Watch Review: The Icy Sentinel By Northern Star Watch (A Six-Sided Watch With Lots Of Character)

Northern Star Watch is a new watch brand on the scene. Launching in 2021, husband and wife team, Shaheen and Noraida, wanted to create something bold yet elegant. You won't be finding any Submariner homages or cheap Ali-express white-labeling here. Instead, you get a piece unlike anything else on the market.

The Sentinel is a six-sided watch that features a very detailed dial, lots of lume and a design that will have people turning their heads. It's bold design is not for the faint of heart, but rest assured it's a lovely little piece. Here is our review of the Icy Sentinel by Northern Star Watch:

Inspiration For The Sentinel Watch:

The Sentinel collection draws from two major inspirations: the case is inspired by the medieval age and the dial by celestial bodies.

The medieval influences include knights on horseback, large impenetrable stone castles, and epic fights with sword and shield. The case is designed like a shield and the beveled edges are like a forged blade sharpened and ready to strike.

The sunburst dial represents the cosmos and the moissanite gems are like stars in the sky that guide travelers along their way. My Icy Sentinel is a tropical sky at high noon and the moissanite gems are the ice cubes sparkling in my tropical cocktail.

Box And Presentation:

The Sentinel arrives in a simple black box with a black paper sleeve. The top of the box features the name of the brand in gold lettering which is a nice simple touch. Upon opening the box, you are greeted by the watch, a polishing cloth and a strap changing tool.

The box does not contain an instruction manual or even a QR code, but the watch itself does not have any complications so setting it is pretty straight forward if you know how to unscrew a screw-down crown (more on that later in the review).I found tit to be quite intuitive and easy to use.

Case And Strap: 

The Sentinel measures in at a 44mm wide (point to point), 40.5mm diameter and a thickness of 11mm. It does look chunky, but it isn't oversized by any means (not like the dinner plate sized watches that were a fad about half a decade ago).

The case is made of 316 LSS stainless steel and features both polished and brushed accents. The dial itself is 34mm but more on that later. A flat double anti-reflective scratch-proof crystal is on both the top of the watch and also on the exhibition case back.

The back of the watch features the exhibition case back, the name of the brand, the number of the watch (xxx/300) and a bible verse. Whether you are religious or not, a bit of worldly wisdom never hurt anyone.

The Sentinel features a textured screw-down crown and the website claims it has a water resistance of 5ATM (50M) although the rating is not marked on the watch itself. It seems odd to have a screw-down crown on a watch that isn't a dive watch, but I can understand using it as added protection against water damage.

With that in mind, this watch will survive being worn in the shower, out in the rain and maybe a quick dip in the pool. We highly suggest not wearing it diving or if you plan to stay in water for long periods of time.

Lug width is 20mm, perfectly proportional for a watch of this size. The strap does not feature quick-release spring bars, but that's why they included a strap changing tool free of charge. The included strap is on the thicker side, but isn't irritating or feel chunky when on my wrist.

The strap is made of genuine leather and features an engraved top plate bearing the company name. It may not suit everyone's taste, but I think it adds character to the watch. If leather straps aren't your thing, Northern Star Watch also offers beads-of-rice stainless steel bracelets.

At the moment, there are four different Sentinel colourways to choose from:

• The Black Sentinel
• The Gunmetal Sentinel
• The Icy Sentinel (The one in this review)
• The White Sentinel

Every edition is limited to just 300 pieces. However, 10 watches of each colourway features a gold rotor, so you can get an even more limited edition Sentinel if you want.

The Dial: 

The teal sunburst dial of the Icy Sentinel is absolutely lovely. My mind immediately thought of the white sand beaches of Turks & Caicos when I first laid eyes on it. The dial truly shines (pun intended) in natural sunlight. I could spend hours tilting the dial and watching the rays of sunshine shimmer across it.

The teal dial has applied gold hour markers and an Arabic 12 at the top of the dial. The dial also features a silver metallic ring bearing the brands name and a mother of pearl dial bordering the silver dial. This mother of pearl dial features roman numeral indices and small diamond-like gems at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock positions.

These gems are moissanite gems. Although not as hard as diamonds, they have a higher refractive index, meaning they sparkle more than a regular diamond does. These gems are a nice little feature and add to the "oooo shiny" feeling I get while playing with the dial in the sunlight.

The Sentinel also features not one but two types of Super-LumiNova. The hands, 12 o'clock marker, and pips on the applied hour markers glow green and the inner roman numeral dial plus numerals glow blue. The contrasting colours makes the watch very easy to read in the dark.

Movement: 

Inside the watch you will find a 24 jewel Miyota 90S5 automatic movement. The beat rate of this movement is 28,800bph and has a frequency of 4Hz. The accuracy of this movement is -10 to +30 seconds a day and features a 42-hour power reserve.

A decent 3 hand workhorse that will keep your piece ticking even if you don't wear it for a day. As with any watch with an automatic movement, we recommend unscrewing the crown and giving the watch a wind to start it. Do not shake your watch violently as you may break it!

Negatives: 

For a watch this unique and bold, some may find the dial too busy, the case an odd shape, or the engraved plate on the strap tacky. Personally, I like that Northern Star Watch is trying something different and putting some new designs out into the watch world. I'll always give a compliment to someone wearing something unique.

The only big negative I have worth mentioning is not having at least a QR code to a webpage that has information on the watch and a guide on how to unscrew the screw-down crown to set the time. I can see someone struggling with the crown if they've never dealt with a screw-down crown before.

A minor negative, but one worth mentioning nonetheless, is having a screw-down crown on a watch that isn't really a dive watch. I say a minor negative because, as I stated earlier in my review, it is just added protection. The Seiko Alpinist has a screw-down crown and it, too, isn't a dive watch.

Summary

The Sentinel by Northern Star Watch is a big bold beauty. Yes, this watch may not be for the faint of heart, but if you like unique pieces that push the boundaries of style, then this is a watch to consider for your collection.

If you are interested in purchasing a Sentinel for yourself (or for a friend), click HERE 

Be sure to sign up to Northern Star Watch and receive a 15% discount code on your first purchase.

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