In a very crowded watch market, the EMG Nemo has caught the attention of many collectors through great designs and competitive pricing.  To me, it is clear this watch was designed for a watch enthusiast collector.  It seems like major brands continue to release oversized watches that leave many of us in the watch community scratching our heads wishing for changes.  The truth is, we are a small minority of the market for major brands, and our wishes aren’t topping any of their lists.  In part, this is why the microbrand market has exploded in recent years: They offer a sort-of balance to a runaway watch market.

The EMG Nemo takes many cues most major brands have ignored and many microbrands overlooked.  In my opinion, here are some reasons why the watch works so well.

Size

It seems as fashion brands (and most brands and general) shift towards larger sized watches, the watch collector community is returning to the smaller-sized origins of our hobby.  With most brands pumping out 42mm-44mm sized divers (and beyond), little is left for us who want a modest sized watch on our wrist.  The EMG Nemo capitalizes on this with its 40mm width.

• Diameter: 40mm

• Thickness: 13.5mm

• Lug Width: 20mm

• Lume: Hands, indices, bezel

• Movement: Miyota 90S5

• Crystal: Domed sapphire - AR Coated

• Water Resistance: 200m

• Bracelet: Beads of Rice – Solid end Links

• Crown: Signed

With a great 13.5 thickness (a lot of that going towards the high domed crystal), this watch meets the specs of many modern day “vintage inspired” dive watches.

Bezel

Lumed bezels seem to be disappearing (no pun intended).  Either the price of a watch with one is too high, or the quality is lacking on the lower end pieces.  The EMG Nemo manages to create great lumed bezel, with a lot of detail, and keep the price low.  That’s another great choice and execution by EMG.

Bracelet

This is more on the opinion side, but beads of rice bracelet need to be more common.  Of course, they’re not always the most affordable choice, so they are often overlooked by brands in an attempt to keep costs down.  But the comfort of a BoR bracelet is undeniable, and in my humble opinion, it’s one of the coolest looking bracelets.

Dial

Something I particularly liked about this design was the lack of text on the dial.  Aside from the word “Nemo” and “20ATM”, there is no text cluttering the dial.  In a point in time where adding a novel and a half to a dial is becoming the norm, this approach creates a fantastic look that plays well with the overall design.  The railroad around the circumference of the dial adds so much to the design, without altering the theme of the watch. This small detail may be my favorite aspect of this watch.

Conclusion

Simply stated, brands like EMG deserve more attention. Often times, collectors compare prices with bigger and more established brands, and they decide microbrands aren’t the best “value”.  However, I believe microbrands are playing a very important role here: They are representing us, the watch collectors, in a market that seems to be shifting away from what we want to see.  In a way, microbrands like EMG are providing a balance to the shifting markets and providing choices for the minority.  The EMG Nemo is a watch created by watch enthusiasts for watch enthusiast, and they hit it out of the park.

You can find the EMG Nemo for sale here.

Below is an unboxing video that shows what you get when you buy this piece.