Last Saturday, I went to the Artefino Festival 2023 to see Argos Watches, a Filipino microbrand.

The brand's goal is to create opportunities for Filipino watchmakers to make watches and have that become a sustainable source of livelihood, so Argos Watches are designed and assembled in the Philippines. (Understandably, it would be tough to locally source everything 100% and keep it at the current price point.)

Last year, they released their first watch: The Odyssey, which I think is a fitting name since it looks like a Go-Anywhere-Do-Anything (GADA) watch.

The pebbly-textured dial comes in 2 colors: cream and blue. The cream one feels a little more formal while the blue one is on the sporty side. Overall, the dial with its shiny applied hour markers and font choice has a casual-yet-dressy vibe which is great for the office, but with a compass-like theme with the orange seconds hand tip that make it look like you're ready to go on an outdoor adventure with it.

The material choice is also fitting for the outdoors as it has a brushed 316L stainless steel case (which hides scratches better) along with the use of sapphire crystal which is very hard to scratch (9 out of 10 on Mohs scale). 

It has a water resistance rating of 50M (5ATM), which is good for shallow waters and heavy rain. Imagine hiking and crossing through streams, but not necessarily swimming. 



As for the movement, it's powered by the ever-reliable Seiko NH35 which beats at 21,600 beats per hour. It hacks and hand-winds, and has a power reserve of 41 hours. For a microbrand watch at this price range, the use of Seiko NH35 is pretty much the norm.

As for the dimensions:

  • Case diameter: 38 mm
  • Lug to lug: 45 mm
  • Case thickness: 12 mm
  • Lug width: 20 mm



Here's how it looks on my 6.25" wrist. While the case diameter is 38mm, the bigger dial-to-bezel ratio is on the higher side so it feels a little bigger, which is great for people with bigger wrists, but the 45mm lug to lug makes it fit well for people with smaller wrists.

Priced at 17,999 PHP or 392 USD, I think it's a great entry-level watch for anyone starting out in the watch hobby.