2892, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 42 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Availability | Now, Time+Tide Discovery Studio Exclusive |
| Price | US$1,595 |