FORTIS MARINEMASTER ref 8001
The anti-conformism of the Daytona is indeed the Marinemaster 8001 of Fortis, by its dial, its case and its performances, it totally disrupts the lines drawn by Rolex in the 1960s and 1970s
You don’t have to think about it, we will tell you… there is a touch of déjà vu in this watch. It is between the Rolex Daytona ref 6241 and the Tudor Montecarlo ref 7169. This chronograph has just an advantage compared to them: at the time it is water resistant to 200 m (660 ft), four times more than its Geneva cousins. This is amazing and considering the design, one could wonder why it was not the same for Rolex and Tudor. But that’s another story…
Another point in common, with the Daytona only, the Marinemaster 8001 is equipped with the famous calibre Valjoux 72 with high quality finishing, not so far from the calibre 727.
According to our analysis, we notice that Fortis has equipped the Marinemaster 8001 with right-sized pump pushbuttons and, above all, a large winding crown. Unfortunately, it is neither marked nor screwed in, but it is still very comfortable to use. Its notched rotating bezel slightly exceeds the case (39 mm diameter) for optimal use. The case back is screwed on and shows engraved information: the brand and its logo, the model and its reference as well as the material and the water-resistance. The brand name “Fortis Watch Ltd swiss” and the serial number can be read again on the inside.
Its dial is the best asset of this watch, both Montecarlo and Daytona type. The colours change from blue to black and then white. Special note for the register at 3, a sort of 5-minute intervals blue and black casino roulette wheel. In our opinion, there is a second series with the yellow and orange registers.
To conclude, this watch is worthy of the most beautiful Daytona models with a 2 mm larger diameter (that’s a huge advantage), a 4 times more water resistant case (20 ATM), an equivalent movement, and a singer production dial mixing the beauty of a sigma dial with the Tudor Montecarlo. For only 15% of the price of a Daytona… So do not hesitate one second !