SD-1 Tropic Green - Gnomon Exclusive

As a rather young brand that has only been around since 2010, Dietrich is a fascinating watch manufacturer that explores a whole new perspective on watchmaking with artistic timepieces that are organically different. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, a beautiful city renowned for its highly innovative arts and creative scene, creative French designer and brand founder Emmanuel Dietrich expresses his lifelong love for watches with his unique design signature of producing phenomenal watches which are delicate but bold, powerful yet sensual. With over 20 years of experience in designing watches, Dietrich watches beautifully echoes a visually artistic scope of Dietrich’s concepts. 

In an endeavour to create mid-size traditional diver’s watch infused with the design philosophy of Emmanuel Dietrich, the SD-1 Skindiver combines the brand’s organic visual cues with a retro style inspired by 1960s recreational dive watches, giving birth to a seriously impressive avant-garde dive watch that is in a class of its own. Apart from the ‘Suave Black’ and ‘Pacific Blue’ models of the Dietrich SD-1, Gnomon Watches is presenting an exclusive SD-1 model with an eye-catching Tropic Green dial. With green being the unofficial color of the year for watches, there’s just so much to love about the Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green, from the gorgeous sapphire dial to perhaps one of the most interesting steel bracelets that any dive watch has ever seen. 

Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green - Gnomon Exclusive

Right off the bat, the skilfully executed brushed stainless steel case of the Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green comes with appealing dimensions that fall in between a vintage dive watch and a modern one, measuring in with a case diameter of 38.5mm, a lug to lug distance of 46.2mm and a case thickness of 12mm. Despite being a midsize skindiver, this is not a small dive watch by any means, with its substantial case profile resulting in a notably bold presence on the wrist we’d expect from modern dive watches. For additional refinement, the case is finished with a slight polished chamfer running from lug to lug. 

Bracelets are not always a key highlight of a dive watch, however the 20mm brushed stainless steel bracelet Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green is a perfect example of how a well-designed bracelet with its own original style should look like. Held together by precisely engineered hexagonal-shaped links and quick-release spring bars, this slightly quirky, yet visually attractive multilink bracelet excels in both form and function as it articulates comfortably around the wrist. Tapering down from 20mm to 16mm at  the secure butterfly-style double deployant clasp, Dietrich truly shows some impressive attention here with handsome perlage finishes, a detail that would be completely fine without, but Dietrich went the extra mile to do it anyway. In case you’re feeling a little bit sportier, each SD-1 is supplied with Dietrich’s NBR rubber strap with a Dietrich-signed steel buckle. 

Swiss Made Sellita SW200 automatic

Operating the 120-click deep green sapphire bezel on the Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green is a breeze with six individual bezel grip points (referencing Dietrich’s hexagonal motif associated with the brand). With a curved scratch-resistant sapphire insert comes lumed non-numeric bezel markers with BGW9 Superluminova, glowing an attractive cool blue in the dark. 

The smoky green crosshair dial of the Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green is where things get really exciting, featuring painted BGW9 Superluminova markers on a piece of sapphire glass which results in the text and markers on the dial to appear as if floating slightly above the green fumé dial—and the effect is truly mesmerizing. Essentially following the style of previous Dietrich models, the uniquely-shaped handsets work perfectly on the SD-1 with its modernistic design, bringing the entire dial to life. The cleverly positioned date window at the 6 o’clock position is certainly one of the most seamless integration of a date complication, retaining the symmetry of the dial while still looking like an hour marker. To top it all off, the dial is protected with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal coated with anti-reflective coating. 

Super-Luminova glows in the dark

At the core of the Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green lies the ever-popular Swiss Sellita Cal. SW200 automatic movement, a treat to see at this price segment considering all the amazing specifications we get here. Widely recognized as a robust workhorse automatic movement, the 26-jewel movement beats at a 4 hertz rate of 28,800 beats per hour (BPH) and features a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. Housed in a solid sterile screw-in caseback and a fish-signed screw-down crown, the SD-1 achieves a water resistance rating of 150 meters. 

Exclusively available at Gnomon Watches, the Dietrich SD-1 Tropic Green is an extremely value-packed mid-size skindiver from Dietrich showcasing the creative design concepts of Emmanuel Dietrich in a vintage-inspired diver equipped with all the bells and whistles. Overall, the exceptional attention to detail by Dietrich for every aspect of this stunning timepiece, alongside the breathtaking sapphire dial and well-designed bracelet allows the SD-1 to shine vividly among many other offerings in this competitive price segment.