Z
Zach Weiss
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Gavox is a brand we’ve talked about a few times here on worn&wound. Whether making Type XX inspired chronographs for the Belgian Air Force, or riffing on Marine Chronometers, Gavox has a tendency to surprise with their watches. Despite their young age as a brand, each model has achieved something new and different, and frankly been very attractive both aesthetically and financially. Well, their newest watch, the Aurora, is a game changer for the brand and an industry first.
On the surface, the Aurora might look like another twist on an aviator watch, but lurking inside is a movement unlike any other we’ve come across. It’s a Soprod Mecatronic movement that was developed with Gavox to their specs and desires. So what does it do? Well on top of telling time it has seven different modes, including a chronograph and perpetual calendar to name just two. It’s basically like having the functionality of a digital watch, but with an analogue layout and controls. When you switch between modes, the hands themselves move around to work in different ways as per the function. It’s not only fun to use, it’s fun to watch. In a day and age where mechanical watches are gaining in popularity, it’s watches like this that bring relevance back to quartz and other methods of timekeeping. Simply put, you couldn’t make a mechanical equivalent to this watch.
The Aurora is Swiss-made and features a sapphire crystal with AR and a battery life of 4 – 7 years. Without VAT, the Aurora goes for $838, making it pricey for what one would typically expect for a quartz watch, but as you’ll see in the video (I recommend watching to see the watch in action) and read below, this is not like any quartz you’ve seen before.
Gavox Aurora Review
Case: 316L Steel, PVD
Movement: Soprod Mecatronic
Dial: Matte black
Lume: BGW9
Lens: Sapphire crystal
Strap: Leather, various
Water Res.: 100m
Dimensions: 43 x 51mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Lug Width: 22 mm
Crown: 6mm button
Warranty: 2 years
Price: $838 (in US)
Case
The Gavox Aurora has a case befitting its pilot/aviator style. Coming in at 43 x 51 x 12mm, it’s wide and flat. Yet, despite being on the large side literally, it doesn’t look or wear over-sized thanks to the general proportions. It’s also worth noting that the movement itself demands a larger watch, as there are hands pushed all the way to the outside edge of the dial, thus needing some space.
The design is nothing out of the ordinary, but it gets the job done. Thick lugs with aggressive angles that slightly contour into the case give it a strong shape. The sides are slab, but thanks to the moderate thickness, they don’t seem empty. On the right side you have two pushers a “crown” and crown guards. I put crown in quotes as it’s really just a large button, but one that you do pull out like a crown as well to access certain functions. Essentially, you push it to switch watch modes, and pull it out in some modes to enter a “set” mode. Either way, it’s sized and shaped like a crown for the most part at 6mm wide with a Gavox “G” on the flat outside surface. It does lack texturing, such as a coin edge, which is actually a smart visual clue that you aren’t meant to turn it. The pushers have a standard look with cylinders sliding into cuffs.
The crown guard design is well considered and simple. They swoop out of the case, creating a scallop shape that the pushers rest in the middle of. This shape mimics the profile of a thumb making it an easy area to push within. They then raise up and quite closely wrap around the crown. Since it’s a button, as said, they could really get near the crown and not interfere with usability.
The case back is a screw on steel plate with various markings and a large Gavox logo etched in the center. Pretty standard fare here, nothing much to point out. In terms of finishing, the watch is available in brushed steel, matt black PVD and rose gold PVD, in editions of 500, 500 and 100, respectively. The matte black works really well on this watch. It makes it look a bit smaller and more compact, and the black really emphasizes the dial, which is the star after all. The steel is nice too in a more classic way, but has perhaps a touch less personality than the black.
Dial
The Aurora’s dial pulls from the classic aviator style, but adds layers of complexity due to the immense amount of functionality hidden within. At a glance, you have the primary index, with two sub-dial arcs at 6 and 9. In subtle gray print there is then more information on the dial and chapter ring. So, the surface is matte black, and the primary index is stark white. The main index consists of large 12, 3,6 and 9 numerals, as per the aviator standard, with large slightly tapering rectangles per hour all in BGW9 lume. At 12 there are also 2 dots, one on either side of the rectangle, for clear pilot styling. Between each hour are smaller, but still bold white lines for the minutes, as well as other functions. This whole index is circled with a white line, which is a detail I quite like, as it gives a nice hard stop to the dial.
The post Gavox Aurora Review appeared first on worn&wound.
Continue reading...
Let us know your thoughts and impressions.
Gavox is a brand we’ve talked about a few times here on worn&wound. Whether making Type XX inspired chronographs for the Belgian Air Force, or riffing on Marine Chronometers, Gavox has a tendency to surprise with their watches. Despite their young age as a brand, each model has achieved something new and different, and frankly been very attractive both aesthetically and financially. Well, their newest watch, the Aurora, is a game changer for the brand and an industry first.
On the surface, the Aurora might look like another twist on an aviator watch, but lurking inside is a movement unlike any other we’ve come across. It’s a Soprod Mecatronic movement that was developed with Gavox to their specs and desires. So what does it do? Well on top of telling time it has seven different modes, including a chronograph and perpetual calendar to name just two. It’s basically like having the functionality of a digital watch, but with an analogue layout and controls. When you switch between modes, the hands themselves move around to work in different ways as per the function. It’s not only fun to use, it’s fun to watch. In a day and age where mechanical watches are gaining in popularity, it’s watches like this that bring relevance back to quartz and other methods of timekeeping. Simply put, you couldn’t make a mechanical equivalent to this watch.
The Aurora is Swiss-made and features a sapphire crystal with AR and a battery life of 4 – 7 years. Without VAT, the Aurora goes for $838, making it pricey for what one would typically expect for a quartz watch, but as you’ll see in the video (I recommend watching to see the watch in action) and read below, this is not like any quartz you’ve seen before.
Gavox Aurora Review
Case: 316L Steel, PVDMovement: Soprod Mecatronic
Dial: Matte black
Lume: BGW9
Lens: Sapphire crystal
Strap: Leather, various
Water Res.: 100m
Dimensions: 43 x 51mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Lug Width: 22 mm
Crown: 6mm button
Warranty: 2 years
Price: $838 (in US)
Case
The Gavox Aurora has a case befitting its pilot/aviator style. Coming in at 43 x 51 x 12mm, it’s wide and flat. Yet, despite being on the large side literally, it doesn’t look or wear over-sized thanks to the general proportions. It’s also worth noting that the movement itself demands a larger watch, as there are hands pushed all the way to the outside edge of the dial, thus needing some space.
The design is nothing out of the ordinary, but it gets the job done. Thick lugs with aggressive angles that slightly contour into the case give it a strong shape. The sides are slab, but thanks to the moderate thickness, they don’t seem empty. On the right side you have two pushers a “crown” and crown guards. I put crown in quotes as it’s really just a large button, but one that you do pull out like a crown as well to access certain functions. Essentially, you push it to switch watch modes, and pull it out in some modes to enter a “set” mode. Either way, it’s sized and shaped like a crown for the most part at 6mm wide with a Gavox “G” on the flat outside surface. It does lack texturing, such as a coin edge, which is actually a smart visual clue that you aren’t meant to turn it. The pushers have a standard look with cylinders sliding into cuffs.
The crown guard design is well considered and simple. They swoop out of the case, creating a scallop shape that the pushers rest in the middle of. This shape mimics the profile of a thumb making it an easy area to push within. They then raise up and quite closely wrap around the crown. Since it’s a button, as said, they could really get near the crown and not interfere with usability.
The case back is a screw on steel plate with various markings and a large Gavox logo etched in the center. Pretty standard fare here, nothing much to point out. In terms of finishing, the watch is available in brushed steel, matt black PVD and rose gold PVD, in editions of 500, 500 and 100, respectively. The matte black works really well on this watch. It makes it look a bit smaller and more compact, and the black really emphasizes the dial, which is the star after all. The steel is nice too in a more classic way, but has perhaps a touch less personality than the black.
Dial
The Aurora’s dial pulls from the classic aviator style, but adds layers of complexity due to the immense amount of functionality hidden within. At a glance, you have the primary index, with two sub-dial arcs at 6 and 9. In subtle gray print there is then more information on the dial and chapter ring. So, the surface is matte black, and the primary index is stark white. The main index consists of large 12, 3,6 and 9 numerals, as per the aviator standard, with large slightly tapering rectangles per hour all in BGW9 lume. At 12 there are also 2 dots, one on either side of the rectangle, for clear pilot styling. Between each hour are smaller, but still bold white lines for the minutes, as well as other functions. This whole index is circled with a white line, which is a detail I quite like, as it gives a nice hard stop to the dial.
The post Gavox Aurora Review appeared first on worn&wound.
Continue reading...
Let us know your thoughts and impressions.