Adina is a fifty-one-year-old, Australian watchmaking business well known for its fondness for waterproof men’s and women’s watches. Functional fashion if you like!

Each product of its various collections is deeply rooted into the Australian way of life. The brand has established a reputation for delivering high quality and functionality at an unmatched level of affordability. The brand takes its role in the Australian manufacturing landscape very seriously and aims to deliver across the suite of the Adina collections.

The Adina Heritage Amphibian CT108 SKXS is a timepiece that pays homage to one of the first production model Adina’s founder Bob Menzies ever produced. The S-22. It’s designed with symbolism that tells a story of a man and his dream: to design and build by hand watches in Australia. To fully appreciate the merits of this heritage inspired release it’s helpful to know the Adina story of its founder and the 2nd generation family business he has forged.

The Adina Amphibian CT108 at a glance

The first thing you notice when looking at the face of this Adina Amphibian is the tall dome of the sapphire crystal glass. It creates a stunning visual effect which combines effortlessly with heritage coloured minute track. The high pronounced dome clearly refers to the old press fit acrylic glass of the seventies. We’ve yet to see a watch, diver, or otherwise with such a pronounced crystal. It’s a visual novelty but still offers a clear view of the stunning blue dial beneath with remarkable legibility.

Let’s Get a Closer Look

The case measures 41mm in width and 13mm tall off the wrist. The case of the CT108 is created from cold stamped premium 316L stainless steel. This grade of metal is known for its rust and corrosion resistance. It’s also a durable metal that holds up under pressure. The finish has a sophisticated matte appearance in brushed styling and a distance of 40mm lug to lug. The crown and bezel are stainless steel. The former is a unidirectional bi-oring style with a utilitarian coin edge for a minimalist yet functional edge. When you flip the watch over you will see a classic screw back. The dial is dark cerulean featuring a light red almost lipstick pink micro-minute track. These features enhance the personality and exude a sporty aesthetic. The logo cannot be over looked as it is the original logo used by Adina founder Bob Menzies in 1973-74 before coming up with the brands’ current logo. The result is a sophisticated and masculine look. The dark background of the dial sets the perfect backdrop for the polished hour and minute markers. The hands are chunky and filled with Superluminova, a treatment that is also applied to the indexes. They glow brightly in low-light environments to display the time legibly regardless of the lighting. The watch is water pressure tested up to 20ATM. Finishing what is a very limited edition of 100 watches is a vintage stitched tan leather strap.

The movement

This Heritage inspired Adina Amphibian CT108 is powered by a 5 jewel Swiss Made Ronda 715 movement. Functions include hours, minutes, seconds, and date at the 3 o’clock position on the dial. It is a Swiss workhorse that has proven itself time and again for reliability and accuracy.

Price and availability

As with the entire Adina collection, the CT108 Adina Amphibian is available through authorised Adina dealers and online carrying a manufacturer’s recommended retail price of $299.

Final thoughts

The heritage inspired CT108 Adina Amphibian watch is a unique looking and feeling watch that offers water resistance of 200 meters. It’s offered at a what can only be described as a very reasonable price for what you get. Spinnaker priced it low enough to open it up to more customers. This timepiece has a story to tell. If you’re familiar with the Adina history and their mission to produce watches in Australia, you’ll see the carefully chosen features that pay their respect to that history.