Demanding almost double the price, there are some serious upgrades: the Seiko NH35A has been replaced with an ETA 2824-2, the leather strap its hand-made by Simona Di Stefano, the lume has had a mega upgrade (it was great already), and there’s been a general revamp of the design and case.

So, with the previous model such a success, does the latest model warrant the price hike? Let’s take a closer look to see.

First, it’s worth mentioning the new, upgraded travel pouch the Vanguard comes packaged in. It’s a lovely canvas affair, with space for two watches as well as straps and tools. I actually use it every day to transport my watches to and from work – it’s a really handy thing to have. Check out the unboxing video to see it in all its glory.

Video review

The specs

• Dimensions: 44mm diameter x 13.5mm height x 54mm lug to lug
• Weight: 135g
• Water resistance rating: 20ATM / 200m
• Movement: ETA 2824-2
• Accuracy: -1.8 sec/day
• Lug width: 24mm
• Warranty: 1 year
• Price: $900 / £710
• Available from: https://www.gruppogammawatches.com/timepieces.html#!/Vanguard-Aged-Steel-AV-16/p/105941552/category=25527850

The case

The aged finish is truly a work of art: rugged, rustic, yet purposeful. What’s more, it’s all ready to take a beating so this is the kind of watch that will look the same years down the line.

The 44mm diameter wears fairly large; and whilst the height of 13.5mm sounds tall, it’s surprisingly slender on the wrist.

Flanking the screw-down lock crown are bolt-on crown guards, which are really heavy duty and provide a tough, built-to-last appearance to the case. The crown surprisingly lines up rather nicely, which I rarely see, and has Gamma and IIII embossed on the end to signify the 4th generation of Vanguard.

The bronze case side guard is a really cool, unique addition. Whilst realistically it is not particularly functional, it’s an extra layer of protection against bangs, it looks great, and the fact that it’s replaceable opens up an opportunity for customisation in the future.

The stainless steel caseback is secured by screws, with a detailed cross-hatch pattern and the Gruppo Gamma skull logo in the centre which looks excellent. Various details are very deeply engraved around the outer edge.

The 120-click unidirectional rotatable bezel has only a pip marker with Swiss Super-LumiNova® C3 at 12. The three points of fastening at 2, 6 and 10 are also handy for grip and are neat pieces of detail with a screw within.

Sitting on top of the case is a low profile double-domed sapphire crystal, which keeps sharp visibility at the tightest angle. It has an anti-reflective coating on the underside which is really effective at keeping reflections at bay.

The dial

The two-tone black dial has a subtle yet effective sunburst colour – a light grey in the centre, to a darker outer edge. It’s tastefully done, draws the eye to the centre of the dial, and keeps things interesting.

The thickly printed hour markers are made of Swiss Super-LumiNova® C3. These are numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9, whilst the remaining are batons.

The chapter ring is manufactured in a lighter gunmetal finish, which frames the dial so well and complements the entire look. The markings, including the digits, are all engraved with great precision – it’s something so small but excellently executed, well thought-through, and designed / manufactured.

The silver colour hour and minute hands are light enough to be legible against the dial. In terms of shape, they’re a fairly standard baton with a pointed tip – nice and simple and not overly extravagant. The straight red seconds hand provides a splash of colour into the dial and features a lume-filled baton near the tip.

The Swiss Super-LumiNova® C3 lume used across the Vanguard is sensational; I was impressed with the lume on the original – but this is at another level: think similar quality to Seiko LumiBrite. It’s thick, evenly applied, and glows and charged quickly and easily.

The strap

The leather strap is handmade in Italy by Simona Di Stefano Straps.

Regarding the strap, Naoki says:
The straps on all Vanguard models are handmade in Florence by Di Stefano Straps. Probably better known as Simona Straps, the company is run by Simona, who descended from the owner of what used to be Italy’s largest tannery that supplied to Gucci etc in the ’80s – and who herself was the first manager of Panerai’s boutique in Florence. Simona Straps are a prolific maker of premium aftermarket straps for luxury timepieces notably Panerai.

The deep navy blue colour complements the dial and aged steel case perfectly and is a satisfying alternative to grey or black.

The width of the strap of 24mm at the lugs reducing down to 22mm at the buckle is bulky and sturdy – it certainly feels well strapped on to your wrist. You have the ability to select length in the shop in case you have an extra large wrist which is handy.

The leather is sublimely thick, and it smells like a fine pair of shoes. light stitching draws the eye. It has an attractive rustic feel to it, very soft on the wrist. The keeper loops are just as rugged, but I do find that the outer loop tends to slip up regularly rather than keep the long length in place.

The buckle is the same gun metal finish as the case, with Gruppo Gamma engraved in the centre of the top bar. It’s angular and aggressive, which looks great and feels meaty.

The movement

Powering the Gruppo Gamma Vanguard is the unequivocal ETA 2824-2, the go-to Swiss Made automatic movement that is renowned for reliability, ease of maintaining and

Specs include bi-directional winding, 28,800 bph (a smooth 8 ticks per second), power reserve 38 hrs, and construction in Switzerland of course.

They claim accuracy between -30 to +30 seconds a day, and this movement, in particular, is coming in at -1.8 sec/day – which is very well regulated – by Naoki’s own hands. It’s worth noting that I originally get a high reading, but only because I didn’t wind it fully before the test.

Final comments

The Gruppo Gamma Vanguard Mk IV AV-16 just oozes quality, from the tip of the buckle through to the top of the case. I love the aged steel finish – it’s something I’ve not come across before, and it’ll be quite possibly the hardest-wearing watch in my collection; it’ll never look “worn” as it already is. They’ve done a sensational job of creating a “Panerai” killer: a watch that takes vital hues from the popular brand and makes it their own. Really, the only thing is that the larger size of 44mm might be a turn off for some (I’d say avoid it if your wrist is less than 7”). Other than that, yes it’s $900 / £710, but the latest Vanguard is quite some watch.

The post Gruppo Gamma Vanguard Mk IV AV-16 (aged steel) Watch Review appeared first on 12&60.

In this review, we’re looking at one of Gruppo Gamma’s most popular offerings – the Vanguard. It’s available in a few different styles, with bronze of steel case, with and without date, and more. This model in particular is the MK IV Vanguard A-04.

I had heard a number of great things about this watch on various watch reviews, so I decided to check for myself if all of this was true. Let’s take a closer look.

If you do decide to go for the Vanguard, then you can get a cheeky $100 off until 31st July 2017 using the code MKIV0303. You’re welcome.

The specs

• Dimensions: 42mm diameter x 14mm height x 50mm lug to lug
• Weight: 140g
• Water resistance rating: 20ATM / 200m
• Movement: Seiko NH35A
• Accuracy: +13.1 s/d
• Lug width: 22mm
• Warranty: 1 year
• Price: $499 / ~£390
• Available from: http://www.gruppogammawatches.com/store/p195/A-04.html

The case

Every aspect of this case is over-engineered. From the crown and the crown guards, to the caseback and lugs, through to the the bezel – it’s all been so well thought about and made to such a high level it’s an incredible case to view and feel.

The shape is rather angular and slightly aggressive; which complements Gruppo Gamma’s military ties. When sliding your fingers over the corners, you can feel the definition of the case – it’s proficiently machined.

The short stumpy lugs mean that it still sits on the wrist well for a 42mm diameter case. In fact, it’s a bit of an anomaly when it comes to case size: 42mm is in reality quite a standard size nowadays; but the Vanguard looks larger than that, providing a more imposing wrist presence. Perhaps it’s due to the larger than average height of 14mm. The lugs are drilled through with a screw pin to make changing straps easy.

The crown and crown protectors are a lovely component of the case, demonstrating close attention to detail. The crown protectors are a separate entity rather than being machined as part of the case itself and are screwed in place with hex screws. A small thing really, but something that takes that little bit more effort to get right and that looks really good.

The screw-in crown has Gamma IIII embossed on the end, done with impressive accuracy. It has great grip for unscrewing, setting the time and winding.

The bezel has an interesting matte black insert which is PVD coated, with a lumed pip at 12. It has fascinating bulges at 2, 6, 10 with screws within – they provide grip but also carries through the industrial feel to the watch.

The caseback has a sapphire crystal exhibition window; the watch details are deeply engraved in thick font type to provide a bold impression.

The crystal sitting at the top of the case is double-domed sapphire, and the good news is that it’s loaded with very good anti-reflective coating on the underside. You can see the blue tint at certain angles which I find enjoyment in witnessing.

The dial

The dial is a fairly simple design, which has military cues: simple, bold and uncomplicated. Technically it is a sandwich dial; although it doesn’t look like it. It’s named “SuperSandwich” by Gruppo Gamma – the lume is applied so darn thick within the ingress it actually reaches the top layer. Therefore the dial looks flat – but in reality the hour markers are approx 0.5mm deep filled with lume.

Moving onto the lume, the Swiss Superluminova used truly is tremendous – it’s some of the strongest lume I’ve ever seen, even matching the fabled Seiko standard.

The hour markers are lume filled numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9, whilst the remaining markers are trapezoid shaped. Simple, strong and great legibility.

The printing on the dial is fine and simple. The Gruppo Gamma logo is printed within the top half and “Vanguard” along with 200m in the bottom half.

The hour and minute hands are straight batons with pointed tips, and a lumed channel in the centre, with a muted blasted finish to them. The seconds hand is a bright red with an arrow near the end and a flared counter weight. The lume on the hands is just as strong as dial.

The strap

Another cool thing about the Vanguard is that it comes loaded with two straps: leather and canvas. In addition to this, it also comes with a very solid mini screw-driver for the screw-in lug pins for easy changing.

The canvas strap is thick, sturdy and very soft on the wrist; it’s a nice alternative to leather that you don’t come across too often. Visually, it’s a military green colour with complimenting stitching and it’s good to see something else than the usual. I have noticed that it’s starting to fray slightly at the holes, but I don’t think this will affect the longevity of the strap itself.

The leather is a pleasant vintage / rustic style. It shows creases quickly but that’s part of its’ charm and helps it develop character. It’s very thick, beautifully finished and high quality; the two thick keeper loops are of the same standard. The tan colour has a variety of hues, which work well with the pale tan stitching.

The strap comes with a chunky pre-v buckle, with the Gruppo Gamma logo engraved on the top bar. It’s impressive to look at yet easy to use.

The straps are easy to swap due to the screw-in pins that penetrate the drilled through lugs.

The movement

The movement found within the Gruppo Gamma Vanguard is the Seiko NH35A. This is one of the most popular movements available for micro-brands currently – it can be found in watches such as the Nodus Trieste, Helm Vanuatu, G. Gerlach Submarine, Invicta Pro Diver 9094 and Melbourne Watch Co Parkville just to name a few I’ve reviewed recently. It’s also used in all Gruppo Gamma watches so they’ve tried and tested these movements.

Using my Lepsi Watch Scope, the accuracy is coming in at +13.1 sec / day, which is acceptable for an affordable movement – however there definitely is room for improvement there.

Specs include 24 jewels, runs at 21.6k bph (6 ticks per second), 41 hour power reserve, hacking seconds hand, and bi-directional winding (rotor winds the movement as it spins both ways). The rotor has custom signing which is an added bonus.

Final comments

I have only heard good things about the Gruppo Gamma MK IV Vanguard A-04; I thought I’d like to see this in the metal and decide for myself. The honest truth is that it’s a marvel of engineering: a delightful mix of craftsmanship and chunky engineering. The lume is sensational, which in my opinion is a key that has the ability to take any watch from above average to excellent.

The fit and finishing is flawless, it comes with two straps plus a tool to change them, and is the kind of watch that you know will last a very long time. It also comes in a very handy travel pouch that I have used already for a weekend trip away to Barcelona.

Sure, $499 is at the top end of what I’d like to spend on a watch housing a humble Miyota NH35A, but the build quality makes up for this. It’s the kind of timepiece that impresses you every time you strap it on.

Don’t forget you can grab $100 off until 31st July 2017 using code MKIV0303.

The post Gruppo Gamma MK IV Vanguard A-04 Watch Review appeared first on 12&60.

It may be worth noting that this is my first brass watch in for review, so I’m pretty excited. Let’s take a closer look at the Gruppo Gamma A-41 to see if it’s a good watch for the money. 

The case

The case is quite obviously brass, and is a very pleasant shape. Rather than having a squared corners of all sides of the case, the main feature to me are the how the bottom corners behind the lugs are pleasantly curved inwards, creating a pleasant ergonomic design.

It’s a decent size – measuring in at 44mm in diameter, with a height of 16mm, and a lug to lug length of 54mm. To me, this is about the largest I’d comfortably go, but I can see it being a little too large for some. The height, when coupled with the thick strap, make the watch a little difficult to fit under a cuff.

But, the stumpiness off the lugs come into play, offering a relatively short lug to lug length, resulting in the watch sitting on the wrist with no major difficulty (I have a 7.5” wrist). They are also well angled down, hugging the wrist in a comfortable way. The lug width is 24mm, so the usual width for a Panerai style watch. It’s also worth noting that the lugs are drilled through, and pins are screw-in, so changing the strap will be a doddle with minimum risk of damaging the case with your strap pin tool.

The Gruppo Gamma A-41 weighs in at 120g. This is a good weight, and when you wear the watch you certainly know you’ve got it on. This is mainly due to the fact that brass is denser than stainless steel, so therefore it’s heavier too.

The water resistance is 100m / 10ATM, thanks to the screw-in crown and caseback. This makes it suitable for recreational swimming and snorkelling, but not good enough for diving. And the sea water will make the brass case look pretty amazing too, so get out there and go for a dunk. 

The crystal is a double domed sapphire crystal – again, a pleasant surprise for a watch costing this much. Double domed means that there is not only a domed top, but also a domed bottom too. Usually with a standard domed (top only, with a flat bottom) crystal you get terrible issues with visibility at sharp angles – you end up seeing lines across the crystal. But with a double domed crystal, the dome on the underside counteracts the top dome, which means that you can see the dial perfectly, with no distortion no matter which angle you look at. You can tell it’s a well made and high quality sapphire crystal as the clarity is excellent, and the two domes work in sync together perfectly.

The crystal has an anti-reflective (AR) coating on the underside. I’ll be honest though, it doesn’t seem to do a particularly effective job. You still get a lot of reflections at all angles – it’s been a bit of a pain to take decent pictures of the A-41 because of this. 

The crown is also made of brass, to match the case. It’s a bit of an homage to the first screw-in crown, as it has “Brevet” engraved into it, which is French for patented, and also has the cross from the Swiss flag, being an ode to a Swiss Made watch. These engravings are very good and precise, even though they’re rather small and delicate. The teeth of the grip are quite sharp, so when you unscrew the crown to set the watch, it’s a little rough on the fingers. The crowns thread on the case is steel, rather than brass – this is a vital feature as if the thread was brass, the oxidisation of the thread and the crown would result in them fusing together. So this is a very important but thoughtful touch.

The screw-in caseback is not brass – but rather it is IPG (ion plating gold) coated stainless steel. The reason behind this is the same as the crown’s thread – it’s not brass so it won’t seal shut onto the case. The case back has an exhibition window displaying the full size of the movement, and also has some watch specifics quite deeply engraved around the mineral crystal.

Finally, there’s the patina that comes along with owning and wearing a brass watch. The pictures in this review is after about 2 weeks of solid wear. You can see it just starting to develop. The patina is the outside layer of the metal reacting to the oxygen in the air, and is why brass objects end up going green. But don’t be scared, you won’t end up with a green watch in a year or two – you can remove the patina with a standard cape cod cloth.

The case is fully brushed, which makes most sense. Once the patina inevitably develops, it would not look as great on a fully polished watch. The brushed finish matches the epic tool-like diver ethos of the watch. The cool thing about the fact that it’s a brushed brass case is that it doesn’t matter if you slightly scratch or ding the watch. In fact, it’ll just add character. The patina will envelop any imperfections, and will look great whilst doing it. You certainly can’t say that for a standard steel case. It’s actually quite liberating.

The case as a whole is very well machined and finished – which is no real surprise here. Gruppo Gamma have done a great job in creating a solid watch for a reasonable price. 

The dial

The dial on the Gruppo Gamma is very simple, and is a classic Panerai style due to it being a sandwich dial, and thanks to the design of the numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9.

The sandwich dial elements are all on a lower, lumed level. A sandwich dial is where the top layer of the dial has the markings chased out of it, so the lower level, which is lumed, provides the colour and fill. In this case, it is the numerals and also the dotted minute track which is cut out. All the cutting out is extremely accurate and impressively exact, even under a macro lens. This precision is nice to see on a watch that only costs $300.

The dial comes in three variants: green, brown and blue. The watch I’m reviewing is a deep brown colour, which I feel is the nicest and most suitable colour out of the three. It really matches the leather strap and brass case. 

The hands are very simple, being a straight baton with a small point at the end. They are gold plated, with a polished finish. Again, this colour matches the whole design of the watch well, albeit slightly blingy in my eyes. The lumed centre of the hands match the lume of the numerals on the dial well – both are evenly applied and the same colour. And once more, the hands are made flawlessly, without any tool marks or imperfections visible.

The lume is impressive strength too, charging well and quickly. It lasts a good amount of time, and is proving to be as bright and long lasting than any of my other affordable watches, such as the Christopher Ward C60 and the Steinhart Ocean 1.

The printing on the dial is very minimal, with “Gruppo Gamma” in the top half being the only marking. This is printed in a fine font weight, and is a pleasant gold colour – matching the hands and case well.

The dial overall is plain and simple, with classic Panerai styling provided by the numeral font and sandwich dial. It’s all perfectly and impressively executed for the price. 

The strap

The strap is 24mm wide the whole length, which is extremely wide and provides a real statement whilst wearing the watch. It’s quite surprising how much a strap and effects the overall appearance of a watch, and in the case of the Gruppo Gamma A-41, the strap works in favour of it.

The strap is also nice and thick (around 4-5mm), and thanks to the raw open edges you can see the layers. This makes the strap very soft and almost squishy, which is beautifully comfortable on the wrist. It does mean, however, that you get quite a dent on the front and rear of the strap where the buckle meets it whilst wearing it. I know this is inevitable, but it seems to have done it sooner than I would have liked. 

The colour is a very pleasant light brown, with a lot of character in its grain. This matches the dial perfectly, as well as the brass case and provides a very well-rounded and synchronised colour scheme.

The cream stitching also enhances the design too, providing a lighter streak around the edge of the strap. All the stitching is impressively done, with a high quality and thick weighted stitch.

The buckle is a classic pre-v (pre-vendrome) design, and is also made of brass. So it’ll develop a lovely patina at the same rate as the case and will match perfectly. It is very well made as you’d expect, and has “Gruppo Gamma” etched on the top. I would have liked it to be engraved a little deeper, but I’m a sucker for that kind of thing.

The movement

Powering the Gruppo Gamma A-41 is a Seiko NH35A. This is an upgrade to their standard automatic movements found in the Seiko 5s and the like, thanks to the added features of hand winding and a hacking seconds hand. It’s becoming well known to be an excellent quality movement for a low price, and one that will last a long time.

It has 24 jewels, runs at 21.6k bph (6 ticks per second), and has a 41 hour power reserve. 

Because the watch doesn’t have a seconds hand, it doesn’t really matter that it’s a low beat movement. It also means that you can’t set the watch with perfect accuracy as you’ll never know where the second hand is. So the hacking second hand in this instance is a wasted feature. 

It’s an automatic movement, and the rotor winds the mainspring up in both directions – clockwise and anti-clockwise. This allows the movement to be wound up quickly whilst wearing the watch. 

Accuracy wise, the NH35A is renowned for being very good, and the movement in the Gruppo Gamma A-41 has not disappointed. It’s gained only 1 minute in a week, which equals to less than 10 seconds fast a day. Not bad at all really.

The NH31A isn’t too bad in the looks department either, albeit a bit plain. It doesn’t have any sort of guilloche pattern but it does have an industrial brushed finish and appears to be well built from a visual standpoint. 

The competition

There’s loads of automatic watches in the $300 price range – too many to mention. Instead, let’s focus on it being made of brass instead and the alternatives in that regard. There’s only a handful of watches offering the same spec and high level of customer service you get along with a boutique micro brand. These are:

Makara Sea Turtle $395

Armida A1 / A8 $350

Maranez Layan $300

Obviously the Maranez Layan is exactly the same price as the Gruppo Gamma, but I think that the design is inferior. I can’t really pass any other comment on these other watches, but for the price you’ll still get a nice watch for the money.

Final comments

Do I like the Gruppo Gamma A-41? I certainly do. In fact, I like it that much I’d happily have it as my everyday watch. And any watch enthusiast will know what a big deal that is. It’s well made, comfortable, well designed, and at a price that can’t be sniffed at (£190). I also really like the travel case the watch comes in, it has already proved to be extremely useful – much better than another watch box that ends up in the attic.

Some will complain about the similarities it has to Panerai, but to be honest the similarities aren’t enough for me to label the Gruppo Gammas as replicas or an all-out homage. The brass case will develop with me as I wear it more, and as such, we’ll develop a strong enough bond as its character increases with the patina.

I’m pretty sure this will turn into a long term favourite of mine.

The post Gruppo Gamma A-41 Ascent Watch Review appeared first on 12&60.