Alanti Crux Ultrablack Review
The video review this post is based on was sponsored by Alanti, and I know Al, the owner of the company as an acquaintance as we run in the same watch circles here in Canada. That said, I don’t allow sponsorships or friendly relationships to have an effect on my reviews. It’s never nice to have to say bad things about watches made by nice people, but it’s sometimes necessary. This week, fortunately, that won’t be the case. This is a very good watch, but even if it weren’t as usual, sponsored or not, I’ll always tell you what I really think.
You can click on this link to see my full video review for lots of extra details and video footage including many macros. The photos above are screen captures from my review:
https://youtu.be/WkxYCHhq8lA?si=E-ybwUSBruwsdjV5
Specs:
-316L Stainless steel Case
-38mm across
-10.3mm thick
-44mm lug to lug
-20mm lug width
-Screwdown signed caseback
-Push-pull signed crown
-Miyota 9039 Movement (regulated +5 seconds per day 0.1 beat error)
-28,800 BPH
-42 hour power reserve
-Musou Ultra Black Dial
-No Lume
-Double domed sapphire crystal with AR coating only on the inside
-Water resistance is 50m
-Weight on included leather strap with deployant clasp is 70 grams
-1 year warranty
-Price is around $502 USD with a normal pin buckle clasp and $575 USD as reviewed with the deployant clasp
Lows:
-There are no things I’d classify as lows here. The watch really offers a lot for the money and has no standout flaws that would qualify as actual lows.
Mids:
-This Musou dial is a big high overall, but there are a few funny things about it that I’ll talk about here in the mids. It’s so dark that it plays tricks on your eyes. The edges of the indices sort of disappear and reappear depending on the light, sometimes making the indices look misaligned. I ran tests with lines running across them, and they are straight but the musou’s light trapping quality creates illusions. As for strict traditional legibility of the this watch, you can definitely tell the time, but it’s not as high contrast as you might expect from a watch with silver indices on a pitch black background, again, as a result of that light absorbing dial.
-Another thing to address about this Musou Black dial, is while it absorbs over 99.4% of light, making it one of the blackest surface treatments available on the market today, Musou is a matte black finish. So, while it’s very dark, glossy blacks can sometimes appear deeper or more rich due to the way light interacts with their surfaces. The Crux dial here looks much darker in person, when not being bombarded with studio light, but having no reflections comes at the expense of appearing a bit more soft in terms of the blackness of the dial. A glossy black dial can appear more black when the lighting is just right, whereas the Alanti is always dark, but never as dark as that, in quite the same way….but *much* more dark than most matte black dials which end up looking closer to dark grey. It sounds like a paradox but the dial isn’t as pitch black, as it is just devoid of light. The pictures tell some of the story but in person it’s much easier to understand.
-Additionally regarding the Musou dial treatment if/when this watch needs servicing (which all watches do eventually) it will need to be handled with extreme care. The Musou black dial is very fragile. Choose wisely when it comes to a watchmaker. If you do that, you should be fine. As a side note, always only deal with watchmakers you trust, as a general rule. Also the dial is only fragile while being handled. Under the crystal it’s safe and sound.
-Alanti is a small company and I think the fact that they are often low on stock speaks really highly of the demand they are facing, but at the same time it’s a bit of a mid, because if you want to buy one, you may in some cases need to some patience to wait for restocks.
-The Crux is only 38mm, and 44mm lug to lug, but I’d definitely take note that if you have a smaller wrist, the dial-forward appearance and case shape, make it wear a bit larger in terms of visual impact. on the plus side, it isn’t actually large, so if you do have a sub-6.5” wrist you could still probably wear it. It’s in a goldilocks zone size wise where I think a lot of people might like it. That said, I think the fact that it wears larger than it’s size, will be a mid for some people.
Highs
-The included strap here is quite nice, overall. I think the pebble finished leather is a pleasing variation from the old standard matte black, and the deployant clasp while adding about $73 USD to the price of this watch, is quite well made. It is a tiny bit thick, but the advantages are that it’s got a very satisfying and secure feeling in operation, and it has an excellent strap management aspect to it where the strap tucks underneath, much like clasps you’ll see from Tag Heuer, Omega, or Christopher Ward. I personally would go for it, even at $73, since it really does feel quite premium and I like it a lot.
-Speaking about straps, I think this Musuo black dial, coupled with that versatile case design makes this watch into a bit of a “strap monster.” It’s very hard to find a strap that doesn’t go with a minimalist black dial and SS case.
-The sapphire crystal here is AR coated and only on the inside. This is my preferred method as it means the watch crystal retains the true scratch resistance of sapphire on it’s outside surface, where it matters. To balance that out the inside of the crystal has a 6 layer AR process applied to it for excellent reflection management.
-Even though the Crux is sort of a classy daily wearer, style-wise, it’s got 50m of water resistance, which is great to see. A lot of similar watches have 30m, which isn’t the end of the world, but 50m is better.
-The engraving found on the crown and caseback, are really deep and clean. I see a lot of engraving under a macro lens and it’s such a positive thing when I see that it’s been done to this standard. Really clean work.
-The finishing overall here is very nice. There is a bit of dust here and there that isn’t visible with the naked eye but that’s pretty standard at all price ranges, and in this case dust has nowhere to hide from the macro lens contrasted against that Musou black backdrop. The one flaw I’d call out specifically is there is a tiny little excess piece of metal in the crook of the hour hand. That said, like the dust, it’s not really visible with the naked eye. Overall, very nice work here.
-This watch features a Miyota 9039. I love this movement so, so, much. It’s thin, reliable, high beat, and in this case it’s been regulated too. The timegrapher had it at about +5 seconds a day with a 0.1 beat error. I rotate watches a lot and so outside of really expensive pieces I find myself being pretty forgiving about regulation, but I think this watch being well regulated is a nice touch and a show of respect to the customer.
-I spoke about the size of this watch earlier saying it wears a little larger than the specs would suggest due to its wrist presence, but I’d also like to mention that it’s a very comfortable watch, as well. It’s not very thick at only 10.3mm including that double domed sapphire crystal, and overall it behaves really well on the wrist. I could see wearing this watch every day for weeks on end without feeling like switching it up, and that’s always a good sign.
-Musou is also high. Yes I talked about how it’s a bit visually challenging and not even necessarily the inkiest black out there depending on the lighting conditions, but it’s also silky smooth, stealthy, and even trippy. I said gloss blacks can be richer, but this black doesn’t change at any angle. This is uniquely dark, and gorgeous. It’s a light trap, and as mentioned earlier looks so much darker in person than in studio lighting. It almost creates a black on black look as there’s not a lot of light bouncing around on those silver indices, so at times the aesthetic is almost similar a Citizen Nighthawk, or one of those low contrast black-on-black Omega Seamasters. Not quite that far, but it does look very cool.
-Possibly one of the most impressive things about this watch, and about this brand, is the fact that there are applied indices here. This dial treatment is SO delicate that almost no one will attempt to apply indices to it, because the result is a majority of dials will be ruined by the application process and must be discarded, and it just ends up making production too expensive. Alanti went for it and the effect is worth it. It looks really good.
-This watch has one of my favourite microbrand logos. Logos are often something we have to address as a “work in progress” in the microbrand space. Not here, imo, I absolutely love it.
-The overall aesthetics of this watch are on point. The case shape, indices, and hands all work together to create a unique wrist presence and a lovely timepiece. I really like wearing this watch, if only just so I can catch glimpses at it throughout the day. Beautiful job.
-The value here is definitely high. We know that dial wasn’t cheap to produce, the movement is high quality -not to mention regulated, and the watch is put together to a high standard. Alanti saves money here by skipping wasteful packaging as it arrives in a travel case instead of a full presentation box, but that is a plus as far as I am concerned. This watch is a really good deal.
Conclusion:
I like this watch, and this brand, a lot. They’re taking risks here with the materials, and they’re bringing a design which feels unique, while at the same time remaining classic. The watch wears really nicely, and is very well made. At the price they’re asking for this watch, if you find yourself intrigued I would absolutely consider checking one out.
If you read all of this, I thank you!