Once upon a time, France was at the world’s epicenter of horology — so, they must know a thing or two about watchmaking, oui? Yema is one of the brands that looks to carry on the French watchmaking tradition. Founded in 1948, they produced some pretty iconic sailing, diving, and racing watches — even supplying watches to France’s Armée de L’Air.                                                                                                                                      Lately, Yema has re-emerged as a lean and scrappy watchmaker releasing faithful reissues of their beloved classics while embarking on new projects from their Morteau workshop with the support of a loyal fan-base.    The Yema Superman is the brand’s most iconic watch. Originally issued to the French Air Force rescue divers during the 1970’s, the Superman Heritage reissue was kept as faithfully accurate as possible by using 3D imaging of the original ref. 530016. As a vintage watch enthusiast, I appreciate that they chose not to supersize this release as has been the annoying trend with many other brands reviving their back-catalogs (though they have since released a larger 41mm version for the U.S. market).

Modern upgrades on this package include a workhorse ETA 2824-2 and a domed mineral crystal. Purists will be thankful that Yema’s trademark bezel locking mechanism has been left untouched from the original design. Essentially, this is comprised of a small metal clamp that conspicuously hangs off of the stem of the crown; When the crown is screwed in, the clamp locks against the bezel, preventing it from rotating out of place during a dive. As charming as this feature might be for some, I imagine it will be irritatingly impractical to others; You probably don’t want to be constantly unscrewing that crown in a wet environment every time you need to reset the dive bezel. The quirky operation of the bezel lock is an intentional design element I actually find charming, however, the operation of the crown itself I find less so. When unscrewing the crown to manually wind the watch, the crown often fails to catch onto the winding position and pops out to the date-setting position — a feature I especially wish was absent on this watch given the already fussy bezel lock. When screwing the crown back in, it can take several attempts to catch the threads just right so you can screw it in tight enough to secure the bezel lock (I hope you’re ready to work on your pincer strength). Again, not ideal in a wet and slippery environment.

Practicality aside, the Yema Superman is no doubt a beautifully finished watch. The curves and contours of the mirror-polished case evoke the sexiness of a temperamental super-car. The high-gloss black dial with precisely printed super-luminova plots serve as an appealing backdrop for the distinctive shovel sweep hand. This is a strap monster, so put it on its original bracelet or feel free to commit a fashion faux-paus by putting this diver on leather; C’est notre secret.

The French always seem to march to the beat of their own drum and Yema proudly continues this tradition. In the Yema Superman Heritage reissue, they have successfully brought an historic icon back to life — faithfully replicating all of its charms (and flaws). With a true-to-vintage form and modern durability, this may be the closest most will get to a NOS vintage Yema diver. Vive la France!