LUM-TEC LUMzilla Watch Review

The rubber is a high quality with a satin texture a finish. Very smooth feeling. There is also contrast stitching in the strap. It doesn't serve a functional purpose really, but is rather cosmetic. You could easily mistake the strap as being smooth leather or something other than rubber. The strap is also "anti static." The strap buckle is nice to operate actually, and again you see the LUM-TEC signature engraving. The wide flat pin fits easily into the holes on the strap for a secure feeling. In addition to upgraded watches, LUM-TEC's packaging is getting better. They now include a "certificate of authenticity." Not that there is a big "fake LUM-TEC market," but it is a nice move in showing you their dedication (and it only costs a piece of ***). Of course you get the individualized warranty card as well. The three versions of the Lumzilla again are the LZ1 (steel with black dial), LZ2 (steel with all lume dial, "reverse dial"), and LZ3 (PVD with black dial). The LZ1 and LZ3 are available now, while LZ2 can be pre-orderd (coming in 9/2009) Pre-order prices are in the $450 range, while prices for the available timepieces are in the $650 range.After a while you'll start to appreciate just how much character the Lumzilla watch has while still being a functional watch. Get ready for something large and in charge, with a good polish, and a fair price for what will prove to be a hard to get item.Here to learn more about or buy LUM-TEC LUMzilla watches.It is important that LUM-TEC watches be hardy - as that is part of the brand character in my opinion. The Lumzilla is water resistant to 100 meters and the movement is a Japanese Seiko automatic movement that I know to be pretty hardy. You can see the movement through a caseback window on the rear of the watch. LUM-TEC got itself a nice signed rotor, and you can check out the movement in action. I would have liked LUM-TEC to use a movement that offers hand-winding (not just automatic winding), but that would have upped the cost, plus those are hard to get in Japanese movements that are sold to third party companies. Going back to the dial, I like the sloped chapter ring with the minute markers on it a lot - really helps overall legibility. Then you have the framed date window where you can see the date disc that is thankfully black to match the color of the dial. The Lumzilla has a large sapphire crystal that has a lot of anti-reflective coating on it. This makes the dial "pop" really nicely. Like all AR coatings, they can attract smudges easily, but that can be wiped away. Looking at the dial closely with a loupe (magnifier), you can tell just how precise the text and lume application are. No bleeding and an overall excellent level of quality.LUM-TEC chose a high quality rubber strap to match with the watch. It sits up right next to the case and there is no gap at all.