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The must-have Macro Loupe for all watch lovers

Interested in microbrands, I hadn't yet taken the plunge. I saw this watch announced by Radia, a Polish microbrand, for whom this is their second model, and their first automatic. Radia, as its name suggests, has a history linked to the atom. The atom and timekeeping are intimately connected. Moreover, this model, the Trinity, refers to the name of the first American nuclear test.

The model is presented as a field watch, and it's consistent in design with its circular brushed dial, railway track minute markers, and raised indices with Luminova, with a particular appeal for the 12 o'clock marker. It boasts 200 meters of water resistance and a sapphire crystal! It's also 39 mm in diameter, so it's not too big. The finishing is decent and in line with the price range (between 450 and 500 euros).

There's also a black version that gives it a very vinyl record look. I preferred the yellow version, which reminded me of the sun (and therefore stayed within the theme of atoms and nuclear testing).
My only regret is that the yellow lacks a bit of nuance, but that's a matter of taste. In any case, it's a limited-edition model, and the brand owner is approachable and friendly.

A coherent micro-brand

Yema has produced an extremely diverse range of watches over the years, a richness rarely found elsewhere (at Lip, Omega, or Seiko). This watch dates from the 1990s, a period I particularly appreciate in watchmaking, although it's not widely embraced by the enthusiast community. This piece, therefore, is from the Yema-Seiko era, a model absent from the definitive book "Time of Heroes," which recounts the brand's history. The bezel is rotating, and the hand with the red arrow is used to set the alarm. Simply pull the crown at 4 o'clock to activate the alarm (which causes a red dot to appear around 6 o'clock). Unfortunately, the alarm isn't very precise, but it remains a fun accessory, with a charming and playful colorful dial. A cute and unpretentious watch.

The alarm watch, Nineties style!

This Driva Temptation is a vintage watch dating from the 1950s. Acquired at auction, it was part of a lot. What attracted me to this Swiss vintage piece was its domed crystal and the hour markers, which are located on the bezel rather than beneath the crystal—a rare configuration. The crystal fits well under a shirt cuff, and from a certain angle, it resembles a dewdrop! I enjoyed wearing it, but in practice, these are vintage pieces, and they are too fragile for my current needs.

A charming vintage

I wasn't swayed by the marketing surrounding this watch and the brand's concept, spearheaded by a CEO who wasn't entirely convincing. It was during a sale at Printemps that I finally succumbed to its allure. Its strengths lay in the innovative materials (a strap made from recycled fishing nets and a case from recycled plastic), as well as its exceptional legibility.

Furthermore, I didn't have a solar-powered version in the collection. I wore this watch almost continuously for nearly eight months, but the verdict is clear: it doesn't evoke any emotion in me. It's lightweight and functional, and the strap is comfortable. The blue dial is a disappointment; I would have preferred it to interact better with light, to produce more striking effects. It was also the symbolic watch of the G7 summit, representing French craftsmanship and the concept of recycling. In that respect, it holds a place in history.

The Awake Concept brand has since taken a different direction: limited-edition automatic watches with a focus on artistic crafts. All traces of this history have been erased from the website. Similarly, when I contacted them to ask how to clean the bracelet, I received no response. For those interested, the bracelet is perfectly machine washable.

So, it's an interesting, historical, legible, and easy-to-wear piece. But the brand seems to be a marketing ploy with no respect for its history (you're allowed to evolve a concept, but it's best to keep the original elements on the website) or for its customers.

An interesting proposal

Carlo Ferrara is an Italian watchmaker who left us in 2012. He had made a specialty of regulators, with his patented system. This model, the CF3 (read CF cube) is atypical even for him. Where normally Carlo Ferrara dials display two sub-dials, one for the hour and one for the minute, here there is only one sub-dial, that of the hours. This does not really make it a regulator because there are two central hands: minutes and seconds. The CF3 was also the entry-level model at Carlo Ferrara.

It is this atypical aspect that made me want to acquire this model. The opportunity presented itself, and I chose the CF3, instead of a model called Jockey, because of the 10 ATM water resistance, thanks to its solid case back representing a compass rose, ensuring safety in the use of the watch.

The finish is of good quality, the brushed and polished alternate in small touches on the case. The dial demonstrates this finish the most with the numbers, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes, circled in metal and painted with luminova, allowing excellent readability in darker places. Note also that the watch is from 2006, 18 years after its production, the luminova is still very good. 
By choosing an oblong sub-dial, reading the time is less instinctive and more atypical than a usual round sub-dial. Moreover with this model, the minute and hour hands overlap regularly, which is not always annoying, but can be disconcerting. 
What does not emerge from the photos is the size of the beast: 44 cm wide, 54 cm long, 14 cm thick. It is not a small beast. Unfortunately for me, it ultimately turns out to be too big.

An atypical watch on many levels

Here is my opinion on Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph, reference 7L22-0AE0. I wanted to buy this model because I loved this design that I find atypical, especially the ovoid-shaped glass, we could call it cyclops. The dial has several variations, including the hour sub-dial, which exists with Roman numerals, stick indexes or even numbers. I preferred the Roman numerals, because this version was in my opinion more harmonious and balanced. In addition to the design of the sub-dials, the movement is a real plus, it uses kinetic technology, that is to say a hybrid quartz movement powered by the movement of the wrist thanks to an oscillating weight. The case back is open, so as to leave the movement visible. This will please or not, but undeniably it adds to its futuristic side. It should be noted that the oscillating weight is quite noisy (which does not bother me, we at least know that it acts). I am rather vintage in the contained format, it must be said that this watch of 42 mm wide, 14.5 mm wide and 47 mm between the lugs is contained on my 16 cm wrist, it is not so huge. It nevertheless weighs its weight. As for the chronograph, it is limited to 45 min. My big negative point remains the bracelet which can be changed but with a specific Seiko bracelet, leather (findable) or metal difficult to find.

A chronograph with an atypical design

La marque&nbsp;Serica a &eacute;t&eacute; cr&eacute;&eacute;e en 2019 par J&eacute;r&ocirc;me Burget et 3 amis &agrave; Paris, en France. Le nom Serica vient d'une r&eacute;gion perdue au bout de l'Extr&ecirc;me-Orient que les Grecs et les Romains avaient baptis&eacute;e ainsi. Ce lieu fait &eacute;cho &agrave; la gen&egrave;se de la marque, qui vise &agrave; concevoir des montres m&eacute;caniques de qualit&eacute; au style n&eacute;or&eacute;tro, pr&ecirc;tes &agrave; vous suivre aux confins du monde.
La gamme comprend des montres telles que la <a title="Page Serica 4512" href="https://www.dialicious.com/serica/4512">Serica 4512</a>, la <a title="Page Serica 5303" href="https://www.dialicious.com/serica/5303">Serica 5303</a> et la <a title="Page Serica 8315 GMT Chronom&egrave;tre" href="https://www.dialicious.com/serica/8315">Serica 8315</a>. L'une des particularit&eacute;s de cette marque est que son nom n'appara&icirc;t nulle part sur le cadran, afin de pousser le passionn&eacute; &agrave; acheter un design, des finitions et des proportions, et pas seulement un nom. En juillet 2023, Serica a lanc&eacute; la Serica 5303 COSC une version chronom&egrave;tre certifi&eacute;e par le Contr&ocirc;le Officiel Suisse des Chronom&egrave;tres.
Leur avant-dernier mod&egrave;le est la <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/serica/6190">Serica 6190</a> surfant sur les bases de la 1&egrave;re r&eacute;f&eacute;rence de la marque, la Serica 4512. Cette 6190 &eacute;pouse les codes stylistiques de la marque, des anses lyres, un choix de cadrans diff&eacute;rents et la possibilit&eacute; de choisir la position de la couronne &agrave; 3 heures ou en mode "Destro" &agrave; 9 heures. Cette Serica 6190 est &eacute;quip&eacute; du calibre Soprod M100 certifi&eacute; COSC (Contr&ocirc;le Officiel Suisse des Chronom&egrave;tres) &agrave; l'intar des productions actuelles des autres mod&egrave;les 5303 et 8315.&nbsp;
Depuis le 21 novembre 2024, Serica propose une nouvelle collection tr&egrave;s audacieuse...&nbsp;Une montre habill&eacute;e sortant des sentiers battus nomm&eacute;e "Parade" sous la r&eacute;f&eacute;rence 1174. Ces 4 chiffres, comme toutes les autres r&eacute;f&eacute;rences Serica, propose une symbolique issue du nombre d'or ou divines proportions dont le ratio entre la longeur et la largeur sont de 1,174... Une nouveaut&eacute; propos&eacute;e en pr&eacute;-commande &agrave; 1,490 &euro; pour une livraison pr&eacute;vue en Mars 2025...
<h2>Quel est le prix d'une montre Serica ?</h2>
Les prix des montres Serica &eacute;voluent et diff&eacute;rent selon les mod&egrave;les. La plupart co&ucirc;tent entre 990 &euro; et 1,890 &euro; selon les mod&egrave;les et finitions. Le mod&egrave;le GMT de la marque, Serica 8315 GMT Chronom&egrave;tre co&ucirc;te 1,890 &euro; tandis que le dernier mod&egrave;le lanc&eacute; par Serica, la r&eacute;f&eacute;rence <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/serica/6190">6190</a> est propos&eacute;e &agrave; 990 &euro;.
Serica est ind&eacute;pendante et produit environ 5,000 montres par an, tous mod&egrave;les confondus. Serica fait partie du <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/top/les_meilleures_marques_de_montres_francaises">Top 10 des marques de montres fran&ccedil;aises les plus populaires</a>, ainsi que du <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/top/les_meilleures_micro_marques_de_montres">Classement des meilleures micro-marques de montres</a>. Pour choisir le mod&egrave;le Serica qui vous correspond le mieux,&nbsp;les avis clients Dialicious sont une ressource essentielle pour &eacute;valuer les diff&eacute;rents mod&egrave;les &agrave; travers l'exp&eacute;rience r&eacute;elle des clients
(Mise &agrave; jour Novembre 2024)

The brand Serica was created in 2019 by J&eacute;r&ocirc;me Burget and 3 friends in Paris, France. The name Serica comes from a lost region at the end of the Far East that the Greeks and Romans named it like this. This place echoes the genesis of the brand, which aims to design quality mechanical watches in a neo-retro style, ready to follow you to the ends of the world.
The range includes watches such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/4512">Serica 4512</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/5303">Serica 5303</a> and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/8315">Serica 8315</a>. One of the particularities of this brand is that its name does not appear anywhere on the dial, in order to encourage the enthusiast to buy a design, finishes and proportions, and not just a name. In July 2023, Serica launched the Serica 5303 COSC, a chronometer version certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute.
The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/6190">Serica 6190</a> surfing on the bases of the brand's first reference, the Serica 4512. This 6190 follows the stylistic codes of the brand, lyre lugs, a choice of different dials and the possibility of choosing the position of the crown at 3 o'clock or at &ldquo;Destro&rdquo; mode at 9 o&rsquo;clock. This Serica 6190 is powered with the Soprod M100 caliber COSC (Official Swiss Chronometer Certification) certified, like the current productions of the other 5303 and 8315 models.&nbsp;
Since November 21, 2024, Serica has been offering a very daring new collection... A dress watch off the beaten track called &ldquo;Parade&rdquo; under the reference 1174. These 4 figures, like all other Serica references, offer a symbolism derived from the golden number or divine proportions whose ratio between length and width is 1.174... A novelty offered for pre-order at &euro; 1,490 for one delivery planned for March 2025...
<h2 dir="ltr">How much does a Serica watch cost?</h2>
The prices of Serica watches change and differ depending on the model. Most cost between &euro; 990 and &euro; 1,890 depending on the models and finishes. The brand's GMT model, Serica 8315 GMT Chronometer costs &euro; 1,890 while the latest model launched by Serica, the reference&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/6190">6190</a> is offered to &euro; 990.
Serica is independent and produces around 5,000 watches per year, all models combined. Serica is part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://preprod.dialicious.com/en/top/the_best_french_watch_brands">Top 10 most popular French watch brands</a>, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/top/the_best_micro_watch_brands">ranking the best micro watch brands</a>. To choose the Serica model that best suits you, <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/5303">Serica 5303 reviews</a>, <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/4512">Serica 4512 reviews</a>, <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/6190">Serica 6190 reviews</a> or <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/serica/8315">Serica 8315 reviews</a> are an #1 resource for evaluating different models through real customer experience.
(Updated December 2025)

Driva Owner Review : Poetic, friendly and original

A charming vintage

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Driva Owner Review : Poetic, friendly and original

A charming vintage

Where to buy your Driva?

YOU ARE :

Other reviews published by Marc_D

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Customize your Driva with our selection of accessories:

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Eagle Eye Watches

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Trinity

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