Stingray II - Keroman

"I LIVE WITH WHAT I'VE DONE, WHO I'VE LOVED,
AND THE FUTURE MY PAST CREATES." - MARK TWIGHT
The Stingray was only the third watch that Mk II ever produced, and only the second dive watch. It was our homage to the incredible Fifty Fathoms designs, a design that has infatuated me ever since my watch collecting began in the late 90s. During the early years of my interest in watches I was drawn to a watch made by a no-name Swiss company that looked the part of a Fifty Fathoms, but ultimately left me disappointed. While at first glance it looked the part of a Fifty Fathoms, it hadn’t sweat the small stuff… It's aluminum bezel inlay lacked a luminous marker at 12 o'clock and the case was only water resistant to 3 ATMs (30m). Hardly a fitting tribute to one of history's most iconic and innovative dive watch designs, and certainly not a watch that could be worn in any way approaching the intent of the original Fifty Fathoms. These kinds of watches were hardly unique at the time. While frustrating, this delta between original watches too rare or valuable to wear as intended and “homages” that failed to live up to the ethos and intent served as a catalyst in starting Mk II, and our approach to homages. Nearly two decades have passed since then, but after a long hiatus we submit to you as the next addition to the Mk II line, the Stingray II - Keroman.
So why does this design have such a hold on us? It's the connection to the breaking of new ground and frontiers colliding with a watch design that was nearly perfectly conceived from the beginning. The design takes us back to the days when air travel was glamorous, scuba diving was cutting edge and extreme, and after years of war and economic desolation when people hardly traveled, suddenly the world felt more accessible than ever. The possibilities and sense of optimism was palpable. Limits felt bound only to be broken. The future was meeting the present in real time.
