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Since its founding by Eugène Meylan in 1914, Glycine has been producing watches at its factory in Bienne, Switzerland.
Meylan was an uncompromising watch engineer who strove for perfection and nothing less. He had a profound understanding of both the market demands and the possibilities offered by the technological advances of the time. Today, offering excellent value at reasonable prices is an essential part of Glycine's philosophy. The company's strong foundation, coupled with its emphasis on rugged and reliable products, make Glycine a respected name in Swiss watchmaking today.
Since the early 60s, Glycine has served the market with this line of sturdy and captivating watches, made for severe conditions of wear and use. The precise automatic and chronograph movements are housed in a high-grade steel case of rugged construction, offering excellent value for money.
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Glycine Airman Vintage "The Chief" GMT British Green Ref. GL0305 |
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Aged treated case that looks like its from yesteryears |
Glycine Airman Vintage “ The Chief” GMT British Green Ref. GL0305 is the new edition based on their original and famous watch from the 50s. It features an attractive aviation vintage grey dial, a GMT function, the original red date which is read through the magnifying cyclops. Further, featuring vintage triangular markers, period-correct hands with age-coloured SuperLuminova lume, doing things the Glycine way. All in the name of a sweet-spot 40mm case.
Made from 316L stainless steel, The Airman “The Chief” GMT bears nostalgic yet with a distinctive vintage aesthetic. It’s classic aviator case style measures at 40mm and 12.5mm thin for unsurpassed comfort on all wrist sizes. The slender lugs with lugs to lugs length of 49mm, help the watch to wrap around the wrist like a pair of gloves while glamouring on one’s wrist. Glycine’s airman collection are all based historically from their 1950s tool watches, this particular model, known as “The Chief,” is traditionally styled to the Airman No. 1 watch - now with a long-tail hour hand - the very first edition of the 1950s. It is a faithful reproduction from aesthetic wise through and through.
Entirely hand finished and Made in Switzerland, the watch is satin brushed on the top, and high polished on the sides to a very high standard, again synonymous with Glycine. The transitions between the brushed and polished parts are very well defined.
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Bezel locking system done by the crown at 4 |
The bezel is true to the 50s Airman design through and through; featuring the hallmark 24-hour bezel of the original Airman. Furthermore, the only way to rotate it is through manipulating the retained locking feature on the thumbscrew crown at the 4 o'clock position on the case. Once it is unlocked, the friction bezel can rotate in both directions at ease — absolutely pure charming 1950s technology. The crown at 3 o’clock features all the necessary time, date and GMT adjustments.
The Glycine Airman Vintage “ The Chief” GMT British Green Ref. GL0305 stayed faithful to the original, coming with a sapphire crystal with three layers of anti-reflective coating on the inside, and topping off the OG red-colored date.
The highlight of Airman continues onto the sunburst deep green, military-format dial. It seems like Glycine has brought everything from the 50s Airman without tweaking anything, but with a British flair. For an instant, it features the original 24-hour format, With a double 24 hours markings on both the dial and bezel, this allows one to track up to two different time zones still, even without a new GMT hand. The sword handset filled with a right amount of vintage SuperLuminova for superb glow-in-the-dark.
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C1 SuperLuminova |
Used to be powered by vintage movement Felsa Bidyanator automatic movements, the Airman got its upgrade by having a Glycine GL293 movement which is essentially an ETA2893-2/SW330, operating at 28,800 bph (4 Hertz) with hacking and hand winding capabilities. It has 25/26 jewels with a power reserve of 42 hours. With this movement, the Airman follows a more current style time reading by driving the main hour hand around twice per day, having a slim blued GMT hand doing the 24-hour duty. The Airman comes with a 22mm Glycine brown leather strap and signed tang buckle.
Overall, the Glycine Airman Vintage “ The Chief” GMT British Green Ref. GL0305 exhibits very great value given the history and built of the watch. Now in the perfect 40mm size, it imbues the original Airman treatment on the case provides the military/aviation look, overall aesthetics allow to have a sense of nostalgia on many wrists. The unique Glycine looks thoroughly purpose-built and radiating its origins in the cockpit of many airliners back in those days, make this an exceptional bargain and hard to beat. The Airman fits Glycine's philosophy that Mr. Eugène Meylan set out in 1953.
Maker | Glycine |
Movement | Swiss automatic movement SW330 GMT |
Dial | Green |
Luminous | C1 SuperLuminova |
Case | Stainless Steel 316L with brush & polished finishing |
Bezel | Bi-directional bezel for double GMT display |
Crown type | 3 o'clock for time/date adjustment, and 4 o'clock for bezel system |
Lug width | 22mm |
Crystal material | Sapphire box with A/R coating (3 layers underneath) |
Strap | Brown leather strap |
Water resistance | 30m |
Dimensions | 40mm in diameter. 12.5mm thick. 49mm lug to lug. |
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