What's the Deal with Dievas? A Review of the Maya MKIII...Germany's Unknown Teutonic Titan.
Review by Rico's Watches
Disclaimer: This watch was not provided to me. I purchased this watch myself with my own money and it is a part of my collection and daily wear. Dievas did not send me this watch, nor do they have any input or involvement in this review.
History & Context: Dievas (pronounced D-Ah-Vas) is a German watch company based on the outskirts of Stuttgart. Founded in 2006, Dievas has worked alongside MIL/LEO tactical personnel as well as watch aficionados to inform and perfect their designs. With a focus on limited production, high quality control and innovative materials and design, Dievas brings the goods in spades, and all for a modest price. The Maya MKIII is the third iteration of the Maya line and is by far the most refined. This watch has tonnes of killer features and specifications that are in line with or outclass the brand's obvious competitors in the German tactical watch sphere, all while leaving a much smaller dent in your bank account. Long story short, this watch is a steal for the price and if you are in the market for a tough German tool watch, look no further than the Dievas Maya MKIII. The price of the watch as reviewed is $1240 USD.
Specs at a Glance:
|
Maker |
Dievas Uhren Technik |
|
Movement |
Swiss SW200-1 automatic movement |
|
Dial |
Black |
|
Luminous |
BGW9 SuperLuminova |
|
Case Bezel |
High grade 316L stainless steel w/ DLC coating Ceramic bezel |
|
Crown type |
Screwdown crown at 4 O'clock |
|
Lug width |
20mm |
|
Crystal material |
Sapphire crystal |
|
Strap |
H-link style metal bracelet. Additional rubber strap. |
|
Water resistance |
1000m |
|
Dimensions |
40.5mm in diameter, 49mm lug to lug, 13.8mm thick |
Bezel: It's hard to know where to start on a piece like the Maya MKIII. There is a lot to talk about.. so let's start at the top. The bezel on the Maya MKIII sits atop the 41mm case of the watch. With kettle style shape to it, the bezel is wider at its base than it is at its top, slowly tapering upward. The insert on this version of the Maya MKIII is black matte ceramic that is filled with blue Swiss BGW9 lume. The minute track of the first quarter of the bezel is also filled with a contrasting red lume that looks fantastic in the dark. Contrasting lume colors is something you see often involving green C3 and blue BGW9, but to see red lume (that doesn't suck and offers great contrast) is a first for me, and I like it.
The numbers of the bezel are deeply engraved in the ceramic and then filled with the luminous material much like those found on a Tudor Pelagos. The Maya MKIII comes in several different iterations and colors, all of which have different style bezels, it's worth noting that Dievas actually sells additional bezels separately for the Maya MKIII that are swappable thanks to the captive bezel system in place (the bezel is secured to the case via hex screws). The bezel ring itself is 120 click and scalloped in a way that doesn't create any sharp or rough edges, but is still easy to grip with or without gloves, similar to its competition the SINN U1/U50. The bezel has a fair bit of tension between clicks and it has zero back play. It lines up precisely and feels extremely high quality, a ball bearing system would be cool to see on this piece but is hardly necessary.
Crystal: The crystal of the Maya MKIII is flat sapphire glass that is double blue AR coated. It's clean, simple and gets the job done. Not much can be said about a clear bit of glass. That being said, as anyone that has read my reviews before knows, I hate double AR crystals. The coating always eventually gets scratched or marred and then it looks like crap and is a pain in the ass to get replaced. Your Brietlings, Sinn's, and Omegas only look good for so long before they end up with an annoying series of scratches or fading on the crystal that distracts from its readability
and beauty. If brands like Tudor, Rolex, and Seiko can get away with making some of the most renowned tool watches of all time without a second layer of outer AR, so can the rest of the watch industry. The Maya III I am using for this review was actually purchased second hand and came with scratches to the coating already. I used a simple cape cloth to polish off the coating and now all is right in the world. Anyways, rant over, stepping down off my soap box, back to the review.
Case: This is where things really start to get interesting if you ask me. Forged in Dievas' proprietary "6Steel", the Maya MKIII has a very unique case that offers 3 to 4 times the hardness of a traditional 316L steel case. 6Steel is described as the following on Dievas' website:
"Dievas 6Steel is a proprietary case hardening process developed by Dievas Watch Company in collaboration with our specialized high tech metallurgy partner. Firstly, our premium 316L CNC watch case is heated in a mixture of carbon gases at precise low temperature to allow diffusion of atoms. This intricate process is duplicated repeatedly over long hours to superimpose supersaturation and concentration of carbon."
The case is then DLC coated in grey, giving the watch further additional hardness and a bead blasted dull tool watch finish. The shape of the case itself is somewhat evocative of the iconic SKX007 at first glance. While you could not be faulted for thinking that at a glance, you would be wrong. The case is slab sided with sharp edged and a shape more closely resembling an
older Girard Perregaux Sea Hawk. Which in my opinion is very cool. You'll either love it or hate it. The crown is located at 4 o'clock and at 2 o'clock is an automatic helium escape valve. The case is rated to 1000m. The lugs curve downward toward your wrist which is nice, not that the 49mm lug to lug and 41mm diameter would be an issue for most wrists to begin with. This was
one of the iterative improvements that Dievas had with the Maya line. The MKIII being previously offered in 44mm, it was a big watch. I like big watches, but sometimes smaller ones get the job done... (that's what she said).
The watches specifications suggest that it would wear small but has a great presence on the wrist that definitely lets you know that it's a watch made for and intended to be used in the sketchiest of circumstances. Additionally, the case is a perfect thickness of 13,8mm. This aint your granddaddy's Seamaster and it's not afraid to show it. This is the perfect thickness for a tool watch if you ask me and it just plain works. The crown of the watch is oversized, signed and deeply scalloped and knurled in a similar fashion to the bezel. This makes it easy to grip and manipulate. It sits nicely recessed into the asymmetrical case that forms a Seiko Willard-esque guard around the crown. Setting, winding and general crown action feels rock solid and very well done. No wobble or lack of precision. The caseback is simple and clean with some specs and information around the diameter of the caseback and the Dievas name and your serial number. Plenty of room for engravings or unit logos if you feel so inclined.
Bracelet: The bracelet of the Maya MKIII is extremely impressive. At a glance it looks like your standard H-Link bracelet. But taking a deeper look, you can see that it is as formidable and feature packed as the rest of the watch. The 20mm end links are solid and integrate perfectly against the case, leaving no gapping and zero wiggle. From there, the end links flow into the links of the bracelet. I'm personally always happy to see an articulated end link that doesn't add length to the watch and wraps niceley around the wrist.The Maya MKIII executes this flawlessly. The rest of the links themselves are well articulated and solid. They are held together by screw pins that are expertly machined. No joke, these are some of the nicest and least sticky screws I've dealt with in a watch bracelet ever. This bracelet is as good as or better than anything you get from Sinn.
The clasp further drives this point home. The Dievas has the clasp we all wish we had on our Sinn bracelets. Hardened like the rest of the watch with twin trigger release and a sliding micro adjust/diver's extension. Bravo Dievas. Now, despite how solidly built this bracelet is, I found it to be quite light feeling and even with a little bit of jangle. The watch has a bit of a vintage Seiko feel to it. Don't get me wrong, as stated above, it is rock solid, but it seems to have some kind of jangly charm intentionally engineered into the bracelet. This keeps it comfortable and light, much like the rest of the watch. But, if you're a rubber or fabric strap kinda guy, this watch is definitely a strap monster. This thing would kill on a Watches of Espionage GLOMAR strap.
Movement: Inside the Dievas is the Selitta SW-200-1 Movement. Standard for most micro/independant dive watches these days, the SW-200 is a proven workhorse that is easy to get serviced and should keep accurate timekeeping for years to come. Some sources say that the movement is modified by Dievas as well. I don't see anything about it on the Dievas site, so I'll assume it's regulated for better time keeping and that they throw their 4:30 date wheel on it and that about it. One thing that is cool, while on the topic of the date wheel, is that while sitting the 4:30 position, it is vertically oriented so that the date is never at an odd angle to read. A small detail but a welcomed one.
Hands: The Maya MKIII has thick sword style magic hands. The "magic" part referenced the black painted bases of the hand stack that makes them disappear against the black dial. Very indicative once again of the modern Tudor Pelagos, Sinn U series or vintage Rolex 1655. The hour hand is white, the minute hand is orange and the seconds hand is primarily in black with a syringe style tip in orange. All 3 hands are filled with blue BGW9 lume that blazes as brightly as the bezel and dial. Clean, professional and easy to read.
Dial: Finally, I wanted to save what I regard as the best for last with the Maya MKIII: The Dial. Maybe I am simply amused, but I think the dial is so damn cool. A combination of color, tones, and layering provides a utilitarian easy to read dial that is also full of watchmaking prowess. Allow me to elaborate. The dial is a combination of colors. Primarily black with off white indices, "Maya" in red and "1000M" in white above the 6 o' clock marker. Under the 12 o'clock marker is "Dievas" and "Automatic" in white. On the "D" of the "Dievas" is a small horizontal red line that is easy to miss but ties together the red of the bezel and lower dial. The minute track of the dial is a ghosted grey color. This is such a great touch. It's there when you need it and focus your eye
on it, otherwise it tends to fade away into the black of the dial, allowing for a cleaner, less cluttered dial. The part's of the dial that are really cool are the applied cardinal points that appear to be fully made of lume at 3, 6, and 9 that stylistically feel like they pull from Panerai watches or vintage Rolex Explorer models. At 12 o'clock is a vertical triangle that harkens back to German flieger watches. Also formed of solid lume. The rest of the indices on the dial are in fact recessed into the dial, this is due to the fact that the Maya MKIII had a very skillfully made sandwich dial. This combination of applied solid lume plots and a sandwich dial is something that I have not really seen done elsewhere, certainly not at this price point. Finally, due to the cardinal indices being fashioned of solid lume and the underlying disk of the sandwich dial being solid lume, the glow on the Maya MKIII is insane. Better than a seiko, on par or possibly better than a Pelagos and I'd say on par with or just below an Ares Diver - 1.
Final thoughts: The Dievas Maya MKIII is a special watch. As the title of this article suggests, it is indeed a Teutonic Titan. It walks among giants in comparison against brands such as Sinn, Tudor, Seiko, Ares and others. It pulls the best from them all and others and manages to form a somehow still original and unique design that is highly functional, and capable. The "German"ness of the watch is unmistakable, it is utilitarian and purpose built, but it feels like Dievas put in the effort to go the extra mile in a lot of ways with this watch that you typically may only see in Swiss made or other higher end pieces. It is impressive and a little depressing to see what a small independent company producing small batches of watches can actually achieve for $1200 USD. Now it just feels like I'm being ripped off by everyone else.
For me the DIevas Maya MKIII is a home run. If you're a seasoned tool watch collector looking for something different or new to the game, this watch will set a bar for you that will be hard to beat by watches even twice the cost. I highly recommend this watch to anyone looking for an alternative to the Sinn U series, Tudor Pelagos or Vertex M60. This watch captures the best of them all and then offers it to you at a fraction of the price. Having owned or handled all of the aforementioned pieces in this article, I like to think I come from a place of experience and authority. But perhaps I'm just coming from a place of well intentioned bias.
You decide for yourself.
-Rico