Looking for a hands-on, honest (not sponsored) Maen Hudson review? You’re in the right place!

Maen is a relatively new microbrand watch company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The Hudson Automatic 38 in for review is their first Swiss Made watch, a “vintage inspired dive watch with many faces,” per their website.

Maen launched the Hudson via an incredibly successful May 2018 Kickstarter campaign with funding exceeding the original goal by a staggering 680%.

On paper, I’m not at all surprised Maen exceeded their original Kickerstarter goal by such an overwhelming margin. A Swiss Made dive watch available for less than $500?

That’s practically unheard of. However, after spending the last month with the Maen Hudson, I’ve found it to be a surprising watch in many positive (and a few not-so-positive) ways. Let’s take a closer look.

Maen Hudson 38 Specs

Case: 316L stainless steel

Dial: Sandblasted matte blue

Crystal: Domed sapphire crystal w/ anti-reflective coating

Case Dimensions: 38mm diameter x 46mm lug-to-lug

Watch Thickness: 10.5mm (12mm including domed crystal)

Lume: C3 Swiss Superluminova

Movement: Swiss Made Automatic ETA 2824-2 Elaboré Grade

Water Resistance: 200m (solid caseback) or 100m (display caseback)

Bracelet/Strap Lug Width: 20mm

Price: €499 retail, €399 preorder

The Details

The Maen Hudson Automatic’s most compelling feature is arguably its size. For those with a strong preference toward more modestly-sized watches–myself included–you’ll know how much of a struggle it is to find a thin dive watch under 40mm.

Measuring in at a svelte 38mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, and only 12mm thick (1.5mm of that height is the domed crystal), the Hudson wears extremely compact on the wrist.

Rather than sitting on top of the wrist like many larger sports watches, the Hudson wraps around the wrist–not too dissimilar to a tailored cuff. Maen clearly had the end wearing experience in mind when they designed this case.