The Spinnaker Dumas Inkdial looks like someone drew on the whole watch

The Spinnaker Dumas Inkdial looks like someone drew on the whole watch, including the strap. I can see exactly what they were going for. The cross-hatching, heavy outlines and shaded markers make the white version look almost flat in the official photographs. It is an interesting effect, but I don't think it is a design I would keep coming back to.

I prefer a watch whose dial stays interesting after the first visual trick has worn off. Here I find myself looking at the drawing technique before I look at the watch. It makes the face feel busier than I want, particularly once the GMT hand and bezel numerals join in.

Ben Li redraws the Dumas

This is a collaboration with artist Ben Li, known as Inkdial. Spinnaker describes the dial as worked in cross-hatching and outline, with an “Ink-made” mark at six. The rubber straps continue the drawn treatment. Ink Blue has a saturated blue design; Ink White uses a pale dial and a gold-colored GMT hand for contrast.

The official reveal identifies a 43-millimeter faceted steel case, a flat anti-reflective sapphire crystal and a Japanese TMI NH34 automatic GMT movement. That is a caller GMT arrangement. I haven't tested its setting action or timekeeping in this watch, and the reveal page does not establish every case dimension or its exact water-resistance rating. I would want those confirmed before treating the familiar Dumas name as a complete specification sheet.

There is an exhibition back with an inscribed rotor. Spinnaker gives the wording as “Paper Casing and Inkdial,” tying the movement decoration into the same drawing theme. I am more interested in whether the dial stays legible in ordinary, uneven light. The official images show the concept clearly, but they can't settle that question for my eyes.

Two separate editions

Spinnaker lists 450 individually numbered pieces in each color at $495 USD, checked October 31, 2026. Specialist coverage identifies Ink Blue as SP-5188-01 and Ink White as SP-5188-02. Those exact references come from that coverage rather than an individual brand sales page, so I am retaining the source distinction.

The manufacturer says the reveal is October 30. Reporting gives November 6 as the sale date; a reveal and an open order page are different things. I haven't confirmed a current product-specific purchase route. Six signed and numbered cards are being hidden across the production run for Inkdial's sixth anniversary, according to the brand.

I'm giving the Dumas Inkdial 63 out of 120 bezel clicks. I appreciate that the treatment is consistent across the dial and strap, and the price is easy enough to understand. The sketch effect still feels like the whole reason for the watch. I would rather wear a simpler dial on this case and let the faceted steel do more of the talking.