So, what can I tell you about my Ianos Avyssos Blue?? I got it for my Birthday this year in January – placed a blind order online – and it arrived, very quickly, straight from Ianos Watches in Switzerland, with regular updates throughout from Jacob, the creator and owner, via email. It is a steel diver, manual wind with a porthole in the back and 300m water resistance with a rotating bezel. It comes with two straps, one sort of suede/rubber and the other entirely rubber, both blue. It has a curved case at the base that makes it comfortable to wear for my 6.8inch wrist. You can look up the rest of the specs on the Ianos website.

This is a Greek watch. Yes, I know it is made in Switzerland and it has an ETA movement and Italian straps, but it’s designed in Greece by a Greek, so it is a Greek watch! No one else has this watch, well no one I am likely to run into, especially in Melbourne during the plague season, so it’s not just unique, it is one-of-a-kind. This is a summer watch, a happy watch, a watch that reminds me of times at the beach, frolicking in the sand or diving for sponges (disclaimer, I have never dived for sponges!).

To me, the Avyssos is a tool watch. I know the term is overused, especially amongst Rolex owners, but this is a watch you can put on and go diving / swimming with and not give it a second thought. Not until you gaze into that beautiful blue face that is. A face that reminds me of the rough surface of the Aegean Sea or as I see the spinning Antikythera disc beneath the face, which tells me the watch is running, no pedestrian second hand for the Avyssos!.

Avyssos, for the non-Greek reader, means Abyss. This watch is meant to be worn as you dive into the Abyss or, as I prefer to wear it, with jeans or shorts. On a winter’s day it will brighten it that little bit and in summer it will sparkle on your wrist.