IronHide
May 13th, 2008, 04:13
Hey everyone,
I just picked up this Gevril after much hemmin' and hawwin' about finding one at a decent price. Thanks to the good folks here and elsewhere on the interwebs, I was able to get a good amount of info about this marque, and its offerings have become somewhat of a real curiosity to me. I know there's some interest out there so hopefully this mini review will be helpful to someone.
I was somewhat skeptical about this purchase until it arrived at my door in very nice packaging. The presentation box is a nice lacquered wood with a brass latch. The inside of the box is all lined in cream colored felt and has a removable center tray with room for another watch on the right and a ring holder on the left.
The watch itself is quite nice, with better fit and finish than I expected. It's powered by an ETA 2836-2 25 jewel automatic movement with day/date display to which I cannot comment on accuracy as I've not yet worn it and only had it on the winder for a a few days. The 43mm 316L stainless steel case is very highly polished save for the lug tops which are brushed - not my usual style as I'm not much for the brightwork, but I gotta say it looks good here despite my knowing the smallest of scratches will soon be very evident.
The uni-directional bezel has a black insert showing typical 10 minute indicies and clicks firmly into any of its 96 stops. The bezel itself is a bit thinner in width than most of my other diver style watches which gives room for much more "face". Speaking of, the dial is a really cool champagney-silver with a slight brushed pattern on its inner-most diameter. I must say I'm a big fan of the 5 minute and 6/9/12 indicies which are all raised or "applied" and also done in a matching high polish. When looking directly at the face, they reflect very darkly looking almost as if they're painted black - makes for quite a cool effect IMHO! The red minute markers on the outer track are a nice contrast to the rest of the dial and a good match to the arrowhead of the second hand. I also dig the "G" at the counter end of the second arrow. The hour and minute hands are what I guess would be called "sword" style but are more narrow than on some other pieces. Each has a "blood groove" running their length filled with (albeit weak) lume. This lume groove is carried over on the 5 minute markers as well. Unfortunately, the lume is terribly booty...that's a technical term (see pic below). The front crystal is sapphire, rear exposition back material remains unknown. Case back is screw down as is the black painted crown (almost looks power coated).
The 22mm black leather strap adds to the sporty look of the watch with it's white double stitching and accent marks. I don't, however, really care for the integrated butterfly style clasp. I can't really say why, I've just never been a fan, but it gets the job done. And the GV2 logo etched on the outside of the clasp is a nice touch.
I anticipate this watch will sit well on the wrist -- it's big but not too big at ~ 13mm thick with a completely flat crystal. I also think the thin outer bezel will give it the illusion of being bigger than it really is.
5/19 Accuracy update: After a week solid on the winder, the 2836-2 is +19 sec for an average of just under +3 sec per day. Will report on-wrist performance when I actually wear the dang thing!
And now, for your viewing pleasure....
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2485242876_ff6d91af02_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2485242870_90812e3c7e_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/2484422161_eef56d3a49_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2213/2484422151_30dac58c1f_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2484422139_9d2ab5e3c4_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2484422133_dfdccb4332_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2484422131_a71eef4503_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/2484422125_bf38e6f597_o.jpg
I just picked up this Gevril after much hemmin' and hawwin' about finding one at a decent price. Thanks to the good folks here and elsewhere on the interwebs, I was able to get a good amount of info about this marque, and its offerings have become somewhat of a real curiosity to me. I know there's some interest out there so hopefully this mini review will be helpful to someone.
I was somewhat skeptical about this purchase until it arrived at my door in very nice packaging. The presentation box is a nice lacquered wood with a brass latch. The inside of the box is all lined in cream colored felt and has a removable center tray with room for another watch on the right and a ring holder on the left.
The watch itself is quite nice, with better fit and finish than I expected. It's powered by an ETA 2836-2 25 jewel automatic movement with day/date display to which I cannot comment on accuracy as I've not yet worn it and only had it on the winder for a a few days. The 43mm 316L stainless steel case is very highly polished save for the lug tops which are brushed - not my usual style as I'm not much for the brightwork, but I gotta say it looks good here despite my knowing the smallest of scratches will soon be very evident.
The uni-directional bezel has a black insert showing typical 10 minute indicies and clicks firmly into any of its 96 stops. The bezel itself is a bit thinner in width than most of my other diver style watches which gives room for much more "face". Speaking of, the dial is a really cool champagney-silver with a slight brushed pattern on its inner-most diameter. I must say I'm a big fan of the 5 minute and 6/9/12 indicies which are all raised or "applied" and also done in a matching high polish. When looking directly at the face, they reflect very darkly looking almost as if they're painted black - makes for quite a cool effect IMHO! The red minute markers on the outer track are a nice contrast to the rest of the dial and a good match to the arrowhead of the second hand. I also dig the "G" at the counter end of the second arrow. The hour and minute hands are what I guess would be called "sword" style but are more narrow than on some other pieces. Each has a "blood groove" running their length filled with (albeit weak) lume. This lume groove is carried over on the 5 minute markers as well. Unfortunately, the lume is terribly booty...that's a technical term (see pic below). The front crystal is sapphire, rear exposition back material remains unknown. Case back is screw down as is the black painted crown (almost looks power coated).
The 22mm black leather strap adds to the sporty look of the watch with it's white double stitching and accent marks. I don't, however, really care for the integrated butterfly style clasp. I can't really say why, I've just never been a fan, but it gets the job done. And the GV2 logo etched on the outside of the clasp is a nice touch.
I anticipate this watch will sit well on the wrist -- it's big but not too big at ~ 13mm thick with a completely flat crystal. I also think the thin outer bezel will give it the illusion of being bigger than it really is.
5/19 Accuracy update: After a week solid on the winder, the 2836-2 is +19 sec for an average of just under +3 sec per day. Will report on-wrist performance when I actually wear the dang thing!
And now, for your viewing pleasure....
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2485242876_ff6d91af02_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2485242870_90812e3c7e_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/2484422161_eef56d3a49_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2213/2484422151_30dac58c1f_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2484422139_9d2ab5e3c4_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2484422133_dfdccb4332_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2484422131_a71eef4503_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/2484422125_bf38e6f597_o.jpg