YEMA Superman Gilt CMM.10 Review

Back in the late summer and fall of last year we reviewed two Superman 500 dive watches from French watch manufacture YEMA. We came away from our time with the YEMA Superman 500 Dato and YEMA Superman 500 GMT Review thoroughly impressed with the quality of dive watches Yema was producing.

YEMA just sent us their newest dive watch in the Superman Gilt CMM.10 which has a completely redesigned case featuring a sapphire bezel. I'm a huge fan of sapphire bezels and currently own a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 500 Fathoms whose sapphire bezel I never get tired of looking at. The Superman Gilt CMM.10 also features the Scales Slim bracelet and the newest version of YEMA's in-house caliber CMM.10.



Before we get into the new Superman model, let's first go over a brief history of YEMA. YEMA was founded by Henry Louis Belmont in Besacon, France in 1948. Belmont was a graduate of the National Watchmaking School of Besacon, with Besacon being the historic center of French watchmaking similar to what La Chaux-de-Fonds is to Swiss watchmaking. The name YEMA came about when Belmont held a competition amongst his classmates to come up with a brand name that was easy to pronounce and remember.

The initial goal of YEMA was to produce reliable and robust watches that were also affordable. The brand was not trying to go after the fine Swiss watchmakers, but rather carve out their own niche to gain market share as a new brand. This plan to go after a broad market worked well for YEMA and the brand saw quick success. YEMA also decided in the first few years of existence to equip most of their watches with automatic movements.



With the explosive growth of recreational diving in the early 1950 the need for waterproof watches to time dives became ever more paramount. In 1953 YEMA became one of the first watch brands to manufacture dive watches that were able to remain waterproof up to 100 meters. By 1954 YEMA had grown significantly and their production reached 130,000 watches.

The 1960s saw YEMA rebrand to YEMA International and become the largest French watch brand producing over 400,000 watches annually. 1966 also saw the release of the patented Yachtingraf model that featured a countdown timer for timing the start of a regatta. YEMA then soon become the official supplier for the French Sailing team.

In 1967 probably the most important release in the history of YEMA happened with the introduction of the Superman model. The Superman was YEMA's professional dive watch which featured a patented bezel lock system that was integrated to the screw down crown to ensure the bezel could not be turned when the crown was screwed in. Soon after the introduction of the Superman, the watch was certified for an astounding water resistance of 300 meters. The Superman was a huge release for YEMA amongst civilians and the French military even equipped some of their units with Superman watches.



The 1980s also saw some interesting milestones for YEMA with their Spationaute I becoming the first Western European watch sent into space aboard the Discovery space shuttle on June 17, 1985. Following up a YEMA watch going to space, the brand then looked at conquering the North and South poles. Using a design from a young Richard Mille, YEMA developed a series of watches to cope with the harsh conditions found at each pole. These titanium watches were powered by quartz movements that would not malfunction in the elevated magnetic fields of the poles. The journeys were successful and the watches developed by YEMA functioned as expected.

From the period of 1986 to 2004 YEMA fell under control of the Seiko brand. Although YEMA continued to produce models and innovate during this time period many collectors felt that the brand lost its focus and luster. Most watches produced in this time period were quartz powered and had little to do with YEMA's back catalog of classic pieces.

In 2009 independent watchmaker Ambre France took over YEMA with the goal of restoring YEMA to the status the brand once had. YEMA's new home is now in Morteau, France and through large investments in development the brand became a true manufacture producing their first in-house movement, the MBP1000.



In the years since YEMA has re-issued updated watches from their historic catalog and continued to perfect their in-house calibers. Just like they did in the 1940s and 50s, today's YEMA is a highly respected watch manufacture that offers superb quality at still affordable prices. YEMA also has the utmost respect for the past and their current collection reflects the brands heritage well.

Initial Thoughts

Now that I've gone over a brief yet thorough history of YEMA, let's take a closer look at the Superman Gilt CMM.10. When the watch arrived the first thing I noticed about the Superman was the awesome Scales Slim bracelet. We did review a Superman 500 featuring the Scales bracelet last September but I had forgotten how stunning the bracelet was in person. The five piece construction of the bracelet just fits together so seamlessly and really does resemble the scales of a snake. The design also adds very nice articulation to the bracelet as well.



The next thing I noticed when first handling the Superman Gilt was the deep green dial and bezel. In low lighting the dial looks nearly black, but in direct light it's easy to see and admire the brilliant green dial with a sunray pattern. The gilt of the hands and raised hour markers adds a nice contrast to the green hue as well. I'm also a sucker for sapphire bezels and wish more manufactures would use them on their dive watches. The sapphire bezel found on the Superman Gilt has a glossy appearance to it and once again depending on the lighting and angle of the watch can display a whole host of colors.

The last thing I really took notice of during my initial time with the Superman Gilt was the awesome looking caliber CMM.10 which is visible through the larger sapphire caseback. The movement is topped off with a skeletonized bi-directional rotor covering a black galvanic plate and bridges. The movement is micro blasted and has an all business look to it that is complimented nicely by the gunmetal rotor. The various gears, jewels and balance also pop given the monochrome look of the movement.



Technical Specifications

Having covered my initial thoughts on the YEMA Superman Gilt CMM.10, now would be a good time to look over the technical specifications of the watch. The Superman Gilt is crafted out of 316L stainless steel and has a case diameter of 39 mm with a lug to lug length of 46.9 mm. The watch weighed in at 122 grams on our scale and at its thickest point is 13.3 mm tall.

The Superman Gilt uses a double domed sapphire crystal which is 2.2 mm thick. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire is the green semi-gloss dial with a sunray finish. YEMA uses a mixture of round, stick and tri-angle applied hour markers on the watch. All markers are encased in gilt then filled with grade A Super-Luminova which is white in normal lighting and green in low light conditions. The hands mirror the hour markers being done in gilt and then covered with white Super-Luminova. The lume on the hands do glow a contrasting blue to the green of the hour markers though. YEMA also employs the oversized minute hand which is a throwback to vintage divers.



Completing the dial is a printed minute track around the outside of the dial which is done in an antique yellow which matches the gilt color well. At 12 o'clock there is the YEMA logo and branding along with "Superman". At 6 o'clock is "300 Metres Automatique" as well as "Manufacture Francaise". All dial print is done in the same antique yellow as the minute track.

Moving on from the dial we now have the sapphire bezel. The bezel takes 120 clicks to complete a full rotation and is uni-directional. The bezel has a nice feeling to it and there is virtually no back play. The Superman Gilt isn't the loudest bezel to operate instead offering a more muted click. The bezel is rather slim but is scalloped nicely and offers excellent grip.

The bezel has a deep green background that matches the dial nicely. Every ten minute increment on the bezel is marked with an Arabic numeral minute marker. Five minute intervals are marked with a thick stick marker with the rest of the minutes being a thinner stick marker. The bezel markings are once again done in an antique yellow continuing the gilt theme of the watch. At 0/60 you have a white tri-angle that is filled with Super-Luminova that glows a matching green to the hour markers.



When you speak about the bezel of the Superman series of watches you really also have to talk about the crown since the two go hand in hand. At the lowest level a dive watch protects a diver from diving for too long by allowing a bezel to only rotate in one direction. Other solutions have been created to further reduce the chance of the bezel moving by mistake like the push down to turn bezels made by IWC for the Porsche Design Ocean 2000 and GST Aquatimer 2000, but those bezels could still be moved in extreme cases.

YEMA created an ingenious bezel lock system that one hundred percent stops the bezel from moving when set. YEMA places a small piece of metal that connects the crown to the bezel. When the crown is unscrewed this piece of metal is loose and allows the uni-directional bezel to be set. As soon as the crown is screwed in the metal then clamps down on the bezel locking it in place. Since the crown has to be screwed in before entering the water, this system ensures that the bezel is locked before use.



The screw down crown is protected by large crown guards that shield most of the crown. The crown like the bezel is nicely scalloped and provides ample grip and features YEMA's logo on its top. Once un-screwed you can wind the automatic movement in its resting position. The crown only has one additional position since there is no date function on the Superman Gilt. Pulling the crown out to position one stops the seconds hand and allows you to set the time. Pushing the crown back into causes no jump in the minutes hand and screwing the crown back in doesn't require any additional care to get the threads to line up.

The Superman Gilt is a proper tool dive watch and as such all the finishes on the watch are brushed. There are polished chamfers which gives the watch a bit more of a dynamic look. Looking at the profile of the watch you can see that the mid case is rather slim and the taper down to the wrist is minimal. In this view you can see that the bezel and case back take up the majority of the watch's thickness.

Turning the watch over shows off the screw down caseback with a large sapphire window. With the screw down crown and caseback the Superman Gilt offers 300 meters of water resistance. Through the case back you can see the in-house automatic caliber CMM.10. On top of the movement is the gunmetal skeletonized winding rotor with "Calibre Manufacture Morteau 10" engraved on it. As mentioned earlier the mostly black movement contrasts well with the winding rotor and visible elements of the gear train and escapement.



The CMM.10 beats away at 28,800 vph (4Hz) and offers a power reserve of 70 hours. It is comprised of 208 components and is rated as having an accuracy of -3/+5 seconds per day. On our timegrapher the CMM.10 showed an accuracy of +2 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions. This is within YEMA's claims and also in chronometer specifications. The YEMA Superman Gilt has a lug width of 19 mm and comes on a stainless steel Scales Slim bracelet which tapers down to 16 mm at the deployant clasp. This bracelet is a slimmer and modern interpretation of the Scales bracelet from the 1960s. The bracelet is comprised of 5 rows of scale shaped links which when combined are reminiscent of the scales of a snake. The clasp has a flip lock style safety feature that requires the lock to be flipped open to allow the clasp to open. The clasp also has a divers extension that should allow the watch to fit over a wetsuit.



On The Wrist

YEMA offers the Superman Gilt CMM.10 in two sizes being 39 and 41 mm. I'd imagine the 39 mm version is the more popular of the two given the recent trend of smaller watches, but my personal preference would be for the 41 mm case. My tastes about watch sizing were formed in the early 2000s and my personal collection consists of larger watches. The near 50 mm lug to lug length of the 41 mm would suit my 7.25 inch wrist with a 55 mm flat area better than the 46.9 mm lug to lug of the 39 mm model.

Pairing the 39 mm Superman Gilt with the bracelet makes the watch wear a little bit bigger than if the watch was on a strap due to the flare of the bracelet and also the integrated look. Even though smaller than I'd typically like to wear a watch, the Superman Gilt covered my wrist well and didn't favor either side, which is something I can't stand with smaller watches. For a stainless steel watch on a full stainless steel bracelet the weight of 122 grams is remarkably low. The watch pretty much disappeared on my wrist and the bracelet balanced out the weight of the watch head nicely, never feeling top heavy.



The articulation of the Scales Slim bracelet is also something to be noted. The bracelet conformed nicely to my wrist and also looks amazing especially as it plays with the light reflecting on it. While it's warming up in Austin, we still aren't to the hot part of the year yet. One thing that turned me off of bracelet watches in general was going through brutal summers where one second a watch would fit indoors and then be way too tight outside in the heat. Brands have started adding micro-adjustments to bracelets to deal with this issue, but even with that I still am not a fan of bracelets. The Scales Slim bracelet does not have micro-adjustments but it never caused an issue with our mild weather.

Being a dive watch, the Superman Gilt should have pretty decent legibility. To test a watch's legibility I like to glance at the watch while driving and see if I can tell the time quickly. Not to my surprise, the Superman Gilt easily passed this test with the deep green dial providing good contrast to the gilt surrounded white hour markers and hands. Also given the ample amount of lume, the Superman Gilt was also exceptionally easy to make out in low light conditions.

With my typical outfit comprising of a black t-shirt, shorts and a sneakers the YEMA Superman Gilt fit in just fine. Typically the only issues I ever have are with brown leather straps, the stainless steel and dark green dial of the Superman Gilt blended in nicely. When I wore the Superman Gilt out, the watch really didn't get too much attention. Like I've mentioned before, we live in an area where a lot of people wear Rolex sports models so stainless steel watches on a bracelet typically don't get many looks. Also most watches get unnoticed here unless I'm wearing something off the deep end like an Ulysse Nardin Freak.



I did show the YEMA Superman Gilt CMM.10 to a few of my friends when out for drinks and the watch was a great hit. The Scales Slim bracelet by far got the most positive remarks which was totally expected. The green dial and sapphire bezel also got their fair share of nice comments as well. Also most of my friends were surprised by the price of the Superman Gilt in a very good way.

Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the YEMA Superman Gilt CMM.10 has a retail price of $1,790. For that amount you are getting a watch with some of the best heritage of all dive watches in a very handsome package. The Scales Slim bracelet is super unique and not similar to any other bracelet I can think of off of the top of my head. The bezel lock system is another interesting and very well executed idea that back in its day was a literal lifesaver. Finally for under $2,000 you are getting a manufacture movement which is just unheard of. Even before we compare the Superman Gilt to other watches with similar specs I already know the watch is going to be an exceptional value. Either way, now like with all of our reviews is the time to compare the Superman Gilt to some of its peers.



First up we have another famous dive watch with origins in the 1960s the Doxa SUB 300. The SUB 300 has a case size of 42.5 mm and is crafted out of stainless steel. The DOXA is available with a green dial and comes on a stainless steel "beads of rice" bracelet, which is another unique and interesting take on a bracelet like the Scales Slim bracelet. The SUB 300 offers the same 300 meters of water resistance as the Superman as well. The DOXA is powered by an off the shelf ETA movement though, which while a great movement isn't the same as having your own movement inside of the watch. The DOXA is also a bit more expensive than the YEMA at $2,590.

Next up we have another early member of the dive watch genre with the Omega Seamaster 300. The Seamaster is up there with the pioneers of dive watches and has a 41 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. The Seamaster also has a vintage dive watch aesthetic and offers the same 300 meters of water resistance. Like the YEMA the Omega runs on an in-house caliber with 60 hours of power reserve. The Seamaster is much more expensive than the Superman Gilt at $7,100.

Moving on is the world's second dive watch released in the mid 1950s, the Rolex Submariner. The Submariner has a case size of 41 mm and is also made out of stainless steel. Like the other watches we have been comparing the YEMA to, the Submariner also has 300 meters of water resistance. As with the YEMA and Omega, the Rolex also runs an in-house caliber and has 70 hours of power reserve. Once again the Submariner is much more expensive than the Superman at $9,200.



Finally we have the world's first true dive watch released in 1953, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe was released a few years after the original Fifty Fathoms and offered a smaller version of the Fifty Fathoms for non-professional divers. The Bathyscaphe has an aesthetic more in line with the Superman Gilt and is crafted out of stainless steel with a 43 mm case. The watch once again offers 300 meters of water resistance as do all the other watches we've compared. It is powered by an in-house caliber with 120 hours of power reserve. While the Bathyscaphe is much less expensive than the normal Fifty Fathoms, it is still much more expensive than the Superman Gilt at $11,200.

By looking at these dive watches that were popular around the time that the original Superman launched you can see how great of a value the YEMA is. The Superman Gilt is by far the least expensive of the group, even less than the DOXA with an off the shelf movement, yet offers the same if not better specs than all of the other watches. You also aren't losing much if any heritage in going with the YEMA.



Closing Thoughts

So in the end is the YEMA Superman Gilt CMM.10 for me? At 39 mm with a well under 50 mm lug to lug length the Superman Gilt never really had a shot with me on a personal collection level. Even only being offered in stainless steel and on a bracelet are just not in line with the watches I collect. The 41 mm case option would have been much more in my wheelhouse and maybe if the watch came on a rubber strap it would be closer to what I tend to gravitate towards. Remember that much of my collecting preferences are rather outdated and most people prefer stainless steel over my favorites of titanium, ceramic and carbon. The same can also be said about most collectors now preferring under 40 mm case diameters.

Would I then recommend the YEMA Superman Gilt CMM.10 to others looking for a heritage inspired dive watch? For under $2,000 you really can't beat the Superman Gilt as it comes to legacy, design and being equipped with a manufacture movement. The combination of the green dial with the gilt accents just makes for an attractive watch. The design of the Scales Slim bracelet is also a very unique design cue that makes the Superman Gilt look different from other sports watches. I'd suggest anyone looking for such a watch to give the Superman Gilt a really hard look that could end up saving them thousands and coming away with a top tier watch.



This is now the third watch in the Superman series we have reviewed from YEMA and as with the other two, the Superman Gilt doesn't disappoint. The watch is executed expertly and offers pretty much everything you could want for a heritage diver. YEMA keeps on impressing me with their watches and I really can't wait to see what they have for us to review next.

For more information about the Superman Gilt CMM.10 please visit : YEMA

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: 12.14.44.SN.M2

Retail Price: $1,790

Case Size: 39 mm

Lug to Lug: 46.9 mm

Thickness: 13.3 mm

Weight: 122 Grams

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Bezel: Sapphire Crystal

Strap: Stainless Steel with Deployant Clasp

Movement: YEMA Manufacture CMM.10 Swiss Made Automatic Movement

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds

Power Reserve: 70 Hours

Water Resistance: 300 Meters