Look at it and it looks like a watch, but a touch reveals that it’s a smartwatch. Designed by Diesel and produced by Fossil, the strength of the four models in the Full Guard range lies in its large steel body. The 1.39 Amoled display (400 x 400 pixels) is set into a 47-mm round steel case. It obviously has touch commands, but on the left we also have a large crown with a button and another two buttons for menu navigation, item selection and access to special functions.

Connection to a smartphone is via Bluetooth, and the Full Guard 2.5 also has Wi-Fi, with the Wear OS, Google’s operating system for smartwatches running the show. Thanks to the app, we were able to connect instantly both to Android and iOS devices. In fact the app draws data from our Google account (users will need to have one) as well as from the telephone. As soon as it is switched on, a touch of a button activates synchronization and after about ten minutes the watch is set up.

The first thing that users generally do with a watch like this is choose the face. This watch has four built in which reflect the design of Diesel’s analogue models, but lots more can be added. The most convenient is undoubtedly Flicker, the one shown in the photo. While the hands provide a traditional indication of the time, two small windows show the battery level and the user’s heart rate. This latter aspect shows that Full Guard has an eye for both style and sport. On board, a heart-beat sensor can be set in two ways. At rest, it measures the heartbeat every twenty minutes, but monitoring becomes constant during activities. Again with a view to sport, the watch is waterproof up to 5 atmospheres. This means that it can be washed in the shower, it can be worn in the pool (although it has no swimming function), at the beach, and even during a brief free-dive down to a maximum of 50 metres.

Obviously, with Wear OS and a microphone, a touch of the central button accesses Google’s vocal assistant - at times a little slow and imprecise - but Diesel has also given the Full Guard a few interesting personal touches. Just touch the upper button to access the weather mode, which modifies the display, showing sunshine or rain on the hands, as well as activities for sport and Do Not Disturb for sleep or meetings.

All in all this Full Guard has proved to be a good every-day device, with an attractive design and a fairly affordable price. There are four versions, distinguishable for their different colours and materials. The first three cost 349, offering a black body, a black silicone strap and red details, a steel body, black leather strap and black details, or lastly an anthracite body, brown leather strap and blue details, undoubtedly the most attractive and elegant. The fourth version has an anthracite body, a steel strap in the same colour and black details, and costs 20 euros more.