Side by Side: A Comparative Review of the Sandoz Submariner (Singapore) and Marcello C Nettuno3.
I recently bought the Sandoz Singapore Sub for a project, but am still waiting for some additional parts to arrive before I send it off to Duarte. Since it’s here, and I also have a Marcello C Nettuno3 I thought it would be fun to compare the Sandoz vs. the Marcello C and take a look at these two Submariner styled watches.
Specs
Marcello C Nettuno3
Model: Nettuno3 Ref. No. 2007/A
Movement: Automatic ETA 2824-2
Dial: Black
Complications: Date, screw down crown, display back
Material: Stainless Steel
Crystal: Sapphire
WR: 300M
Width (w/o crown): 40mm
Height: 13mm
Lugs: 20mm
Lug to Lug: 48mm
Weight: 148g*
Price (new): $706 (plus shipping from Marcello C Watches)
Price (used): Approx. $375 – $500
*Weight with 4 links removed from the bracelet
Sandoz Singapore Submariner
Movement: Automatic ETA 2824-2
Dial: Black
Complications: Date, screw down crown
Material: Stainless Steel
Crystal: Sapphire
WR: 100M
Width (w/o crown): 40mm
Height: 12.5mm
Lugs: 20mm
Lug to Lug: 47mm
Weight: 119g*
Price (new): $265 (shipped from the PMWC)
Price (used): Approx. $200 – $250
*Weight with all links in bracelet
Among the similarities these watches share are the the same ETA movement, stainless steel case and sapphire crystals. Their dimensions are similar, both at 40mm without the crown and 20mm lugs. By my measurements the Nettuno3 is just a tad taller and just a 1mm longer from lug to lug, but these are not huge differences. All in all, in these areas the watches size up to be quite similar.
There are some sizable differences, however, starting first with the water resistance rating. The Nettuno3 has the Sandoz beat by 200M, coming in at 300M with the Sandoz at a “mere” 100M. Realistically, if you’re a desk diver 100M should be fine and dandy. I personally do not expect to be even 10M below the water’s surface any time soon. However, I do know that a lot of people take the WR quite seriously and for some 100M is just not enough.
Next on the list is the weight difference between the two. Even with all links in place the Sandoz is noticeably lighter than the Nettuno3. I was quite surprised to feel how light the watch felt, I expected it to be closer if not nearly the same as the Nettuno3. I suspected the bracelet may have had something to do with that (more on that later) so I weighed the watches again, this time, head only. Without the bracelet the N3 came in at 76g and the Sandoz at 62g. The weight gap did narrow some, but the N3 still outweighed the Sandoz.
The last difference is, of course, price. The Nettuno3 price is obviously higher than the Sandoz, 266% higher! Whether or not the Nettuno3 is worth the difference is of course a matter of personal opinion, to a degree. But one must also consider along with that the workmanship and quality of the product. While I feel that the N3 is perhaps a bit on the pricey side, I do feel that the higher price over the Sandoz is justifiable. You can feel the difference when you just hold the two watches. Is it worth $706? Well…let me just say that I was happy to pick up a pre-owned example for around $450.
Case, Crystal and Crown
The cases of the two watches are quite similar. The N3 appears “beefer” in some areas over the Sandoz. The lugs on the Sandoz look narrower than the N3, as does the crown guard. Both cases have the same overall shape, however, and the aforementioned differences are slight. Both have a screw down back, although the N3 I own does have a display back. Both use a standard opener to get into the movement, however the Sandoz also has the Rolex style “teeth” on the back, although only for looks. One thing the Sandoz has that the N3 does not is drilled lugs, which is a nice addition.
Both watches do come equipped with a sapphire crystal, which I know is a must for a lot of people. As is known, where the N3 falls short is on the date magnification. Rather than 2.5x mag the N3 comes in closer to 1.5 (this is just my guess) as there appears to be very little actual magnification of the date. The Sandoz, on the other hand, does go with the full 2.5x mag over the date, making it pop right out at you at a glance.
As one would expect on a Sub style divers watch, the Nettuno3 and Sandoz both come with signed, screw down crowns. The N3 crown is 6.8mm in diameter and the Sandoz 0.2mm thicker at 7mm. Both are knurled for easy grabbing for setting or screwing in. The N3 crown screws in smoothly and when in sits just about 1mm above the crown guards. The Sandoz catches the threads and screws in well, although not as smooth as the N3. The crown, when fully screwed in, sits outside the crown guards by just a mm as well, but with the domed end it appears to be out further.
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1. A side view of the two watches, showing the drilled lugs on the Sandoz (right) and the deep coin edge bezel on the Nettuno3 (left).
2. Side by side of the date magnification (sorry about the dust).
3. The signed Nettuno3 crown, also showing how deep the coin edge runs on the bezel.
4. The signed Sandoz Sub crown with the shallower coin edge bezel.
5. View of the N3 crown screwed in.
6. View of the Sandoz crown screwed in.
7. The N3 display back.
8. the solid Sandoz back.
Dial, Hands, Bezel and Lume
The dials on these two watches is where the real differences stand out. The Sandoz went with the traditional Rolex style markers using the upside down triangle at 12 with stick markers at 6 and 9 and ball markers for the other hours. There is also the minute chapter ring printed on the perimeter of the dial. The Nettuno3 makes a departure from the traditional Sub style markers using instead a rounded upside down triangle at 12 and a combination of ball and stick markers at all the other hours. In addition the N3 does also have the minute chapter markings on the dial with the addition of numerals every 5 minutes. This gives the N3 a very different look over other Sub-alike watches. Both watches kept the text on the dial simple. The N3 uses only the “Marcello C” text below 12 (no logo) and at above 6 is the watch name (NETTUNO3) followed by the water resistance rating (“1000ft / 300 m”) and lastly “AUTOMATIC”. The Sandoz has at 12 the Sandoz logo with SANDOZ right underneath it. At 6 it also has three lines of text, “AUTOMATIC”, “25 JEWELS” and “SAPPHIRE”. Both seem proud to let everyone know their watches are automatics, which seems rather silly to me. The only thing I like less are those who proudly state “QUARTZ” on the dial. The printing on both is simple, however, and does not overwhelm the dial. The N3 ensures this by printing the text on the dial in a muted color, not bright white like the Sandoz.
The hands on both watches are the common Sub-style Mercedes hands. The differences lie in the size of the hands. The hour hand on the N3 is just slightly larger than the Sandoz and the N3 minute hand just a bit longer, actually reaching the edge of the minute track. The seconds hands are of the same type, just different in size and ball placement.
As to the bezel, again, both watches are quite similar. They use the traditional Sub style bezel that we’ve all seen a thousand times: coin edge, minute markings from 12 to 3, stick markers at the odd hours and numerals on the even hours (10, 20, 30, etc), and a lume dot at the 12 o’clock hour. The minute markings from 12 to 3 on the N3 are longer and thicker than the Sandoz, and at 12 the lumed dot on the N3 is sunk into the bezel rather than raised above as is the Sandoz. The N3′s coin edge runs further down the bezel toward the case, visible to the eye, however not so noticeable to the hands.
As one would expect, both watches do have luminance allowing for visibility in dark conditions. The two watches have different colors of lume on their dials and hands. The N3 appears more white than the Sandoz, which is greenish. After exposing them to the same light source for the same amount of time I found the lume to be quite similar in color and strength. I left the watches in the dark and checked them after 10 minutes. I found that the hands on both were equally visible, and the hour markers on the N3 slightly brighter than the Sandoz. The lume dot at 12 was not visible at all on the Sandoz while the N3 could still be seen. Although I could see the lume after 10 minutes in normal light, the camera did not pick it up, so I had to enhance the photo a bit, which ened up making the Sandoz look the brighter of the two (see photo 13).
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9. Straight on shot showing the differences in the markers, hands and bezel.
10. & 11. The 12 o’clock lume dot on the bezel of the Nettuno3 (10) and Sandoz (11).
12. A lume shot of the two watches with equal exposure to equal light.
13. Lume after 10 minutes (photo enhanced).
Bracelet
As one would expect, both watches come with an oyster style bracelet, but that is where the similarities end. The N3 has a far heftier and more sold bracelet. The Nettuno3 bracelet has solid links and solid end links, a beefy fold over clasp with divers extension, and a brushed finish. Rather than pins, the Nettuno3 uses screws for the removable links. The individual links on the N3 bracelet are thicker than the Sandoz (3.3mm for the N3 and 2.7mm on the Sandoz).
The Sandoz bracelet has solid links but folded end links, a fold over clasp which is stamped (unlike the N3) but no divers extension, and a brushed finish on the outside links and polished on the inside for that two tone type of look. Rather than screws, the Sandoz uses pins for the removable links, which came out without much effort when I resized the bracelet. The heads of the watch may stack up close, but on the bracelet side of things the Sandoz takes a serious backseat. The Nettuno3 bracelet is one fine, fine piece of work.
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14. Side view of the end links for both watches.
15. A view of the oyster bracelets.
16. A look at the clasps of the watches.
17. An open view of the clasps; notice the difference between the two.
Performance
I have owned the Nettuno3 for a while now (since July of 2006) and I have found that it is my most accurate mechanical watch. It will normally gain less than a second a day when worn on the wrist. Interestingly, I have seen it’s performance waver from -2 to +2 when left on the winder for a period of time, most likely due to the resting position once the winder completes its cycle.
In the first 24 hours with the Sandoz it gained only 4 seconds. With the watches having the same movement I suspect I can get close to the same performance as the N3 with a little work. But why bother? Nothing wrong with +4 a day. I will know more down the road how the Sandoz performs.
Conclusion
Both watches are in the Rolex Submariner vein, that much is obvious. In the end it comes down to what you want: a Rolex Submariner styled watch that takes some departures from the traditional style and tweaks a few things (of course, now the new Nettuno3 takes it even further), or a Rolex Submariner styled watch that takes a more direct approach to paying homage to the Sub. There’s nothing wrong with either one of these options, it all depends on what each individual wants.
The other topic to discuss here is price. The Sandoz Singapore Sub is obviously quite lower priced than the Nettuno3, which may make it a more attractive option to us Poor Men of the forum. Throughout the past couple of years I have seen this question pop up on the PMWF from time to time: “Is the Nettuno3 really worth the price?” Since I am not in the watch production business in Germany selling to a worldwide audience I suppose I cannot technically answer that question. (Cheap way out, I know). Can I say that I feel the N3 should cost more than the Sandoz Singapore Sub? Yes, without a doubt. While the Sandoz Sub is by all means a fine watch it does fall short in a couple of areas (bracelet, weight, water resistance, for example) that make the Nettuno3 stand out as the better option. If you were to hold the two in each hand you would instantly assume the Nettuno3 was the better time piece; trust me, it’s exactly what I felt. Again, I have to stress that I am not tossing aside the Sandoz Sub at all. Heck, I bought one, right?
In the end I feel that whichever way a WIS chose to go, they could not go wrong with either of these options. You get a swiss movement, sapphire crystal, decent water resistance, oyster style bracelet, and the classic Submariner styling in each package. It depends, as I first said, I what you want on your wrist and how much you can have coming out of your pocketbook.
