Background:
The watch being reviewed was purchased by me in December 2010. I received it on January 18, 2011
I met George Fox, Owner of NFW at a large Get Together in November of 2009 held in PA. At that time the ViperFish had been announced and mentioned a few times on another forum. At the Get Together George had with him an early early version of the ViperFish case. It was just the case with no movement or dial or hands inside, but the case was unquestionably cool. I was able to handle it and view it from all sides and angles. It was original and different and I was honestly excited about it. George mentioned back then that the watch was still a ways off due to redesigns and his desire to make it exactly the way he wanted it. Assuming it would come out a few months after we viewed the empty watch case at the Get Together I started saving $$ for it based on the ball park pricing George mentioned.
Most people did not think it would take as long as it did for this watch to finally be available, myself included. Also back then I was wearing much larger watches then I do today. Over the past year my entire collection has shifted to watches in the 44-48mm range. So when this watch was finally available my one concern was its size. But the many months waiting had not lessened my desire to purchase one based on my initial feelings. I already had the money saved and put aside so I pulled the trigger.
About the brand/watch being reviewed below:
NFW Website - http://nfwonline.com
Company Address - NFW, 10 Dwight Street, Fairfield, CT 06824
Watch Being Reviewed can be found here - http://nfwonline.com/article/how-to-reserve-your-viperfish/ - currently this watch is not listed on the NFW main site and only is on the NFW blog.
Watch Specs and Info
Model: ViperFish CLASSIC BLACK DIAL: MODEL 08510 Automatic
FEATURES / SPECIFICATIONS:
The watch being reviewed was purchased by me in December 2010. I received it on January 18, 2011
I met George Fox, Owner of NFW at a large Get Together in November of 2009 held in PA. At that time the ViperFish had been announced and mentioned a few times on another forum. At the Get Together George had with him an early early version of the ViperFish case. It was just the case with no movement or dial or hands inside, but the case was unquestionably cool. I was able to handle it and view it from all sides and angles. It was original and different and I was honestly excited about it. George mentioned back then that the watch was still a ways off due to redesigns and his desire to make it exactly the way he wanted it. Assuming it would come out a few months after we viewed the empty watch case at the Get Together I started saving $$ for it based on the ball park pricing George mentioned.
Most people did not think it would take as long as it did for this watch to finally be available, myself included. Also back then I was wearing much larger watches then I do today. Over the past year my entire collection has shifted to watches in the 44-48mm range. So when this watch was finally available my one concern was its size. But the many months waiting had not lessened my desire to purchase one based on my initial feelings. I already had the money saved and put aside so I pulled the trigger.
About the brand/watch being reviewed below:
NFW Website - http://nfwonline.com
Company Address - NFW, 10 Dwight Street, Fairfield, CT 06824
Watch Being Reviewed can be found here - http://nfwonline.com/article/how-to-reserve-your-viperfish/ - currently this watch is not listed on the NFW main site and only is on the NFW blog.
Watch Specs and Info
Model: ViperFish CLASSIC BLACK DIAL: MODEL 08510 Automatic
FEATURES / SPECIFICATIONS:
- Case Size: 48mm diameter without crown (approx 52mm with crown)
- 18.5mm height
- Case Material: 316L Surgical Grade Stainless Steel
- Crystal: 4.5mm Sapphire with anti-reflective coating
- Caseback: Screw-down, with sapphire exhibition back
- Movement: Miyota 9015, 28,800 BPH, 24-Jewels, with NFW signed rotor
- Strap: Custom, thick, black silicon rubber with sturdy, custom tang buckle
- SuperLuminova Luminescent material on dial hour markers, all hands, and bezel markings that are white
- Water-Resistance: 300 Meters / 1000 Feet
Reviewer:
James (TVDinner)
Pictures: All Pictures below by James
PACKAGING:
The ViperFish comes in a metal MFW suitcase like box. Inside the box the watch is on an over sized black pillow. This pillow is one of the largest watch pillows I have ever received for any watch. Also in the package was 2 watch tools, an owners manual and a signed card from George Fox thanking me for the purchase. There is the NFW logo on the top of the box and inside cover of the box.
One thing I liked was that the watch had a piece of bubble wrap cut in a square shape (the same size as the box) on top of the watch (between the watch dial and the top of the box and below the pillow (between the tools and manual at the bottom of the box and the buckle and strap of the watch). These 2 additional pieces of bubble wrap added a nice extra level of protection for the watch inside the box.
THE NFW ViperFish Watch CASE:The case is listed at 18.5mm tall and it is .... tall. One thing you notice immediately is the curve of the case. This watch fits snugly around the wrist of MANY SIZES. One of my employees put the watch on her 5" wrist and the watch seemed to fit just like it does on my wrist which is over 2" larger. It just curved right around both sides comfortably. This was surprising to me, but also a positive if people with smaller wrists are interested in purchasing this watch it will fit on their wrist in my opinion.
The case is not smooth and the design has a "stacked" feel with the 4 layers along the side of the case that curve around the outside screws that extend from the top of the case to the bottom/case back. Sitting on top of this "stacked" case is the bezel which is a combination of curved cut outs and engraved notches as you can see in the picture below. You will also see how the entire case comfortably curved around the wrist.
The NFW logo is also on the strap loop/keeper. This is one thing that I think could have been changed on this watch. On the strap alone you see the logo or name 4 TIMES (2 times up by the case on each side of the strap and the NFW name 2 times on the buckle and the strap loop/keeper). I think this is a little much and at least one of these could have been removed in my opinion. Not a big deal, but seemed like possible overkill with the branding.
The strap is pretty long and measures 8 inches and has 10 sizing holes.
The strap is pretty long and measures 8 inches and has 10 sizing holes.
THE NFW ViperFish Bezel, Dial, and hands:
The dial is a rich deep dark black. It helps the hands and sightly raised SuperLuminova hour markers really stand out nicely. Square Date window is at the 4 position and is easy to read with black numbers on a white background.
I really like the second hand which has the NFW pitchfork look end. The second hand moves very smoothly around the dial.
While the hands are nice I do feel that the smaller hour hand could possibly have been made SLIGHTLY larger and/or longer. To me it seems a little small for the dial but it is not that big of a concern overall. The minute hand is orange and really stands out well on the black dial behind it.
The dial is a rich deep dark black. It helps the hands and sightly raised SuperLuminova hour markers really stand out nicely. Square Date window is at the 4 position and is easy to read with black numbers on a white background.
I really like the second hand which has the NFW pitchfork look end. The second hand moves very smoothly around the dial.
While the hands are nice I do feel that the smaller hour hand could possibly have been made SLIGHTLY larger and/or longer. To me it seems a little small for the dial but it is not that big of a concern overall. The minute hand is orange and really stands out well on the black dial behind it.
NFW ViperFish Watch Weight:Using my scale this watch weighed in at 8.9 oz or 252.310 g. While it is obviously heavy it does not feel overly heavy due to the rubber strap.
As mentioned the watch is tall and taller then most other watches. But on the wrist the watch still has a nice even weight distribution and it never really feels top heavy or weighted unevenly one way or another when turning your wrist. I do think a solid end link bracelet will help stabilize the entire watch even more.
Summary Thoughts
1) Yes this is a tall and larger sized watch. But after wearing it for a couple of days I honestly feel it wears smaller then any watch of similar size I have ever owned. In my opinion this is due to 2 things:
- the curve of the case to fit snugly on the wrist
- the unique shape of the case with the 2 outside screws being wide on the case and the 2 screws on the crown side being an integrated part of the crown guard.
- the bezel is slightly smaller then the case it sits on, further giving the feel and illusion of wearing smaller then the actual size.
After the first day the only time I really noticed the height of the watch was when putting on my jacket and getting the sleeve over it. You DEFINETELY CAN NOT wear this watch with a standard button up long sleeve dress shirt, but it is a sporty watch and not a dress watch.
2) After a few days of wearing the watch I found the accuracy of the movement (Miyota 9015, 28,800 BPH, 24-Jewels) was very good and I did not notice any gain or lose of time. Please note this was not any type of scientific test. i just wore the watch and compared the time shown to the time on my Blackberry phone. Each morning I would wind it up and then wear. For 4 straight days the watch was pretty close to being dead on time wise.
- The second hand sweeps VERY smoothly.
As mentioned the watch is tall and taller then most other watches. But on the wrist the watch still has a nice even weight distribution and it never really feels top heavy or weighted unevenly one way or another when turning your wrist. I do think a solid end link bracelet will help stabilize the entire watch even more.
Summary Thoughts
1) Yes this is a tall and larger sized watch. But after wearing it for a couple of days I honestly feel it wears smaller then any watch of similar size I have ever owned. In my opinion this is due to 2 things:
- the curve of the case to fit snugly on the wrist
- the unique shape of the case with the 2 outside screws being wide on the case and the 2 screws on the crown side being an integrated part of the crown guard.
- the bezel is slightly smaller then the case it sits on, further giving the feel and illusion of wearing smaller then the actual size.
After the first day the only time I really noticed the height of the watch was when putting on my jacket and getting the sleeve over it. You DEFINETELY CAN NOT wear this watch with a standard button up long sleeve dress shirt, but it is a sporty watch and not a dress watch.
2) After a few days of wearing the watch I found the accuracy of the movement (Miyota 9015, 28,800 BPH, 24-Jewels) was very good and I did not notice any gain or lose of time. Please note this was not any type of scientific test. i just wore the watch and compared the time shown to the time on my Blackberry phone. Each morning I would wind it up and then wear. For 4 straight days the watch was pretty close to being dead on time wise.
- The second hand sweeps VERY smoothly.
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