Watch Review – Phoibos Wavemaster

Better to be alone than in bad company.

The Wave Master is, as the name suggests, a dive watch from Phoibos, the Hong Kong-based microbrand who have been making waves (shut up, me) and growing their reputation in the microbrand scene thanks to some striking designs and decent technical chops.

We picked this one up ourselves when the watch-addicted algorithm that permeates our browser suggested Phoibos to us.  And after looking through their wares we found this Wave Master with its striking abalone finish.  Inventory photos are one thing, but our goddamned peepers needed to see this thing in the flesh.  And we needed to find out what the hell abalone is because we went to a comprehensive school in South London where all we learned was insults and very basic trigonometry.

Abalones are a type of mollusc,  but with an oil-spill colour scheme that takes in lots of blues and greens.   This dive watch uses a mix of abalone shell and mother of pearl on its dial.  The benefit of this is that it should look good and, enjoyably, each watch ends up looking unique.  A one-of-a-kind finish.  Nice.

Our first impressions of the watch were good but not stellar.  We had expected it to glisten and shine like some sort of Cybertronian artifact.  But we bought this in November.  In the North-West of England.  In the dreariest year since records began.  So, not exactly the fairest of test conditions.  And so, the Wave Master found itself in the B-rotation.  Getting the occasional day of wrist time but not enjoying the usual honeymoon period.  This was more of a Las Vegas wedding with a stripper called Candy.

We even tried to pep things up with a strap.  The abalone blue coloured cracked leather ‘Berlin’ from Watch and Strap Co.  And initially the pairing was superb, a perfect match.  But alas, there’s a point of friction somewhere between the lugs of the watch that wore away a section of the strap’s colour.  It’s a shame because the combination was glorious for a hot minute there.

At this point the honeymoon was turning sour but we put the Wave Master back on the bracelet and, for whatever reason, it just clicked with us.  Firstly, it’s comfortable.  Every bead in the bracelet feels chamfered, there’s a welcome bit of on-the-fly micro-adjustment and the polishing is nice but not too in your face shiny.  I’ve not got the hairiest wrists ever but definitely got noticeably fewer hairs torn out of our skin.  Also, my wrists are flat so the beads of rice style of bracelet definitely hugs my stupid contours better than a strap does.  And, thankfully, the links are joined with screws (thank you God/Allah/Buddha/Hendrix/whoever).  There are even quick release spring bars on the bracelet too, which should save you a lot of faff if you do want to change up the look.

The 39.5mm case size (and 47.8mm lug to lug) is versatile enough for everyone.  On this reviewer’s skinny 6.25 inch wrists, it looks rugged but proportional.  And, as the weather improves, so does that dial.  We’re not sure how Phoibos’ quality control filters out the bad ones but we certainly got a good one.  Those oily, inky tones are just gorgeous in the right light.  And look, normal people don’t mention your watch to you, but we’ve certainly seen this one catch peoples’ eyes.  It’s just so different to the usual blue, white and black dials that you usually see.

The syringe-style hands and dot-and-dash indices all pop nicely, making legibility a non-issue, even on such an interesting dial.  The only downside, and it’s a minor one, is the look of the bezel.  It’s a little plain in comparison but entirely functional.  The uni-directional, 120-click motion feels as satisfying on the Wave Master as it would on more expensive watches too.  And there’s a proper sapphire crystal (with anti-reflective coating) so it should be reasonably durable too.  Let’s hope so anyway.

Phoibos’ Lovecraftian logo sits at the top of the dial and people tend to like it.  In this age of microbrands with terrible names and logos, an octopus with a crown isn’t going to offend anyone.  And it’s good because we’re still not sure how to pronounce Phoibos anyway (Foy-boss?  Fee-boss?  Phoebe Waller-Bridge?).  So, it’s good that it’s not on the dial.  The lower half of the bezel confirms two more things.  ‘200M’ tells you that the watch is water resistant enough for some diving and water sports, thanks to its screw-down crown, and ‘Automatic’ is, of course, a reference to the Wave Master’s calibre.

In this case, it’s Citizen’s ever-reliable Miyota 9015.  This classic movement offers a power reserve of 42 hours, is hackable (meaning the second hand stops when you pull out the crown) and ticks at rate of 28,800 bph.  In our experience, it’s reliable enough to be a solid daily driver.  We went with the date complication (which we will ALWAYS do) but Phoibos offer a choice of with or without, which is thoughtful of them.

One thing that really surprised us with this one is the lume.  The watch uses Super-LumiNova BGW9 (fifteen layers) on not only the hands and indices but also on the bezel and it really pops.  Aside from one full-lume dial watch in the collection, this glows better than anything we’ve got.  Even our full-lume Revelot Hexmariner is lacking in comparison.  To this day, if this one is still on the wrist at bedtime, we’re going to at least open our eyes once to gaze on its glorious luminosity before going to sleep.  Because we’re easily impressed by shiny things.

The back of the watch is no slouch either, sporting Phoibos’ customary embossed caseback which shows the Octopus logo and a few technical details about the watch.  We’d have liked a display option but it’s the back of the watch.  Chill.  There’s a signed crown too and no crown guards either, so everything looks clean.  In fact there’s an octopus with the crown on the crown.  Make your own Inception/Xzibit jokes.

Costing £355 (€425.00), the Wave Master offers a lot of watch for a very reasonable price.  But, of course, check out any offers before you buy.  Only a fool pays full price for a microbrand as there are always offers.  Phoibos, at the time of writing, are offering 15% off if you sign up to their newsletter which is fair enough (although, the weak-willed among you might want to unsubscribe because there’s always another watch to lust after from these guys).  There’s also a two year warranty which we hope we never have to use because sending something to Hong Kong feels like it would be a chore.

2026 update:  So, despite really liking this watch, I’ve now sold it.  The reason wasn’t the watch itself but rather Phoibos themselves.  I reviewed the Voyager earlier this year and noted on there that I really didn’t have a good experience with their customer service and quality control departments.  Now, mistakes happen.  Revelot sent me a watch that I wasn’t happy with and they exchanged it without any issues.  Phoibos essentially tried to gaslight me on about the piss-poor alignment of the date window (and were quite threatening to other people that I know).  I eventually sold that watch at a loss and broke even on this one and I’m happy to be Phoibos-free forever.

1.5 out of 5.0 stars1.5

Pros:  

+ Attractive dial

+ Good specs

Cons:  

– We absolutely cannot recommend Phoibos and suggest you buy from companies with better QC and customer service.

JUST THE FACTS

Availability/Options:  With Phoibos being a microbrand (or not, some say they are, some say they aren’t), this one comes in and out of stock as and when they can make them.  If you fancy a cheaper option (in the abalone finish), Phoibos also do the PY010ER which has a few key differences.  No longer powered by the Miyota, this instead uses Seiko’s workhorse NH35A movement and offers an extra 100 metres of water resistance and moves the date from 3 o’clock to 6 (or, indeed, opt for the no-date version).  Or you can get this model in various other colours, including a white MOP.

Brand:  Phoibos

Model:  Wave Master

Reference:  PY053ED

Style:  Diver

Case Size: 39.5mm

Movement:  Miyota 9015 (Automatic)

Material:  Stainless Steel

Band Width:  20mm

Band Type:  Fold-over push-button deployant bracelet

Price Paid:  £287.48 (Black Friday, November 2024)