Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

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snootydog
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Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by snootydog » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:05 pm

I decided to try writing a watch review,my first, so please bear with me and my apologies if you start to nod off shortly.

The Helson Tortuga,i'm so totally impressed by this watch,more than any other i own really (apart from my beloved Speedy)because of its outstanding 'bang for the bucks' as they say.

Unlike most watches from the Helson stable,this is not a homage watch although i've seen one review site saying its a homage of the Squale. Its no more a homage to the squale than any of these.................
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The case design and bezel set up was used by many watch brands,Royce,Concord,Gruen,Squale,Nivada,Blancpain, to name but a few,so the Tortuga is a watch in its own right and not a homage.

A few stats that you may already know....case measures a decent 43x50.5mm with polished sides and brushed top surface and automatic helium escape valve, 16mm thick and 22mm covered lugs.
Flat sapphire crystal is 3mm thick with AR coating on the inside. 1000m water resistance.
Under the hood (bonnet if you're British :lol: ) ticks a Japanese 24 jewel Miyota 9015 automatic (28800 bph) hackable movement and believe me,this beauty is very accurate indeed.

A couple of changes have been made since the first run of Tortuga's,the case now has drilled lugs and the crown went up from 6mm to 6.5mm.The optional mesh bracelet now comes with steel deployant,stamped with skull & crossed bones instead of the earlier 'omega' type seat belt buckle.
The earlier models came in a nice leatherette case.....
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The later models now come in a 'tube'.


Peter Helsons 'pirate' theme is here on the Tortuga,the crown signed with a skull & crossed bones as is the caseback and also stamped on the leather strap and buckle,a nice touch on a watch in this price bracket.

Skull & crossed bones on crown....
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case back....
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strap....
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I have worn the watch on the leather strap and on the 'Helsofrane' rubber strap,both are very comfortable and compliment the looks of the watch,although personally i'm not a great fan of pre v buckles,this one isnt overly large.
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The optional mesh bracelet is offered at an extremely reasonable price of $50 when you order the watch and you you wont find one at that price anywhere else. Unfortunately i didnt buy my watch new and it didnt have the mesh with it.
Sold as a seperate item Helson charges $100 and i couldnt justify that cost to just have the 'skull & crossed bones' on the deployant much as i would have liked it,so i bought a mesh which from what i can make out,is exactly the same as the Helson one,minus the logo.
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I was originally going to buy the non numbered orange dial,you all know my passion for orange watches,but the more i looked at the black,numbered dial,the more i became attracted to it and it really is a deep inky black and the lume numbers and markers are so thick they stand up like applied markers.
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The bezel system on the Tortuga is the same as the others of this case style,the bezel is held in place by a large multi sided locking ring and to operate the bezel you press down on it,disengaging the locking teeth then move the bezel in either direction to the desired position,let go of the bezel and its pushed back up to mesh the locking teeth together again by a spring ring.
The bezel is not going to move once the teeth have engaged and to be honest,setting the bezel is easier done with the watch in the palm of your hand,but that could be just me because i wear my watches on my right wrist.
As an experiment i put the watch on my left wrist then set the bezel using my right hand and found this much easier.....my fault for being 'kak handed'. :doh:

bezel,showing locking 'teeth' on locking ring and bezel and the sprung ring
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The Tortuga comes with two bezels,easily changed with the locking ring tool. Having a choice of bezels is another nice touch on a watch in this price range.
The bezel with the black insert is a lume fanatics heaven and the other bezel has a metal insert with stamped/engraved markers starting with a lumed triangle and having one second/minute markers round to the 20 minute mark filled in orange paint and the outer markers from 05 to 55 filled with black paint.
Either bezel give the watch a completely different look and nice to have the choice. My favourite is the black bezel but having now worn it for a while with the orange/black bezel on i'm now liking that one almost as much.

Matt black bezel insert,plastic i assume
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bezel with metal insert
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As i said earlier,this watch is a lume fans heaven,it glows strongly all night.
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Photos will never do this watch justice but you only have to handle a Tortuga to appreciate that this really is a watch of surprisingly good quality,so good that i felt the urge to write a review and i might even buy the orange dial version eventually. :grin:
Helson watches take a lot of ribbing here since the 'leaky sharkmaster' episode and like the rest of you,i too was worried about buying a watch that might leak.
I decided to ask Peter Helson about it and his reply was that it was 'only the Frenchman and his friend that had a problem'....coincidence? (not a Tortuga anyway)
Also that Peter 'personally checked the replacement watches and they passed 9 tests and yet when the buyer got the replacement it leaked'.......strange eh! so make your own conclusions but as far as the Tortuga goes,i have been in a pool with it and thats fine as i dont scuba dive.
I really like this watch a lot and would recommend it to anyone. If you ever thought of getting one,give it a try,i promise you wont be disappointed.
This is one of those watches that for me,feels right and looks great :thumbsup:

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On Isofrane
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Thanks for reading this far.......or did you nod off? :lol:
Andy :uj:
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demer03
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by demer03 » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:20 pm

Nice write up, Andy!
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by toxicavenger » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:24 pm

Great looking watch and top notch review Andy. It is a good buy imo.

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by BSears » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:47 pm

Helluva review and nice pics, Andy! Cool with the two bezels and options - look killer on the mesh. :fro:
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by cali kid » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:48 pm

Great review Andy, I'm glad that you've enjoyed the watch so much! :cheers: great pics too.. :thumbsup:
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by CGSshorty » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:20 pm

I like that one Andy. An orange Isofrane would be great for the summer.
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by fastward » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:02 pm

Nice job, Andy. :cheers:

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by deepcdvr » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:11 pm

Great job on the review!

i really like the piece, too.. may have to pick one up


CONGRATS! :thumbsup:
VR/
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by jimyritz » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:15 pm

Enjoyed the review...nice job!

Seems like a watch you thoroughly enjoy wearing:thumbsup:

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by Pasquale » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:43 pm

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Pasquale

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NSC

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by SCM64 » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:46 pm

Nice write up Andy, thanks for taking the time to share. :cheers:
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by tattoo chef » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:57 pm

Great review, and very nice watch!

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by YOHOHO » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:12 pm

thanks for takin the time to put that together! greatly enjoyed it

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by sharkfin » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:14 pm

Great review Andy.
Dig that retro diver feel style. :thumbsup:

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snootydog
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by snootydog » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:30 pm

patstarrx wrote:Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
FUPAT.........I specially put lots of pics in it for you :roll:

Thanks guys,glad you liked it :thumbsup:
Andy :uj:
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by T.R. » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:04 pm

patstarrx wrote:Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Yet again, our man Pat comes through large! :lol:

Andy, great write up and pics, buddy! That is a cool watch and man... it looks great on that mesh.

Well done. :thumbsup:

:cheers:
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unixshrk wrote: I'll put it on a nice NATO for you. :shifty:

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by BramleyGreg » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:09 pm

Good stuff mate.. and nice pics too.

I have just taken order of another Squale, and am definitely getting into the dive brands which go above and beyond our regular UK knowledge of pieces.

What I enjoy most of this piece is the fact that you have different variants of the piece...

This particularly floats my boat...

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Noice!!! :thumbsup:

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by DMB » Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:20 am

IMO, very few watches look good on mesh. That one looks jam up with the stainless bezel and mesh bracelet combo. Nice review Andy. I don't pay too much attention to the micro brands anymore, but I'm paying attention to the Tortuga now. That is a sharp looking watch. Good job.
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by wadsy » Sun Jul 01, 2012 9:55 am

Thanks very much for taking the time to write and post all the pics....I'm seriuosly thinking of ordering a new one! and this has helped :grin:

Cheers
Last edited by wadsy on Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by rockmastermike » Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:11 am

well done, Andy. I dig the legibility and the alt bezels. good reading, mate

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by AtomicTom » Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:27 pm

Fantastic review snootydog ! This watch looks, and sounds pretty AMAZING !
Congratulations on having it in your collection. I like how the watch gives a
modern twist to a vintage kind of watch. You get all of these different versions
too evidently which is nice. ..From painted bezels, and plain, to the various
dial, bracelet, and strap choices. Helson REALLY did an excellent job with these.
Thanks again for the review, along with information, and history lesson about
other similar watches from the past. Congrats, and enjoy this one too !

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by JDC222 » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:51 pm

Had one, I loved the look, it was just too small for me.
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by sukUbus » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:05 am

Thank you sir for the review and the pics....
Love the 2 x4 sized hands and the monstrous hour markers....good for aging eyes...

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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by deepcdvr » Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:12 am

Excellent review of a BAD ASS piece!

Thanks
VR/
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Re: Helson Tortuga...pic heavy review

Post by River Rat » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:16 pm

Andy great review :thumbsup:

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