(39) Hemel Air League Review - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPhWAeneS-k

Transcript:

(00:00) [Music] my name is jason and this is just watches okay today we have a watch from hemel which was very generously lent into the channel by a friend this is my first experience from the brand and also my first experience with a watch that's powered by the seagull st19 so i'm pretty excited to check out both however before we get to the review if you're enjoying the content of this channel i invite you to subscribe and if you're enjoying the contents of this individual video please give it a thumbs up so

(00:32) price and availability this particular model is currently sold out on humble's website but they have a number of other chronographs available the msrp on this watch is 4.99 so starting with the case it's 40 millimeters in diameter 47 millimeters lug to lug it's 13 and a half millimeters thick and then has a 20 millimeter lug width opening the total weight is 86 grams now the case is entirely high polish there is a chamfered edge along the edge of the lugs which has a nice curve down to them i actually like the contrast of the high

(01:00) polish case with the black of the dial and ceramic bezel insert the watch is tall at 13.5 millimeters but the bezel serves to break up the height when viewing it from the side and i don't find that it wears overly big additionally most mechanical chronographs are often thicker watches the stock genuine leather strap starts at 20 millimeters before tapering down to 18 millimeters the color pairs nicely with the watch and the stitching matches the color of the lumen indices the strap is thick and feels very robust the pin

(01:26) and collar is also signed twice with hemel which is a nice little detail it also features quick release pins for easy strap changes the screw-in exhibition case back helps provide 100 meters of water resistance and utilizes a sapphire crystal details of the watch are deeply etched around the case back and the window gives a wonderful view of the st-19 movement so i've wanted to get my hands on an st19 movement for a long time and i will say it is a really nice movement to look at while the finishing is fairly basic the combination of the

(01:53) blue screws purple jewels and the chronograph mechanism including the column wheel is just mesmerizing to look at this is a 21 600 vibration per hour handbind only watch with the 40 hour power reserve it doesn't hack but with the small seconds sub sub-register for the running time that doesn't bother me that much operation is snappy and a pleasure to use the top pusher starts and stops the chronograph while the bottom pusher resets i have heard mixed reviews about these movements but hemel does have a 24 month warranty so if you

(02:21) do have a mechanical problem they would have you covered the six millimeter push-pull crown is nicely signed with an embossed background and a high polish h it is also knurled it's also my main complaint about this watch since this is a hand wine only watch you will spend quite a bit of time winding it however due to its thin profile and the fact that it is closely flanked by the chronograph pushers it can be a little tricky to wind i would love to see a slightly bigger crown with a wider profile to make the watch easier and

(02:46) more pleasurable to wind as it's something you're going to have to be doing basically every other day the double dome sapphire crystal is treated with anti-reflective coating which will make it much easier to read the dial the crystal doesn't protrude much above the bezel however so the dome isn't super noticeable i would prefer if it did because i think it would give the watch more character but obviously that's a personal preference and with this watch already being quite thick i think it was

(03:07) actually the right choice the 120 click unidirectional bezel has a very beautiful finish around the edge with very clean diamond shapes cut in to provide grip the action is nice and clicky but will settle back about one click when you stop turning it you will get used to this fairly quickly and everything still lines up nicely the insert is ceramic and has markings for each hour with a triangle at 12 and then 15 30 and 45 for those respective positions in arabic numerals the bezel insert is slightly superfluous on a

(03:33) chronograph since you can time things with that function but i also like to time things with the bezel now hemel makes other versions of this watch with the 12 hour insert and that i think is the perfect combination then you can use the chronograph to time things and the bezel to track a second time zone either way the bezel insert is nice and the markings match the loom used on the rest of the dial perfectly which i'm sure wasn't easy to do also all these markings are loomed which you will see in the loom shot the dial is a

(03:58) bi-compact style with a tachometer around the edge there are also marks for each of the minutes that are further subdivided arabic numerals are used for the hours with a 30 minute sub register for the chronograph at 3 the running second sub register at 9 and then heml is printed at 12 with air league the name of the watch and chronograph at the 6.

(04:18) the dial is all nicely laid out and the contrast of the white and patina loom against the matte black of the dial makes this watch extremely legible the hour and minute hands are syringe style filled with lumen edged with white the chronograph central seconds hand is long and white and has a loomed arrow at the tip and a counterbalance at the tail the running seconds hand is a white leaf and the chronograph minute hand is a white arrow all of these hands are super legible as the white stands out great against the dial as you can see on the time grapher this watch is keeping

(04:46) excellent time plus four seconds a day with the dial up with a really really high amplitude and minimal beat error and with the crown up getting plus three seconds a day really accurate watch i'm not sure if they regulate these i know this version of the st19 has that swan neck regulator which is supposed to let you dial in the accuracy very well and it appears they either did so or we got extremely lucky on this watch and as you can see the loom on this watch is great it's keeping pace with the seiko monster

(05:09) here and they even loomed those little sub register hands and the bezel it's really nice to see everything loomed up like that and here is the watch my six and three quarters inch wrist this 40 millimeter case is a great size 47 millimeter lugs don't overhang and then as you can see it is quite tall but i don't think it wears overly large and it does hug the wrist quite nicely so pros and cons starting with the pros well this watch has a ton going for it spec wise and i think is very nicely laid out

(05:34) and a pleasure to look at with the ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal the watch is going to look great for a long time also 100 meters of water resistance is really nice and mechanical chronograph and something you don't often see as for cons i would like to see a slightly larger crown both in diameter and in profile which would make this watch a lot nicer to wind second while i actually do enjoy the high polish finish on all of the case perhaps some use of mixed surfaces on the case would have been welcome as for

(05:58) comparables there are quite a few watches that use the seagull st19 movement that also occupy this price point the laurier gemini is also 4.99 and then for quite a bit more you can get the baltic by compact001 alternatively for cheaper you could pick up a watch with this movement from one of the chinese brands for around 200 however i think if you had a mechanical problem with one of those it would be a huge hassle to get repaired i think what you're paying here is for the warranty and the ease of getting the watch fixed

(06:26) if there's any problem with it so there you have it the hemel air league what do you guys think about this watch let me know in the comment section below as always if you're enjoying the contents of this channel i invite you to subscribe and if you like the contents of this individual video please give it a thumbs up that's all for this time my name is jason and you have been watching just watches