Heritor Morrison Review
Updated: Feb 18, 2020
Starting the new year with a review of one of the newest additions to my collection, the Heritor, Morrison, Automatic Diver. The Heritor brand is relatively new on the watch scene, falling under the umbrella of the American watch manufacturer Resultco, who launched the Heritor brand in the United Kingdom back in 2015. Admittedly, the Heritor designs take their cues from timepieces of the past, mixed with modern technical influences, and you'll certainly see that influence in the Morrison timepiece I'm reviewing.
Outer packaging can be described as basic at best. I can't fault Heritor for this, as this particular timepiece was shipped through the Watch Gang distribution pipeline. An air pillow cradling the outer and inner packaging of the timepiece, can hardly suffice as adequate protection from crushing damage, but the timepiece did survive the shipping transit from origin to destination in good order, so no harm, no foul. An outer, branded, "Heritor" sheath covers the inner-packaging, with the inner-packaging being comprised of a lid and box combo, with padded insert to cradle the Heritor Morrison timepiece.
There are literally a sea of cushion case dive watches currently available in the watch market, and there's a reason for this, as cushion, vintage-style cases are still one of the more popular style watch case designs among watch collectors; and with the current popularity of vintage timepieces, any style with a nod to vintage will get noticed. For the Heritor Morrison, there are design elements incorporated, that give this Turtle diver a personality all its own.
With a 43mm case diameter, the Morrison nearly hits the wearable sweet spot for me (44mm - 45mm), and with its flared case edges, the Morrison definitely wears larger than its 43mm case width. Heritor opted for double knife-edged index markers at each quarter-hour position, which is a unique departure from the ordinary dive watch, submariner dial. Another unique design feature, with the "Turtle"-style diver, is the crystal magnifier at the 4 o'clock position. With magnifiers usually included on the crystal of submariner homages, to see one on a "Turtle"-styled dive watch is definitely unique, if not different. There is a lot of hate in the watch world for crystal magnifiers, but to me, the magnifiers do not detract greatly from the dial aesthetics of a timepiece, so I'm good with the magnifier placement on the Heritor Morrison dial as well.
The bracelet design is a jubilee-style, with solid end links. The overall quality of the bracelet is decent, though there are slight gaps at the watch end link settings, which speaks to the QC quality of the brand. Not a major deal-breaker with this timepiece however, as the bracelet is very comfortable on the wrist. Heritor opted to go with a hidden Butterly clasp, which presents a clean, bracelet-like look on the wrist, but makes for slightly tricky removal of the timepiece, without the benefit of a push-button release or clasp enclosure.
I am a firm believer that automatic and mechanical automatic watch movements should be showcased within a timepiece. And the best way to accomplish this, is by way of a see-thru, exhibition caseback. While Heritor didn't spare any extra expense with additional decoration of the Seiko Instruments, NH35A movement, they did add the Heritor brand name to the rotor, which is a nice touch. With this timepiece only rated to 10 ATM, it only looks the part of a true dive watch, as water play will be strictly limited to washing the dishes, your bathtub, or your swimming pool.
This Heritor Morrison Turtle is available in many different case, bezel, and strap variations. I do like this Pepsi version, and for the Watch Gang subscription cost of $99, and an average retail price of $145, it is definitely serviceable as a solid, daily wearer. The hit-and-miss QC issue, with the slight gap at the side of the solid end-link, can easily be fixed with a strap change. Interestingly enough, one of the areas where cheaper quality watches normally show their deficiencies is in the bezel. With this Heritor Morrison, the 120-click, uni-directional bezel turns through, with glide-like precision, and has absolutely no slop. Overall, the build quality on the Heritor Morrision Automatic is decent for the price point, and I highly recommend this timepiece as an affordable alternative to the Seiko Prospex, Deep Blue Deep Star 1000, and similar, moderately-priced dive watches.