Formex Essence Thirty Nine Nacre Review

A few weeks ago we put out our review of the Formex Essence Leggera Forty Three and were blown away with just how nice of a watch Formex was able to put out at a comparably low price for a carbon watch. Formex didn’t only send us the Essence Leggera, but they also sent us an Essence Thirty Nine.

The Essence Leggera was the watch we actually wanted to review, but Markus sent the Essence Thirty Nine so my wife had a Formex to wear as well. Since we had the watch here, we thought it was a great opportunity to review a slightly smaller, even female focused, timepiece.



The Essence Thirty Nine share the same case shape and design as the Essence Leggera, although this time being crafted in stainless steel instead of the carbon found in the Essence Leggera. As their names suggest, the Essence Leggera Forty Three is 43 mm in case diameter, while the Essence Thirty Nine is 39 mm.

Even though the Essence Thirty Nine is 4 mm smaller than the Essence Leggera we reviewed, it weighs a lot more. Being made out of 316L stainless steel and coming on a stainless steel bracelet, the Essence Thirty Nine weighs 129 grams when sized for my 7.25 inch wrist, while the Essence Leggera on the rubber strap weighed only 70 grams. This is one clear advantage of materials like carbon, and while I typically steer clear of stainless steel watches.



While talking about size, the 39 mm Essence Thirty Nine has a lug to lug measurement of 45.5 mm and a case thickness of 10.2 mm. Now I typically shy away from any watch with a lug to lug less than 50 mm, so the Essence Thirty Nine is way on the smaller side for me. I’m 6’2 and my wife is 5’2, so the proportions of the Essence Thirty Nine suited her way more than it did me. Although my wife does wear slightly larger watches for a woman in a Rolex Yacht-Master 16622 (40 mm) and a Hublot Big Bang All Black 41 (41 mm), she felt the Essence Thirty Nine was a good size for her.



In all reality the Essence Thirty Nine is a great unisex watch. I just happen to prefer larger watches like Big Pilots of Offshores which blow way past 50 mm lug to lug. I could see a woman who likes to wear a watch with a little more presence than a dainty dress or jewelry watch really liking the Essence Thirty Nine. I could also see a man with a wrist size south of 7 inches who likes a more compact sized watch also enjoying the Essence Thirty Nine.



The first thing I noticed about the Essence Thirty Nine Nacre was its dial. For this model, Formex picked to use “Nacre” or mother of pearl. This inner shell layer of some mollusks produces an amazing iridescent effect which works perfectly on watch dials. In lower lighting the effect is pretty subtle and the dial just looks silver, but when the watch catches the right light the dial really explodes with color. One a personal note, one of our twin daughters is named Pearl, so extra points for that.

The dial of the Essence Thirty Nine is also fairly uncluttered with just a Formex logo at 12 o’clock, Essence and Chronometer text at 6 o’clock along with a white backed date window. The hand applied indices as well as the hour and minute hands also are coated with Super Luminova. While the lume in low light isn’t going to rival a diver with a sandwich dial, it is more than effective to tell the time in darker conditions.



Like the front, the back of the Essence Thirty Nine is also covered by sapphire crystal. Under the rear crystal you can see the Swiss made Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. Formex once again picked the chronometer grade version of the movement which is officially certified by COSC. The watch offers 41 hours of power reserve and beats away at 28,800 vph (4HZ). On our timegrapher the Essence Thirty Nine had an accuracy of + 1 to 2 seconds per day. Not quite as good as the Essence Leggera’s dead 0 seconds per day accuracy, but close and better than chronometer requirements.



The movement also has some extra decoration from Formex in terms of a skeletonized rotor, blued screws and perlage. The screwed down case back also helps with the Essence Thirty Nine’s 100 meters of water resistance. While not outstanding water resistance, the 100 meters ensures that the Essence Thirty Nine is well enough equipped to go swimming with and be a competent enough sports watch.

Only offering 100 meters of watch resistance allows the Essence Thirty Nine to not need a screwed down crown. The crown does have gaskets to allow decent water resistance though, naturally the crown should be pushed in all the way before any swimming is done. While pushed in, the crown allows for manual winding. Pulling the crown out to position one allows you to advance the date, while pulling out to position two lets you set the time.



The Essence Thirty Nine comes on a stainless steel bracelet that tapers from 20 mm at the lugs down to 18 mm at the clasp. The clasp has two pushers that need to be released to deploy the clasp for a bit of extra security. The clasp doesn’t offer micro-adjustments, but the last link on one side does have a little flip out that extends the bracelet by a few millimeters. It kind of reminds me of some of the older Jaeger-LeCoultre divers that had a similar system on their bracelets. It’s enough to help with wrist swell, but really doesn’t let you fine tune the bracelet size.



One nice thing about the Essence line from Formex is the suspension system they use in the watches. Not only does this system absorb an incredible amount of shock, but the flex in the two part case also adds a bit of comfort when on wrist, allowing the watch to actually give your wrist some play to flex and expand while pushing the case out. The effect of the case moving is much easier to notice on the stainless steel case then it was on the all black carbon case, so much so that I actually didn’t even notice it until Markus from Formex pointed it out to me.



Like I mentioned before, the Essence Thirty Nine is just too small for my 7.25 inch wrist. Although the watch didn’t favor either side of my wrist, it just looked too small for my wrist. My wife on the other hand had nice coverage on her wrist and remarked that she enjoyed the look and size. Weighing near 130 grams when sized, the Essence Thirty Nine does not disappear when being worn. You have a constant reminder you are wearing a watch unlike the carbon Essence Leggera which just kind of blended into your arm with how lightweight it was. Now the Essence Leggera isn’t heavy enough to cause wrist fatigue, and some people like a watch with weight, since they align that with quality.

I did not wear the Essence Thirty Nine out and about, but my wife did. Typically she is never stopped to be asked about her watch, since she either wears a Rolex (Ok tons around) or a Hublot Big Bang All Black which just looks like a sold black thing on her wrist. She did get asked a few times about the Essence Thirty Nine though, mainly due to the mother of pearl dial and how it looks in sunlight. I feel that if the watch had a more subtle dial, it would completely fly under the radar.



At $1,790 the Essence Thirty Nine offers great value for the money. You get a finely crafted stainless steel case with an innovative suspension system as well as a COSC chronometer certified Swiss movement. The mother of pearl dial is also a nice added bonus in my opinion. Now with the Essence Leggera carbon being the same price, I feel the stainless steel Essence Thirty Nine isn’t as much of a good deal as its carbon counterpart.



The up to $2,000 sports watch market is a tough one to be in, with basically countless alternatives around every corner. When looking at the Essence Leggera, the under $2,000 carbon watch market is tiny to non-existent and we ended up comparing it to a Norqain which cost nearly three times the price. Picking competitors to the Essence Thirty Nine is pretty tough, since there are a lot.



We can start with the Longines Conquest which comes in at just over $2,000 and offers a stainless steel case at 38 mm. Longines also just released a trio of new summer colors which make the watch a bit more playful like the mother of pearl equipped Essence Thirty Nine. You get a modified ETA movement with 72 hours in the conquest as well 100 meters of water resistance.

Going to bit up in price you have the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Date. This watch measures in at 40 mm and features another modified ETA or Sellita automatic movement with only 38 hours of power reserve. The watch does boost a more dive friendly 200 meters of water resistance though. TAG also introduced a more fun pinkish / red dial to the lineup as well.



Finally you have everyone’s favorite budget buster in the Christopher Ward “The Twelve”. These watches measure in at 40 mm and come in a stainless steel case with an integrated bracelet design. Christopher Ward also uses a modified Sellita movement here with a 38 hour power reserve, but unlike the Essence Thirty Three, it is not chronometer grade. Water resistance is also 100 meters on the Twelve. Christopher Ward offers their Twelve on a stainless steel bracelet for $1,225 as well.

So there is a quick overview of some competitors to the Formex Essence Thirty Nine. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, and as said earlier it would be impossible for me to list every similar watch to the Essence Thirty Three. These three are just a sampling, with two from long established brands and one from a newer up start.



In the end I’d really have no problem recommending the Essence Thirty Nine to somebody looking for a sports watch in the under $2,000 category. If somebody was looking for a more compact piece the Thirty Nine would be a great fit, remember Formex does offer the Essence in 43 mm as well for those looking for a larger watch. Unlike many competitors, Formex does offer a fully certified chronometer movement inside of the Essence Thirty Nine. The suspension system is also one truly unique feature that others brands do not offer as well. Going independent with a brand like Formex also insures that you won’t see your watch on tons of other people’s wrist will out as well.



Is the Essence Thirty Nine a watch for me? No not really. The smaller 39 mm size and stainless steel construction pretty much eliminate it as a watch I would own in my personal collection. Now my wife does love the watch and has worn it out a few times and was delighted with it. The Essence Leggera with its carbon case and larger 43 mm size was much more up my alley. Formex knew that and sent the Essence Thirty Nine mainly for my wife to wear and try out.

We’d really like to thank Markus and everyone over at Formex for sending us this Essence Thirty Nine to review. The Essence Thirty Nine and Essence Leggera Forty Three were a great introduction to Formex and we really can’t wait to see what they will send us next to review!



For more information about the Essence Thirty Nine please visit : Formex

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: 0333.1.6609.100

Retail Price: $1,790

Case Size: 39 mm

Lug to Lug: 45.5 mm

Thickness: 10.2 mm

Weight: 129 Grams

Case Material:  Stainless Steel 316L

Bezel: Stainless Steel 316L

Strap: Stainless Steel 316L

Movement: Swiss Made Sellita SW200-1

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date

Power Reserve: 41 Hours

Water Resistance: 100 Meters