Wristwatch Review: Buech & Boilat Thresher Diver-style Watch

Watch styles come and go, but one style remains a constant:  the diver-style watch.  As part of my WatchGang membership, I recently received a new one from Buech & Boilat.  It's called the Thresher.  Mine came with a light green bezel and a dark green face.  While almost no one has ever heard of Buech & Boilet, the brand brings a lot to the table with the Thresher.

Buech & Boilet Thresher Diver-style Watch

 Who is Buech & Boilet?

According to the Buech & Boilet website, the company is a revival of an award-winning 19th century watch brand.  However, there isn't any mention of who the backers are or the executives running the company.  The brand doesn't have many mentions or much in the way of social media activity.  The watches pop up on Overstock.com, Amazon.com, ebay, and are distributed to WatchGang members.  I wonder if it is still running as a company.  That's a shame because the watch itself is quite nice.

Buech & Boilet Thresher

Buech & Boilet Thresher Features

The features of my Buech & Boilet watch are quite impressive.  The watch is powered by a quartz movement with Swiss Parts.  It has a stainless steel case and bracelet that are water resistant to 200 meters.  It has an etched caseback and crown.  The crown is a screwdown crown for improved water resistance.  It has a unidirectional rotating bezel with the customary dive-style markings with the first 15 minutes of the hour hashed.  There is a small date window at the 6 o'clock position.  There is plenty of lume applied to each marker.

Buech & Boilet Caseback

Buech & Boilet Thresher Dimensions


This watch has a 48 millimeter diameter case, a 20 millimeter band width, and is 13 millimeters thick.  There was plenty of space for even the largest wrists.  I had to remove two links in order to size the watch down for my wrists.  I found that the watch has a very hefty, solid, feel without being too heavy.

Thresher Shark:  Photo by Thomas Alexander [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Buech & Boilet Thresher Overall Impression

In this era of virtual watch brands and micro-brands, watch companies come and go, but their watches remain.  I hope Buech & Boilet is out there and working on new designs.  I really liked the Thresher diver-style watch.  It is a nice, solid, feeling, diver-style watch with a cool name.  I like dive watches to be named in a manly way after real things like sharks.  This watch looks good and fits my wrist well.  Plus, it actually has a rotating bezel.

Is this watch a good value for me as a member of WatchGang?

I'll bet that most people reading this review already have a Buech & Boilet Thresher and wonder if they are getting a good value for their WatchGang membership dollar.  I think that they are!  This watch has features that are similar to familiar watches such as the Invicta Men's Pro Diver Analog Quartz watch which sells in the neighborhood of $50 an up.  However, this watch doesn't have a cyclops magnifier over the date window.  Many diver-style watches such as my Pulsar don't even offer a rotating bezel.  Since my Pulsar was a $70 watch, I would estimate this watch could sell for $75 to $150 in a conventional retail store.  While few people have heard of Buech & Boilet, I find that the obscure brand adds a bit of mystique and exclusivity.  It is highly unlikely that you'll ever see someone else wearing this watch.  Too me, this watch is a definite keeper and was another pleasant surprise.