After watching quite a few videos on Youtube from Marc at Long Island Watches, and watching him grow his business and now introducing his own models , built to his spec at very competitive prices.. I wanted a decent daily wearer with Sarb dimensions and a decent movement... so after some thought pulled the trigger and ordered the Islander 39 grey sunburst dial. Arrived a few weeks ago, worn daily now for two weeks, and has become a favourite of mine.. I love almost everything about it... some small niggles, but not really of any consequence...
So I will give my thoughts on the watch as follows..
Case Size...
Perfect case dimensions in my opinion, great main case, an exact homage to the Sarb 033, lugs sides and brushing... absolutely lovely. 39mm and 10.5 thick.. with 20mm lugs, curved and tapered , so falls to a great wrist shape.
Dial..
Lovely sunburst dial with applied markers and logo, Oyster perpetual hands and nicely shaped date window at 3 with a shortened index, I prefer this approach.
Second hand goes to the edge of the chapter ring, which is perfectly aligned, with double index at the 12 position, all plots are lumed using generous amounts of C3 luminova... not quite Seiko strength but lasts well and has the rolex look.
The sunburst is simply stunning, with no overcrowding of the dial with unnecessary text...I love the logo.. simple and effective.
The watch has a fluted bezel in the grey, which gives it a more dressy look but still is a daily , im really happy with the fluted bezel... but it is available in black with a smooth bezel.. so more of a Seiko look again.
The watch comes on a lovely quality Jubilee bracelet, which tapers from 20 to 16 and back to 18 for the clasp, screwed links and really comfortable. Clasp is milled and has three micro adjusts, but like all jubilees, if done properly with enough play , they are supremely comfortable, this is as good a jubilee as ive worn. You can tell that a watch enthusiast commissioned this watch.
It has the well regarded Miyota 9015, which I find more reliable recently than my ETA.. watches. This is obviously regulated before dispatch or at assembly as the beat error was 0 in all positions, and time keeping is +1 across the five positions, with maximum deviation of 3 seconds.. very impressive.
To finish the watch off it has a crown along the Sarb design, signed and the operation is flawless, screwed down and has a water resistance of 10 bar.
Saphire crystal , nice and clear with some decent AR on the underside and the watch has an open case back with saphire here again.. that is not that common on the case backs..
All in all a great watch at 349 dollars plus 77pounds import costs...
only small niggles is unsigned clasp, easily remedied but not really a bummer.. not a lot of info on the caee back.. but actually it says enough.. so as I said very minor ..
Can I recommend this watch...Absolutely 100%...
Its a great case and looks even better in the flesh...
Be gentle... my first review, only written it because its unlikely that anyone else here has one yet as it was a recent release and now out of stock!!!
Comments welcome..
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Nice mate, glad you’re happy with it. You can see from the stepped case and it’s profile the Sarb influence, but between the hands, fluted bezel and jubilee I can’t think past Datejust when I look at this. I hear LI make some solid watches and that Mark gives good after care. Enjoy!
Looks very datejust to me, and not sure why they bothered with a display back - but looks nice enough quality tbh
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I enjoy watching Mark's videos - he's genuine and passionate about what he does. Seems like his Long Islanders are all spec monsters for the price. Enjoy the watch OP
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