Looking for a watch that can be worn on dressed up occasions, at work or 200 meters below the surface? Congratulations!
Shellback is a Swiss made diver's watch that combines classic design, characteristic of the Tusenö, with unique details making it instantly recognisable. Shellback is durable, reliable and perfect for both oceanic adventures and everyday wear.
Shellback was released as a pre-order in mid-August 2021 and sold out quickly. A small additional batch was released in September 2022 and sold out within a few hours. On December 1st you will be able to purchase Shellback again.
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We have put more than two years of development into our third model in the Tusenö line-up and we are ready to call this one our best model to date. Here is Shellback!
Shellback is an automatic diver watch made in Switzerland.
The name Shellback comes from en old ritual by sea where seamen that crossed the equator would earn the title ”Shellback” – maybe not that hard today but certainly a struggle in the olden days.
The word origins from the toughness of a turtle shell, meaning that a sailor crossing the equator must be as tough as one. On that basis, we created Shellback.
All photos on this page are taken with a pre-production sample. Production units have female endlinks on the bracelet. More about this on the bottom of this page.
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| WEIGHT 172 gram |
| | DIAL Sandwich dial |
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| CROWN Screw-in big crown with moulded artwork |
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| BEZEL 120 click uni rotating bezel |
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| CASE 316L surgical grade stainless steel |
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| HANDS Signature Tusenö hands |
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| STRAP 20MM Flat top bracelet (diver clasp) |
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| LUME BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova |
CASE SIZE
Diameter 40 mm
Lug-to-lug 47 mm
Thickness 11,9 mm (sapphire excl.)
MOVEMENT
Ronda Mecano Calibre R150
Automatic
28.800 BPH
Hacking
40 hour power-reserve
DIAL
Sandwich dial
Brushed blue or
High gloss black enamel
WEIGHT
172 gram
CASE
316L surgical grade stainless steel
HANDS
Signature Tusenö hands
GLASS
Double domed sapphire crystal
AR coated
BEZEL
120 click uni rotating bezel
Ceramic inlay
CROWN
Screw-in big crown with moulded artwork
WATER RESISTANCE
20 ATM / 200 meters
LUME
BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova
STRAP 20MM
Flat top steel bracelet (diver clasp)
But, what is a strap monster? Simply put, a watch that you can attach pretty much any strap to and it still looks amazing.
For the Shellback release we introduced both a military nylon strap and a tropic rubber strap, both available in black and blue, to match your Shellback.
Just like the First Collection all straps feature ”quick change”, no tools needed.
For Shellback we designed a so called sandwich dial, basically a double layer dial with one base plate filled with Super-LumiNova and one top layer with the design. The main markings on the dial are then opened up so that the base layer is visible. A nice touch!
The black dial has a beautiful polished enamel dial with white and silver details. The blue dial is brushed with a color that varies from light to dark blue depending on the lighting.
A lot of the design elements on the dial are inspired by sea charts. For example the minute rail features a mixture of single, fixed and flashing lighthouse characters that has been slightly modified.
Shellback is the first model from Tusenö that is going to feature an optional date window (same price).
With the launch of Shellback you can also see our updated logo printed on the dial. Slightly more modern whilst not striving too far from our original design.
The hands in Shellback share a lot of similarities with the ones in Blackwater but with a few updates to make them even better.
The design is slightly thicker and we have added a bevel in the middle of all hands to add more life and reflections. Just like before there is a hole in the hour hand which nicely swipes over the model name Shellback.
A generous fill of Swiss BGW9 SuperLumiNova has been added to each hand for optimal glow in the dark.
In short, a great design just got even better.
The beating heart in Shellback is the Swiss Ronda Caliber R150 Mecano. A relatively new movement that competes in the same division as the ETA 2824 and Sellita SW200 (used in Blackwater).
We chose the R150 due to the fact that compared to the other movements they have been able to both slim it down by 0,2 mm whilst still adding 40 hours of power reserve. That is actually two hours better than in the SW200 we used in Blackwater. Small changes that make a big difference in the world of watches.
If you want to know more about our long time relation with Ronda and the after sale service (which your local watchmaker can do), have a look at the video in the bottom of this page.
28.800 bph
Hacking feature
Date alternative
Automatic
40 hours power reserve
The bezel inlay in Shellback is made from ceramic, an extremely tough and resistant material that looks great and will stay that way. Just like the sapphire crystal it is close to impossible to scratch the bezel.
The bezel will not only look great in daylight but also at night. Every single marker on the bezel is applied with SuperLumiNova giving you a real lume-bonanza.
With the launch of Shellback you will see our new logo but not only that, we have also created a symbol, The Guiding Light.
We went back to our roots and looked for inspiration in sea charts. The star symbol is a modified sector lighthouse indicator. A sector lighthouse is a navigational aid that guides ships through a safe channel at night, often through shallow or dangerous waters. It felt like the obvious symbol choice and it also looks pretty good, wouldn't you say?
Shellback will be the first model where you will find The Guiding Light both on the crown and on the caseback. Both of which are stamped and both look and feel really nice. In our minds stamped artwork adds a lot of depth and improves the overall feeling.
Since we started development of Shellback back in 2018 we have created and tried a number of different bracelets. What was clear from the start was the fact that we wanted a so-called "flat link" bracelet. The very first prototype we developed was a flat beads of rice link that pretty quickly was discarded. It was a nice bracelet, but it just didn't feel right.
Back to the drawing board. A sharper, edgier design that fits like a glove with the rest of the case and flirts with the old flat tops was developed. A number of iterations have been made on this bracelet and we are now really pleased with it.
We worked hard with the fit of the bracelet and we quickly decided that we should use fully articulating links that hug the wrist incredibly well. Combined with a diver extension clasp with both micro adjustments and 1,3 cm of "on the fly extension" you have a super comfortable and adjustable watch and bracelet for all wrist sizes.
The edgy and flat design of the bracelet offers a very nice play of light that catches your eye. If you look closely you will notice the polished edge that runs all around the bracelet and harmonises beautifully with the case and clasp that share the similar polished edge.
Shellback is a classic example of a "strap monster". A watch that looks good on basically any strap. To make it really easy to switch between your favourite straps the bracelet is equipped with quick change spring bars, it only takes a few seconds to give the watch a new look – no tools needed.
The initial bracelet design included male end links, after a strong request from the microbrand watch community we decided to change for femlae end links instead.
Shellback will look just as good during daytime as it will during night time. The hands, dial and bezel are all filled with a Swiss BGW9 SuperLumiNova to ensure a good read in the dark (or if you just want to show off).
A nice touch in the date versions is the added luminova around the date window to ensure a uniform look.
As of now yes there will be. We are in discussions with Ronda but they do not offer a "true" no date movement at the moment. Ghost date has never been a big pet peeve for us, so we have put our resources on other details instead.
We do not offer engraving, but there is a bit of room on the case back if you would like to engrave the watch at your local watchmaker.
Shellback is AR-coated internally only, this way there is no risk of scratching the coating.