Nixon Supremacy Watch Review

The taproot watch for collectors is, stereotypically, a Seiko diver (the taproot being the thing that kicks off the obsession that becomes a hobby). I've described on this blog that the Seiko Monster is the watch that got me started with watch collecting. While that is true, I would say my taproot watch was the Nixon Super Rover SS that I bought for myself when I was about to graduate from engineering school and had been offered my first real job at Honda.

I was an avid snowboarder in college, and Nixon ads were everywhere at the time. My friends were also fans of the brand, and one of my roommates had the original Nixon player watch (complete with a diamond on the dial). The brand's message spoke to us, which is the first step towards bringing new people into any hobby.

While a couple of hundred dollars was a big expense for me, it was a quality watch with a Japanese movement that I could afford on a not-quite-yet-graduated budget. It had a 1/10-second chronograph with a running seconds dial that could be turned on and off, and I loved that its raised steel bezel helped protect the recessed crystal. The integrated steel bracelet also had the beefiest pins I have ever seen on a watch, allowing it to withstand mountain biking, snowboarding, and my other shenanigans.

I got deeper into watch nerdery (and inadvertently created a highly curated watch algorithm on social media), but I had gotten out of touch with what the brand has been up to since 2005, when I bought the Super Rover. Despite this, I still have a fondness for the Nixon brand, so I got very excited when the brand's co-founder reached out through social media. He put me in touch with their head of marketing, who offered to send me some of Nixon's latest watches to check out and to pair with some different straps.

I chose a few models that I thought would be of most interest to readers of the StrapHabit blog. I'll admit the brand produces some models that are more to my younger self's taste, but Nixon also has a number of watches in its catalog that are suited to a seasoned collector. So I chose a few with interesting movements and complications, and modest dimensions, all of which have a 20mm lug width, guaranteeing maximum strap compatibility. Nixon also has a number of digital watches that would serve as a more stylish alternative to a G-Shock, but I stuck to analog models.

While there are some very nice battery-powered quartz watches out there, many watch collectors prefer (or only buy) watches with mechanical movements. So, of course, I had to check out the flagship, the appropriately named and ETA-powered Nixon Supremacy.

Nixon Supremacy First Impressions

The Supremacy plays with light more than I expected from the product photos. The hour markers are polished, which I did not expect, and everything looks deep under the domed crystal. The combination of colors is not one I would have thought of, but it creates a fun package.

Nixon Supremacy Details

Nixon calls this color Blue/Magenta, although I find the dial to be closer to purple. It has a satin finish, while the hour markers appear pressed into the dial, with a polished finish below the magenta coating.

I like the light blue Nixon logo, but the large white "Automatic" text stands out too much, in my opinion. I understand why, though, as not many Nixon watches use automatic movements. The Swiss Made text is also in white. A white-on-black date sits inside a polished circle. Fun fact: Nixon press photos all show watches set to Friday the 13th.

Nixon Supremacy Watch Review

The gold second hand is a nice touch, but all of the hands are a bit too short for my taste. I prefer the second and minute hands to reach nearly the edges of the dial.

A fully brushed finish is applied to the case, which features a basic curved lug profile. The bezel is where most of the finishing happens. It features a polished top surface and polished flanges. In the middle, a grove is machined and then given a matte finish. Nixon then laser-engraved it with various information about the watch. My preference would be to omit this, but I can see the appeal to a newer watch collector.

Wearing the Nixon Supremacy

The Supremacy uses a classic 40mm case width, 100m of water resistance, and a scratch-resistant coating. Long lugs give it a 52mm lug-to-lug distance, but it should still fit well on most wrists. It has an exposed crown with triple gaskets and a knurled surface. I found it a bit tricky to pull out, but it doesn't contact the back of my hand at all.

Nixon lists the thickness as 15mm, but I measured it at 14.0. While this is a bit thick for this style of watch, it doesn't look as thick on the wrist. The high crystal dome adds quite a bit of thickness, and the recess on the bezel's side slims it visually. Some people might also prefer the extra wrist presence.

When viewed at an angle, the sapphire crystal produces pronounced distortion. It does have an AR coating on the inside, but its dome is very dramatic. This impacts legibility, but makes the watch more interesting to look at.

Between the crystal and the short, fully polished hands, it can be difficult to read in certain lighting conditions. Making the hands larger and filling them with a bit of lume would greatly improve legibility during the day and, of course, at night. My assumption is that the designers chose form over function in this case.

Nixon Strap and Replacement Straps

The Blue/Magenta Supremacy colorway includes a blue ostrich leather strap with a brushed stainless-steel deployant buckle. The strap has external steel clips where you would typically find thread stitches on a single-stitch strap. I find this to be a cool and interesting touch. It also features blue stitching along the strap, and the leather has a rich texture. The deployant is a typical twin-trigger butterfly clasp.

Nixon also makes a version of the Supremacy which is all-black with yellow hands and indices. This model includes a black stainless steel bracelet and a black Horween leather strap.

The Supremacy has a 20mm lug width, so almost every StrapHabit strap will fit it. Because of the distinctive colors on the dial, I knew that it would be a fun watch to pair with a variety of fun straps (this was one of the reasons I asked Nixon to send this model).

The magenta markers are a great match with the Men Wear Pink Deployant Straps.

Nixon Supremacy Watch Review

Or a Horween Racing strap really dresses it up.

At the end of the article, you can view more photos and purchase straps. Here is a list of straps that would look great with this watch. You can also view our Guide to Choosing a Watch Strap.

-Deployant Rubber
-Deployant Sailcloth
-CTS
-Hook and Loop Single Pass
-Horween Leather
-Racing Leather
-Ridge Rubber
-Tropical Rubber
-Premium Sailcloth
-Smooth Rubber
-Rubber and Sailcloth Hybrid Straps
-Vented Rubber
-Waffle Rubber
-Elastic

Nixon Supremacy Movement

When I saw that the Supremacy had the words "Swiss Made" and "Automatic" on the dial, I had assumed that Nixon equipped it with a Sellita SW200 movement. It turns out I was wrong: an ETA 2824-2 movement is used. It's becoming increasingly uncommon to find non-Swatch-owned brands using ETA movements, so it was a nice surprise. This also helps justify the Supremacy's higher price tag.

The 2824 is a classic and reliable Swiss movement, which makes it a good fit for Nixon's flagship model. It's not as thin as a 2892, but as we discussed earlier, Nixon did not design this to be a very thin watch anyway. It beats at 28,800 vph, and offers 38 hours of power reserve when fully wound by the crown, or the Nixon-engraved winding rotor. The movement is visible through a hardened mineral crystal on the numbered caseback. It features hacking and a quick-set date.

Nixon Supremacy Conclusion

It's a bit tricky to compare the Nixon Supremacy to other watches that I've reviewed on this blog. It uses some design choices you wouldn't see on watches from more traditional brands, and it is priced at or above some other Swiss-made 3-hand watches (the less expensive Jack Mason Canton comes to mind).

That said, people who participate in watch collector groups tend to stay within very narrow lanes of watch design. Nixon watches tend to fall outside those parameters, but this helps make them a gateway for a different group of people to get into watches.

To me, bringing any new people into watch collecting is good for the hobby as a whole. Unlike generic fashion brands, Nixon has a distinct identity that can bring in people for whom a Seiko or Hamilton would not catch their attention. For people who fall into that category, the Nixon Supremacy can stand as a flagship watch with a more distinctive identity.

Nixon Supremacy Specifications

Name: Nixon Supremacy Blue/Magenta
Reference Number: A353-2259-00
MSRP: $1,680
Diameter: 40mm
Height: 52mm
Thickness: 14mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Movement: ETA 2824-2
Power Reserve: 38 hours
Water Resistance: 100m
Crystal: Sapphire with inside AR coating
Crown: Push-pull
Bezel: Fixed
Strap: Blue Ostrich leather with deployant buckle