Great White Sharks and Asthmatic Lume: The Welly Merck WM089 Review

The Welly Merck WM089 is what happens when a manufacturer decides you deserve a mechanical dual-crown diver for less than the cost of a mediocre steak dinner. Welcome back to another episode of horological therapy, where we look at watches that make us question our life choices and our bank balances. Today, we’re strapping on a watch that delivers an absurd amount of nautical charm on a shoestring budget.

The Homage Heritage: Pretending You're a Scuba Pioneer

Visually, this watch tips its scuba mask to the legendary Longines Legend Diver and the vintage EPSA-cased aquatics of the mid-20th century. It borrows that classic twin-crown Super Compressor silhouette, allowing you to project the rugged aura of a marine explorer—even if your most dangerous aquatic expedition involves retrieving a dropped fork from the shallow end of a municipal pool.

The Case: Where They Hid the Sharks

Measuring in at a very wearable 42mm with a relatively compact 48mm lug-to-lug distance, the stainless steel housing is robust enough to survive daily desk-diving impacts without feeling like you've strapped a cast-iron skillet to your wrist. But the real magic happens when you take the watch off. The case back is frankly awesome, featuring two Great White Sharks etched directly into the steel. Why two? Presumably, because a single apex predator simply didn't convey enough budget-friendly aggression. It’s the kind of hidden detail that makes you want to take the watch off and show it to strangers in an elevator, a social maneuver I strongly advise against.

The Dial: A Sea of Blue and Mineral Glass

You are treated to a beautiful, deep blue dial that catches the light in a way that suggests it costs significantly more than your monthly streaming subscriptions combined. Surrounding this cerulean expanse is the internal rotating bezel, manipulated by the secondary crown. It is infinitely cooler than a standard external bezel because it’s protected under the glass, saving you from accidentally rotating it while digging for your keys. Speaking of the glass, it is a mineral crystal. Watch snobs might instinctively clutch their pearls at the lack of sapphire, but it possesses remarkably good clarity. You can easily read the time, provided you haven't enthusiastically dragged it across a brick wall.

The Bracelet: An Unintentional Epilator

Let’s just rip the bandage off: the steel bracelet is remarkably mediocre. It looks acceptable from a distance, but once fastened, it feels like it was engineered by someone holding a personal vendetta against human arm hair. And then there is the clasp. In a baffling decision that completely defies logic, Welly Merck once again chose to equip this with a butterfly clasp. Yes, this is a dressier, vintage-style compressor homage, but it’s still fundamentally a dive watch. Putting a dainty, micro-adjust-free butterfly clasp on a diver is intensely disappointing. Do yourself a massive favor: if you purchase this watch, bypass the metal entirely and grab a 20mm silicone strap version instead. The silicone transforms this piece from a jangly torture device into an incredibly comfortable, sporty daily driver.

The Lume: A Polite Asthmatic Glow

It exists. That is the highest praise one can realistically offer here. If you blast it with a tactical flashlight, the lume emits a polite, asthmatic glow that vaguely suggests the current hour before quickly fading into the abyss. If you find yourself trapped in a pitch-black cave, you will probably want to rely on echolocation rather than this dial to determine when it's time for lunch.

The Seagull 1612: The Workhorse Within

Powering this aquatic homage is the Seagull 1612 automatic movement. It is a Chinese mechanical workhorse that stubbornly refuses to quit. It delivers a respectable sweeping second hand and an automatic rotor that winds itself while you wildly gesticulate during staff meetings. It is the textbook definition of "getting the job done," and at this price bracket, expecting a chronometer-certified Swiss engine is a sign of mild delusion.

Final Thought: The $65 Question

Overall, this watch delivers a genuinely impressive value for under $65. On our official scorecard, it currently sits at 70 points, though that score would be notably higher if we had just tested the silicone strap from day one and if the lume didn't mimic a dying firefly. However, applying some brutal economic reality: if the crystal were sapphire, the bracelet didn't double as an epilator, and the lume was legible at midnight, this watch would easily cost twice as much. The value is absolutely still there, giving you a shark-infested, retro-style compressor diver that leaves your bank account entirely unharmed.

Welly Merck WM089 Specifications

• Model: Welly Merck WM089

• Style: Dual-Crown Super Compressor Homage

• Case Diameter: 42mm

• Lug-to-Lug: 48mm

• Lug/Strap Width: 20mm

• Dial: Beautiful Blue with internal rotating bezel

• Crystal: Mineral glass (with high clarity)

• Movement: Seagull 1612 Automatic

• Case Back: Etched with two Great White Sharks

• Bracelet/Strap: Steel with butterfly clasp (Silicone strap version highly recommended)

• Lume: Present, but weak

• Price Value: Exceptional (Under $65)

Disclaimer: A quick point of clarification on how we hand out these numbers: our scoring system operates strictly within designated pricing tiers. We evaluate timepieces within their actual weight class—such as the fiercely competitive $100 to $200 bracket. We do not compare a $180 daily driver to a $32,000 Patek Philippe, because doing so is fundamentally nonsensical. This also preemptively shuts down those unbearable forum snobs whose only contribution to society is commenting, "Well, if you just stretch your budget by another $300, you could get something so much better." Yes, Reginald, and if I spent an extra million dollars, I could buy a yacht—thank you for that groundbreaking economic theory. When a watch scores an exceptionally high mark on our board, it means it represents an absolute triumph of value for its specific price point. It’s about judging whether a watch respects the actual dollars you have in your hand right now, rather than grading it against the imaginary trust-fund money the internet thinks you should spend.