HANDS ON: Aera P-1 Pilot and D-1 Diver Review
I remember a few months ago, I was scrolling through Instagram, when a watch popped up on my feed that I hadn’t seen before. It was a unique watch, with a pebble-esque look that was eye-catching and handsome, so I decided to look into it. The watch was an Aera (Pronounced like “Era”) D-1 Diver. And after a brief conversation with the creator and owner, I felt the brand was unique, and was really excited about getting my hands on the Aera catalog to dive deep on the P-1 and D-1 watches - Which are both unique in their own way, but share a common aesthetic that isn’t always readily noticeable in a lot of microbrands.
The Idea behind Aera was to create an honest watch, with a “less is more” approach to the design language. What was born out of it, was fairly minimalistic queues, a very ergonomic case design, and superb legibility - You know, all the things tool watches should be. Naturally, a Pilot and a Diver are the two most notorious professions to utilize a tool watch, so Aera created one of each. Both are attractive in their own regards, but each has a distinct aesthetic focused on providing the most utility for a Pilot or a Diver. Let’s start with the D-1 Diver.
The D-1 Diver measures in at an intimidating 44mm case size in 904L Stainless Steel. As someone who doesn’t typically venture above 42mm on my most confident days, I was concerned that the watch would simply be too big for my 7.5” wrist. However, because of the way the case is constructed and designed, it was incredibly wearable for someone who wouldn’t typically be attracted to large watches.
The case is unique in shape, being heavily tapered with a pretty extreme lug depth, the watch more or less hugs the wrist, while the case back is deeper to allow for it to sit on top of the wrist well, instead of contouring to the top or bottom of the wrist like many oversized divers would often do. In fact, I can confidently say, that the Aera D-1 Diver was superbly comfortable, and I was majorly appreciative of the fact that I wasn’t constantly pulling the watch up or down to sit it on top of my wrist like I would with say, a Panerai Submersible.
With the domed crystal tapering directly into the angled ceramic bezel, the case and bezel are coherent and feel similar to a pebble case. It’s a large part of why the watch feels like it wears a little smaller than it’s 44mm size would suggest. Which brings us to the next most important part of the watch… The Dial.
I’ll be honest, the dial of the D-1 Diver is one of the most coherent and legible dials I’ve seen on a watch at this price point. In face, despite the indices having lume, I’d think this watch would be dang near visible from space without it. This is due to the way the dial is constructed, and how that construction plays with the light.
For starters, the dial is shaped like a pie dish, constructed from a single sheet, and colored in a matte black. With this reverse effect from the domed sapphire crystal, the dial is almost magnified without looking warped as is often the case with watches with the pie-pan dials. When this is paired with really crispy white indices, everything pops, and I doubt we will hear anyone complain about legibility here. It’s a tool watch through and through, and the only pop of color is the light blue seconds-hand tip, and the pip at the top of the bezel - Overall giving the watch a cohesive DNA that’s fit for the gym, or 300M below the sea.
Moving on to the P-1 Pilot, both watches share a decent bit of the Aera DNA. While the P-1 measures in at 43mm instead of 44mm, it features a similar, pebble-esque case shape, once again being superbly comfortable on the wrist despite it’s larger sizing. Again, it doesn’t quite feel like a 43mm watch, which I very much appreciate.
The watch features the same pie-pan dial with the same matte finishing and color, though instead of more traditional dive indices, the watch is uniformly and obviously designed with pilots in mind. The oversized arabic numerals are the same crisp white, and the watch features a 60-minute chapter ring in intervals of 5. Once again, the watch is incredibly legible, and definitely a one-stop-shop for a Pilot looking to check the time at a glance.
Both watches feature the Sellita SW200-1 movement. The movement beats at 4-Hz, features a 40-hour power reserve, and 26 jewels. Overall, the automatic movement is a workhorse, and those purchasing won’t need to worry about servicing or issues for a long time - As this is one of the tried and true movements in the industry for watches at this price point. Though, the watches do feature a steel case back, so the movement isn’t visible, but I’d argue that the SW200 isn’t exactly a looker anyway, and would prefer the extra branding to a raw Sellita anyday.
The watches come on a myriad of strap options ranging from all sorts of leather, rubber, and nato textile straps. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the D-1 and P-1 Aera watches was the constant change of personality that was optioned right from the beginning. One of the first things I did was swap out the black rubber strap on the P-1 for a slick gray Suede strap that dressed it up a bit. Each watch and strap features a quick change pin, and each is fitted to the case (with the exception of the Nato straps because… Obviously) so swapping them out was a breeze and easy. This brings me to my next part of the review… The Packaging.
If you’re like me, and are a packaging snob, presentation is a key part of buying a watch. And Aera was nothing short of amazing with it’s packaging and delivery. In fact, Aera had some of the best packaging I’ve ever seen at their price point. The attention to detail, the inclusion of the different elements including the leather watch pouch and separate straps was quite literally a gift to unwrap. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.
Overall, I have nothing negative to say about Aera watches as a brand, or the P-1 Pilot or D-1 Diver. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the watches, and felt they punched well above their weight class when it comes to quality and effort put into a fairly affordable timepiece. The simplicity and attention to legibility and design was a testament to what can happen when microbrands don’t just try to conform to the industry normalcy’s, and actually go out and produce something fun, unique and original. That makes me, and the rest of us at the Wrist Enthusiast team excited to see what the future holds for Aera Watches.
How much is the Aera P-1 Pilot and D-1 Diver?
Price for the D-1 Diver is a modest $1,400 USD, while the P-1 Pilot is only $1,300 USD.