Mulco is re-establishing itself as a brand in the Swiss watch market, after it was revived in 2006. The brand is known for its modern takes on old designs, and the Mulco men’s MW5-93503-023 Bluemarine Chronograph watch is a great example of its mid-range offerings.
Bluemarine Design & Function
The brand is known more for their design than mechanics, and that´s true of the MW5-93503-023 too. It has a generic Swiss quartz movement – accurate and reliable, but not “high precision” nor much different from those found in other mid-range Swiss watches. Meanwhile, the watch is water resistant to 100 meters, and has a screw-down crown- nothing outstanding, but fine for occasional light swimming. What makes this somewhat surprising is that the watch comes with a decorative tachymeter. Decorative, because a tachymeter is usually used by divers to measure their time underwater, but this watch is unsuitable for diving (that requires 300, preferably 500-meter water resistance.) Don´t be fooled, therefore, by seeing the tachymeter and assuming that this is a diving watch: it most definitely is not. Whilst you could still use the tachymeter as a timer, this is somewhat unnecessary as this model comes with a triple chronograph function (technically, it´s a chronograph not a watch) embedded in the dial. To end on a positive note, the dial is protected with sapphire glass, which is a nice feature for the current selling price.
Uniqueness
As we´ve said, none of these technical details are the real selling point of the Bluemarine watch though. More distinctive is the overly-large case (50mm) and the two-tone, or rather triple-tone, design. The black dial and band stand out well against the brass-colored bezel and chronometer dials, whilst the stainless-steel grip and chronometer dial give a welcome additional contrast. The dial has also been designed to resemble a clog, in a clever hint to tradition, and there is a subtle date window at the 4 o´clock position. Overall, it´s a nice, if slightly busy, display. The only real negative of the MW5-93503-023 is that the hands are white, which blends in well with the three-color design but makes them slightly hard to read against the busy background. Maybe more negative, though it depends upon your taste, is the band design. Optimistically described as “textured silicon” it has a somewhat rubbery, false leather appearance. We´re not so keen on it, although other people seem to like it so it´s a question of personal taste.
Decision Time
Ultimately, the Mulco MW5-93503-023 Bluemarine Chronograph watch looks nice (band excluded) and it´s great if your budget doesn´t stretch very far but you still want to buy a luxurious-looking watch: although this watch is on sale through some merchants at a huge discount, most Mulco models retail at around $400+. However, the over-sized dial, decorative tachymeter and leather-styled silicon all leave this watch looking anything but subtle, and it´s a bit heavy too, so it´s best left for those who love the design.
If you´re keen but would prefer a different color combination, the same model is available in a variety of color combinations including mint green, baby pink, brown and red.
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