Practical Report On The Famous Suunto Elementum Aqua Survival Watch.

By Peter Morgan

The Suunto Elementum Aqua came in a discrete black cube, with merely one word crafted on: "SUUNTO." The one I received has black case, black rubberized band, and positive face. The black case is stainless steel 316L, the standard "marine quality metal," and is very elegant. From some distance it might appear like a classy dark G-Shock watch.

The fact is a friend of mine made precisely this remark; nevertheless a close look uncovers its originality. The 41mm bezel has eight hex screws and its combination with the sapphire glass as well as the curved case remind me of the viewing port of an atmospheric scuba diving suit. In fact I do think that this is the most breathtaking function of the watch, even though it looks like the bezel of a UTS model, the execution by Suunto seems to be terrific.

Yet another distinctive function of the watch could be the enormous crown pusher at two o' clock, the one feature that's shared in between all of the Elementum products.

Being bigger than the simple pusher at three o' clock, it stands apart, adding an additional touch of various design culture. The crystal has yellow-colored circular and linear marks which define the measurements taken under water. The 2 yellow lines help to inform about the present and maximum depth, plus the dive time, while the circular marking is the analogue temperature scale.

Suunto Elementum Aqua operates in 2 modes: TIME and DIVE mode. The time function is easy to understand, the hour and the mins are placed at the middle of the display, while at the bottom of the display the date is found. Do not question the reading of seconds, the main display lacks it, regardless of the empty top part of the display which may supply the perfect area for this reading. The explanation for this particular omission may be an attempt to prevent the refreshing of the display each second and save some battery. The setup of the time requires pressing the crown for a few mere seconds. Then the time, date, and alarm setup is rather simple by screwing the crown clockwise or anti-clockwise. One more useful function of the watch is a button locking mechanism function, which can be triggered by pressing both pushers simultaneously. In addition, by pushing the middle pusher firmly in any mode, the backlight is triggered.

About the Author:

Peter Morgan is a long time watch collector and knows few things about them, specially the outdoor/sport types. So his opnion on Suunto Elementum might be taken into account before buying one. For more info: http://suuntoelementum.com/