Review of the Maen Hudson MkIII

Hi all, I thought I would share my experience with this vintage inspired micro-brand. I have no connection to the company, but I thought this mini review would be a way for me to contribute to the forum. Maen watches began around 2016 with Kickstarter. They started by offering quartz dress watches, and then introduced a Submariner inspired dive watch called the Hudson with a 2824-2 ETA automatic movement. Their latest project is a 38mm chronograph using 2894-2 movement.



The Hudson has undergone a few refinements, the first few iterations had some minor issues with lume and the bezel was difficult to move. I pre-ordered the latest version (the MkIII) back in November and it just arrived last week. According to Maen this version has fixed the prior issues and improved the fit and finish of the case. I have found this to be true. They have also switched to the STP 1-11 Swiss made movement.

So far I really like the watch, and the price is quite low for what you get (only 400 euros). It is a nice size, 38mm and only 12mm thick. In spite of its vintage size and some resemblance to a Rolex 5508, it brings some unique and modern aspects. It doesn't try to fool anyone with Mercedes hands or fauxtina. The box ssapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating that imparts a blue hue in certain light, the applied indices, and unique hand shape give it a very modern but understated feel. The screw-link bracelet is quite comfortable, but does have only one micro-adjust hole. The dial is super easy to read, and the lume is good. It is 200m rated and has an exhibition caseback. The movement is nicely decorated with perlage. Here are some mediocre cellphone images for you all. Excuse the dirt in the bezel in the last image, I like to garden. Also, see:

https://www.maenwatches.com/pages/hudson-automatic-collection

This shows the blue hue that I assume comes from the AR coating.

EDIT 8/9/2021: Review of warranty process and photo of movement used in more recent versions included in a followup post below.

The all white is very nice.

The quality seems great to me. I feel like you get a 800 euro watch for 400. Although, you have to deal with preorders and delays. I wonder what their margins are, and even more what kind of margins the big companies have. They did save some on the box, it is barely a step up from a cardboard shipping box. I could care less about though.

It is so hard to find a new watch these days without the date complication.

Just a quick update, over the last week the watch has average +1.4 sec/day. It is surprisingly consistent and well regulated.

I thought I should give you all another update. I had an issue with the watch stopping and so I sent it in for a warranty claim. The process was less than painless. Part of the problem is that I live in a rural area not served by DHL. After a ridiculously long email transaction, I sent the watch all the way back Sweden. It took 3 months from the time I shipped it, for them to be ready to ship it back. They swapped out the movement with a new one. The original movement was a nicely decorated STP 1-11 movement (see photo above), and they replaced it with an undecorated Ronda R150 (picture below). All new versions of this what come with the Ronda movement. They did include a free rubber tropic strap. I am glad that they took care of the watch, and time will tell if the new movement performs well.