Yema 2021 Marine Nationale Navygraf Quartz: "Meh."

My Yema "Experience"

Many watch reviewers start off with the history of a brand, and depending on the brand name they shower praise over them from previous experiences. This is not such a review. I would include photos, but what's the point. You'll see why I say that towards the end. This is my first watch from the French brand Yema and I have to say, unfortunately also my last...

So, a little back story to obtaining this watch is in order. I preordered this watch from Yema's website and waited... and waited... and waited some more until several months later it finally arrived about two months after it's advertised shipping date. I was very excited to get this Marine Nationale (French Navy) watch because of my affinity to the country of France and thought "what better way to be connected to France than to have their official military watch?" Well, since I am keeping it, it does have that connection but it also has the stain of disappointment on it that I cannot seem to get out.

Usually when we preorder something, it is something we look forward to and have high expectations for. This was certainly the case for me, and maybe why my total disappointment is all the more amplified every time I look at it. "But why is this thing so disappointing to you?! I have seen nothing but praise on YouTube and watch forums online!" Well, let me tell you the things I do and don't like on the 2021 Yema Marine Nationale Quartz Navygraf.

The Positives

In the spirit of being charitable and not sounding like a "Karen yelling at the manager", let me tell you some things that I actually DO like about this watch. It would be silly to own a watch you hate, and no watch is perfect after all.

Overall, the case finishing is pretty nice. With a fully brushed case, it gives the feel of it being a tool watch and not a a fragile dress watch. The water resistance on this watch is 200m with a screw down signed crown, which is desirable in itself. The dial is beautiful with it's distinctly French variant of blue which looks much better in direct daylight than in ambient room light. The bezel lines up on the one I got, so that's a plus that most Seiko divers never can boast. So good on you Yema for that. There is also no back play at all which again, a Seiko cannot boast. So compared to a Seiko diver, this Yema "diver" has some of the details well exectuted.

The Negatives

Oh boy... here is where first world problems will be on full display and where I will be labeled a "watch snobb" by some people, probably. Being that I primarily wear a $15 Casio everyday, your accusation will not hold water. But let's get this over with so you can know what to expect if you choose to buy the quartz model of this series.

Let's start with the metal bracelet. If you have ever owned an Invicta Pro Diver, which I did briefly, then there is your bracelet. Yup, that's my honest comparison of the Yema bracelet. It is friction based, nearly impossible to use, and so cheap feeling that I honestly might put this on a rubber strap just to begin to like this watch. Yema included two helpful features to try to make this bracelet seem good in any way but having a milled clasp and good divers extension, but failed to make anything else about this bracelet worth it. I loathe this bracelet. Sorry, but it's true. for $400 I think it is acceptable to expect a bracelet that isn't complete garbage.

Let's talk about something I covered in a previous review for my next dislike. For $400 there should be an expectation that the SECONDS HAND HITS THE INDICIES! Seriously? In 2021, the fact that we haven't figured out how to just make this just work properly is beyond me, kind of like how any watch being made is still only 30m water resistant. C'mon guys. This is either a failure by Rhonda or Yema, or maybe even both, but this is completely unacceptable to ship a watch that hits between the markers and not on them. Quartz is known for precision time keeping, at the very least accurate time keeping. This functional error literally cheapens the watch and makes it seem like some gas station knockoff divers watch almost instantly. If you have ever experienced this frustration yourself, you know exactly what I mean.

Conclusion

I haven't been anticipating something that has let me down this much since season 8 of Game of Thrones. Seriously, this watch is basically a French Invicta in my eyes, and that is in no way a compliment. I have relegated it to my new beater diver simply because it is hard to think of this as a refined piece of French watchmaking, and subsequently "baby" it like it somehow is. 

I don't hate it, but I also don't love it either. I think that is a tragedy. I wanted to love this watch very badly, but I can't get myself to reconcile it's obvious defects. Sending this watch back would be another couple months again, only to receive yet another one that has the same bracelet, likely the same movement problem, and so that would accomplish nothing but waste my time and theirs. I will reluctantly hold onto this one, but also never buy another Yema ever again.

TheDPud.com rates the Yema 2021 Marine Nationale Quartz Navygraf    3/5