Halios Watches: The Complete Buyer's Guide (2025)

Halios might be the hardest independent to actually buy. Drops have historically sold out in seconds—not minutes, seconds. One hundred watches, four thousand people refreshing, gone before most carts could load.

And yet people keep chasing. Forum threads overflow with near-miss stories and eventual triumph posts. Secondary market prices reflect genuine demand. The watches themselves, when you finally hold one, justify every frustrating refresh.

This is the complete guide: what Halios makes, what it's actually like, and how to get one.

What Is Halios?

Halios is a Canadian independent founded by Jason Lim in 2009. The operation remains what it's always been: one person designing, sourcing, quality-controlling, and shipping watches that have developed a cult following completely disproportionate to their production volume.

This isn't a "founder-led brand" in the marketing sense—a name attached to a growing operation. Lim runs Halios. That's why production stays small. That's why drops are chaotic. That's why quality stays high.

The brand built its reputation on the original Seaforth, a dive watch that spread through enthusiast circles by word of mouth around 2017-2018.

Sixteen years later, Halios remains exactly what it started as. The watches have evolved. The constraints haven't.

The Philosophy

Halios makes refined tool watches. Functional watches executed with finishing that has no business existing at this price.

No-date only. Both current models use no-date movements. This is deliberate—cleaner dials, no 3 o'clock interruption, no setting hassle. If you need a date window, Halios isn't compromising to accommodate you.

Proven movements. Sellita calibres across the lineup. The SW200-1 in the Seaforth IV, the SW300 in the Universa II. Swiss, reliable, serviceable by any competent watchmaker. 

Finishing that exceeds expectations. This is the Halios signature. Brushed surfaces with polished lug chamfers. Double-domed sapphire with AR coating. Case proportions that feel considered, not computed. You pick up a Halios expecting a sub-£1000 watch. It doesn't feel like one.

Compact sizing. The Universa II is 38mm. The Seaforth IV is 40-41mm depending on bezel configuration. In an industry that's spent two decades inflating case sizes, Halios builds for human wrists.

The Current Lineup

Halios currently produces two watches: the Seaforth IV and the Universa Series II.

The Seaforth is the watch that built Halios's reputation, now in its fourth generation. 

The specs:

What matters:

The titanium option is significant. Same dimensions, roughly 40% less weight. For a dive watch you're wearing daily rather than diving with, the weight reduction is noticeable.

The 120-click bezel is finer than the typical 60-click dive bezel. More precise timing, more satisfying action. This is the kind of detail that separates Halios from competitors hitting similar specs on paper.

At 46.5mm lug-to-lug with 41mm diameter, the Seaforth IV wears compact for a modern dive watch. It sits on the wrist, not over it.

Fixed vs rotating bezel:

The fixed bezel version drops to 40mm diameter. Same watch, cleaner aesthetic, one less complication. If you're not using the bezel for timing, the fixed version offers a slightly sleeker look.

Who it's for:

Dive watch enthusiasts who want vintage proportions with modern specs. 200m water resistance is genuine capability. The no-date dial keeps things clean. The titanium option makes it a serious daily-wear contender for anyone who finds steel dive watches too heavy.

Universa Series II

The Universa is Halios at maximum versatility. A 38mm time-only watch that works everywhere.

The specs:

What matters:

The SW300 is Sellita's thinner automatic calibre. At 11mm total thickness including the double-domed crystal, the Universa II slips under shirt cuffs without fuss.

38mm is the size modern watchmaking forgot. Too small for the Instagram wrist-shot era, perfect for actual use. Halios never abandoned it.

100m water resistance handles real life—rain, washing hands, swimming—without pretending to be a dive watch. The fixed bezel and clean dial place this firmly in versatile-daily-wearer territory.

Who it's for:

The one-watch buyer. The person who wants something for the office that also works weekends, travel, and everything in between. The Universa II doesn't excel in any single context the way a dedicated tool watch might—but it's never wrong anywhere.

Build Quality: What You're Actually Getting

This is where Halios earns its reputation.

The watches feel better than they should. That's the consistent experience—picking one up expecting competent execution at the price point, finding something noticeably above it.

Case finishing: Brushed surfaces are uniform and consistent. The polished lug chambers catch light without dominating. Transitions between finishes are clean. No rough edges, no inconsistencies, no obvious tells of cost-cutting.

How they wear: This is what impressed me most. Halios watches sit on the wrist perfectly. The proportions, the weight distribution, the way the lugs curve—it's considered in a way that many competitors don't achieve. You stop noticing the watch is there, which is exactly what daily wear should feel like.

The details: Double-domed sapphire with AR coating. Solid case construction. Bezel action on the Seaforth that's firm and precise. Crown feel that's substantial rather than hollow.

The honest take: These aren't £5,000 watches. At magnification, you might find an inconsistency. But the overall quality level is what creates advocates. People expect one thing based on price, receive something better, and can't stop talking about it.

Discontinued References Worth Knowing

Three discontinued models command attention on secondary market:

The Puck: 47mm, 1000m water resistance. A genuine tool diver with cult status. Completely different character from the Seaforth—larger, more aggressive, built for actual depth. When these appear on secondary market, they move quickly.

Seaforth Bronze: Bronze-cased variant that develops patina with wear. Commands strong premiums because bronze Seaforths are no longer in production and each one ages uniquely.

Tropik B: An early bronze-cased diver that helped establish Halios during the bronze watch trend. Historically significant for the brand, collectible among Halios completists.

If you see these in good condition with reasonable pricing, they're worth serious consideration.

How to Actually Buy One

The buying experience has evolved. It's still not easy, but the chaos has structure now.

Seaforth IV: Build-to-Order (Mostly)

The Seaforth IV has moved toward a build-to-order system for available configurations:

• If you can add it to cart on halioswatches.com, it's available
• Build time is approximately 3-4 weeks
• Certain variants (titanium with rotating bezel, for example) still operate on a pre-order/restock schedule

This is a significant improvement over the old drop model. You're not competing with thousands of people for a two-minute window. You're ordering a watch that gets built for you.

Popular configurations still sell out, and restocks happen periodically. But the pressure has eased.

The Channels

Primary: halioswatches.com. Sign up for the newsletter. Follow Instagram. When drops happen, you'll know.

Collaborations: Topper Jewelers has done exclusive Halios editions.

Secondary market: r/Watchexchange, Chrono24, WatchUSeek forums, eBay. Premiums vary by model and configuration. Research recent sales before paying.

If You're Buying From Us

We sell Halios watches. Not a brand partnership—we source them and offer them when available. If you're looking for a specific reference and don't want to navigate the drop chaos or secondary market yourself, get in touch.

Sizing and Wearability

Halios builds for real wear. Both current models demonstrate this:

Seaforth IV:

• 40-41mm diameter (depending on bezel)
• 46.5mm lug-to-lug
• Works comfortably from about 6.25" wrists up
• The titanium version's weight reduction helps it wear even smaller than dimensions suggest

Universa II:

• 38mm diameter
• 48mm lug-to-lug (longer than the Seaforth despite smaller diameter)
• Works from about 6" wrists up
• The lug-to-lug is worth noting—it's proportionally long for the case size

Both watches wear smaller than specs might suggest. The proportions are considered, the lugs curve appropriately, the cases don't hover over the wrist. This is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.

Movements: Sellita Across the Board

Both current models use Sellita movements:

Seaforth IV: SW200-1, 40-hour power reserve Universa II: SW300, thinner calibre for the slimmer case

Both are no-date configurations. This is consistent with Halios philosophy—cleaner dials, simpler operation, no quickset mechanism to potentially fail.

What this means for you:

Swiss movements with proven track records. Any competent watchmaker can service them. Parts are available. You're not locked into brand service or facing orphaned movement concerns.

The movements aren't the selling point. They're not meant to be. They're reliable calibres that do their job while the case, dial, and finishing do theirs.

The Verdict

Everyone should own a Halios.

That's not marketing. It's genuine conviction after handling these watches. The finishing exceeds the price. The proportions respect human wrists. The philosophy—quality over quantity, simplicity over complication—produces watches that feel coherent and purposeful.

The buying experience is the price of admission. Either you're patient enough to wait for availability, fast enough to execute during drops, or willing to pay secondary premiums. Those are the options.

Buy Halios if:

• You value build quality that exceeds its price point
• You prefer watches sized for wearing, not photographing
• You appreciate no-date simplicity
• You want something from a genuine independent
• You're willing to work for it

Look elsewhere if:

• You need a watch today, no waiting
• You require a date complication
• You want extensive dealer support and service networks
• The scarcity model frustrates rather than motivates you

The watches justify the chase. The Seaforth IV's build-to-order approach has made the flagship more accessible than Halios has ever been. The Universa II will still require drop-day speed when it releases.

Either way, what's on the other side of the effort is worth owning.

Looking for a Halios? We source and sell Halios watches when available. If you're chasing a specific reference, get in touch—we may be able to help.