The 2012 Edox Dakar Limited Edition (ref. 64009 3 NIN2) comes in a sporty, well-proportioned case and features an easily readable face with a carbon fiber dial. What else do you need from a watch devoted to the roaring world of extreme motoring?
Celebrating its recently acquired status as the official timekeeper of the Dakar Rally Raid in 2012, 2013, and 2014, Edox is going to soon release its limited-edition Edox Dakar quartz timekeeper.
Arriving to select stores and boutiques in “exclusive” presentation boxes, the watch will be limited to just 500 pieces.
The watch will sport the same Ronda 6004.B quartz movement that we have seen in a great number of timekeepers, including the 2011 Le Mans-inspired TAG Heuer Formula 1 Grand Date Gulf Edition.
Capable of running for as long as 43 months, the movement offers you not only such basic functionality as hours, minutes, and subsidiary seconds indicator, but also adds to the mix a Big Date indicator.
I don’t understand why Edox decided to rename the unit as the Edox 64: judging by the look of the dial, the caliber’s layout stays the same: hours and minutes in the center, small seconds at 6 o’clock and the big date aperture at 12 hours.
Thanks to the caliber’s relative thinness (it is reported to be only 3.30 millimeters in height,) the Swiss engineers managed to make the Dakar Edition’s body very slender. Being 42 millimeters in diameter, the watch is less than 12 millimeters thick: not bad for a sporty watch that features a prominent fixed bezel and a convex sapphire crystal.
As I have already noted, the dial of the watch is crafted from black and gray carbon-fiber material that is more contrast because all three hands are covered with a white luminous substance.
The 2012 Dakar road map, as well as the Dakar Rally Logo that is, too, pictured in white, is also a nice touch. I just wonder how cool would the ref. 64009 3 NIN2 be looking at night if the white paint was substituted with Superluminova of the same color?
As far as the “value for money” factor is concerned, I feel that the watch is sort of overpriced: even despite it being a limited edition version, an MSRP of more than $2000 USD is higher than one would probably expect from a relatively simple quartz-powered timekeeper. I think, even $1000 would be a bit too much for this model.
See also: Edox X-treme Pilot II Limited Edition Chronograph
WWR Verdict
Originality 4/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Overall Legibility: 4.5/5
Nighttime Legibility: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 3/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Photos: Edox
Edox Dakar Limited Edition (ref. 64009 3 NIN2) specification
Price: $2050 (MSRP)
Movement: Caliber Edox 64, base Ronda 6004.B, repairable, Swiss Made
Power: Quartz
Number of jewels: 5
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, big date
Power reserve: 43 months
Case: Stainless steel
Shape: Round
Size: 42.00 mm
Case height: 11.80 mm
Dial: Black carbon fiber
Hour markers: Luminous, white
Hands: Luminous, white
Water resistance: 100 meters
Strap: Solid 316L stainless steel bracelet with a deployant clasp
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective
Back: Solid, engraved with a stylized motorcycle helmet