# Rlt28



## Nalu (Nov 28, 2003)

Haven't seen much about this watch and there's nothing in here, so I'll give it a go.

First thing one notices about this watch is the spartan dial - I love it! No depth rating, no superlatives, no certifications. Just an expanse of matte black with the company name and "England" at the 12. Nicely done. I like the simple batons and track, very "classic diver" looking. I also appreciate the white on black date wheel as it adds to the blackness of the dial and keeps things orderly.










The case is highly polished and a gentle radius has been put on all edges, making it a very comfortable watch to wear. It's really about the perfect size for my wrist and the rounded back fits nicely into the hollow of my wrist (actually it's the distal forearm, but who's looking). Although the polished surface will take some abuse as a beater (how I wear the watch), I don't at all mind that kind of _wabi_. Only thing they could have done better for this case would have been to give it hooded lugs. I like hooded lugs as they really increase your strap options and present a quite clean appearance on the wrist. These lugs are quite 'deep' and so a fitted strap will be desired for those of you who dislike space between the strap and case (see pic of back).



















I should add that the crown is of good size and well-protected by the stout crown guards,

The 60-click bezel is of a well-known style and functional. It is ratcheting and unidirectional, with a modest amount of play. Mine is aligned perfectly. Well done in that it is matte like the dial and not gloss as one usually sees. The crystal is just slightly proud of the bezel and the aluminum spacer ring really adds light to what could have been a darkish dial.










The supplied strap (seen here) was comfortable and adequate for the job, but I've now put mine on a black 'kevlar' style, which suits it to the ground. Roy made a good choice here, giving us something inexpensive and functional - knowing us nutters would swap it out anyway!









I'm still unsure about the citiseiko hands . They are nice and large which should yield good night visibility (lume pictures TBA), but they're not exactly my style. I'm thinking that a set of ladders (as on some of the old FFs) or possibly plongeur hands would be cracking. An coloured minute would really add a certain something to the watch. Orange would stand right out against the spartan dial - a characteristic I like in a dive watch.

Specs: The watch has a 25J ETA 2824-2 (making hand and dial mods simple thanks to Bill Yao), mineral crystal and 200m depth rating.

A few measurements:

44mm across, including crown

47.5mm lug to lug

20mm between lugs

13mm thick

In summary, a nice job by Roy







. This is a tough price point, particularly considering my exchange rate. The Sea Angler, the new Seawolf, the "Eco-zilla" and a few other choice divers fall just above it; the BMs/OMs/Steel Samurai and Aqualands are just below it, and the O&Ws are around it. Would I have paid more for a sapphire crystal? Yes. But this watch is a first class watch as it is made: simple, comfortable and tough. Top class, and a worthy successor in the RLT dive watch chain


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Very nice review there Colin.









I love the seconds hand most.. 

I hate to say it again but Roys products are allways better than his photos







It makes me smile when I get one through the post,


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## Ironpants (Jul 1, 2005)

Thanks for the review and cracking photos Colin.

A great little watch I have overlooked until now







and a blank canvas for some engraving on the back.......

Toby


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Great review Colin









The `28 has been on my wanted list since it came out, hopefully I`ll get one in a few months









It doesn`t help when Roy keeps bringing out interesting new watches such as the Railroad & Pulsations


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## mattjg01 (Jul 3, 2006)

Great review and lovely looking watch. I just feel the dial looks a bit unbalanced with the writing at the top and nothing at the bottom.

Matt


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## Nalu (Nov 28, 2003)

Here are the lume shots I took tonight. As I suspected, the hand lume is impressive. On the other side of the coin, the dial lume was a bit of a let down.

Here's a shot of the 28 by itself:










And compared to the vintage Zodiac SSW (probably ~10 yrs old):










Sorry about the SSW bezel pip Jase
















And compared to a more common reference, the RLT20:


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Great review and great photos. This really is a watch that we don't see often enough. Mine arrived a week or two ago but I've only just found the USB lead for the camera tonight.

Fantastic


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## Ventura (Nov 27, 2006)

Does anyone have a face shot and various profiles? Combat Colin's ones are cool but want some from a bit more distance if any?


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

I've tried some shots but I'm no photographer


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## Ventura (Nov 27, 2006)

Excellent mate. Thanks.


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## JOHNB (Jun 21, 2006)

Tremendous review

John


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2007)

Wicked pics


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## mcfly68 (Jul 11, 2007)

Hi,

I'm new to the Forum. I am very interested in this watch (can't make my mind up between this one and Ollech & Wajs 3077) for it's classic Sub look. Does anybody have a picture of it with a James Bond Nato strap?


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2007)

mcfly68 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm new to the Forum. I am very interested in this watch (can't make my mind up between this one and Ollech & Wajs 3077) for it's classic Sub look. Does anybody have a picture of it with a James Bond Nato strap?


You know i love that watch but it needs a nato or bond ,the rubber just does not do it justice


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Welcome Mcfly...

I cant help you with a pic, but I bet it will look great


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## ETCHY (Aug 3, 2004)

I'm really starting to like that watch a lot...... must resist, must resist









Does the RLT script really glow in the dark or is that just an illusion ?

Dave


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Well spotted, my guess is it does, I hadn't noticed before but it must do....


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## DaveE (Feb 24, 2003)

Keep finding myself drawn to the RLT-28. It would be interesting to find out where Roy sourced the (citiseiko?) hands from. They would be very useful for any vintage Zodiac SSW projects.

IMHO, the RLT-28 would look good also with Ploprof hands. Come to think of it, has Roy ever considered selling dials and hands in a similar manner to Bill Yao? There appears to be a gap in the market for this sort of thing here in Europe.

cheers

Dave


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## Nalu (Nov 28, 2003)

ETCHY said:


> I'm really starting to like that watch a lot...... must resist, must resist
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The RLT script is being illuminated by the hour hand due to the long exposure.


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Colin.... One of the best lume shots of all time.... and a wondeful watch that B&M.


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## ETCHY (Aug 3, 2004)

Cheers for the explanation Colin. 

I must admit the more I look at this watch, the more I reckon it might suit a full lume dial & black hands, anyone else have any thoughts on this ?

Dave


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## last-jedi (Jan 3, 2008)

hi!!!

my first post came here while looking for bell & Ross watches,

basically I really like this watch but don't be offended when I say that I would really like the hands coloured in like orange and to have some kind of script at the bottom to even out the top script

would that be possible? I'm really liking these watches at my age (25) people tend to go for fashion watches so its great to find this site where people seem to know a thing or 2!!!!!


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Welcome to the forum! Drop Roy an email, you never know what he can rustle up....


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