Among the few watches released last year that still linger with me today is the Serica 4512. A massively charming field watch packaged into a small but confident case strung together with a bonklip bracelet. You might imagine my excitement when the brand?s co-founder and lead designer, Jerome Burgert, shared news that they were working on a diver with the same core philosophy. Meet the Serica S617 reference 5303, a diver?s watch with broad aspirations to work above sea level as well as it will below. 

I love dive watches, and we see our fair share around here. They often stick to the same tried and true formula of what a dive watch should be: highly legible, capable, simple, with a rotating bezel. We don?t see much deviation from this formula and as a result, today?s dive watch scene feels relatively homogeneous in nature. The 5303 deviates enough to feel like a (very welcome) breath of fresh air. It immediately stands out as something a bit different, and the more you look, the more little details you?ll discover.
The first thing I noticed with the 5303 was the odd bezel. It?s split into two sections, with a black portion at the outer edge, and a brushed steel portion comprising the inner edge. While not novel to this Serica, it?s a rarely seen execution that brings a curious look to the watch taken as a whole. In the 5303 the outer track gets a 60 minute gradation as you?d expect, while the inner track, which is a bit thinner, receives a 12 hour track to serve...