This Gruppo Gamma bronze beast is a solid microbrand tool watch. Let it patina naturally for a unique deep bronzy brown look, or wipe it down with a cape cod cloth to bring it back to an almost rose gold finish. This piece is a lot of fun!
The watch pictured in this review was sold in the KeepTheTime watch shop in February 2024.
Turning the 44mm case on its side reveals a large screw-down crown that is signed “Gamma IIII”. The crown guard, which extends the diameter of the case to about 48mm, is adorned with two screws.
The other side of the case features a screw design to match the crown side. It appears to be a decorative feature only and not for functional purposes.
The dial features a blue to black gradient with a mixture of Roman and dot hour markers. A subdued red seconds hand adds a sporty touch to the layout.
The caseback is solid, but secured with 6 flathead screws in case you want access to the automatic movement under the hood. Powered by a Swiss made workhorse ETA caliber 2824-2.
With ETA movements now being unavailable, most of the Swiss auto microbrand watches will have a Sellita or Soprod type of ETA clone movement. It’s nice to see that Gruppo Gamma was able to obtain some new old stock movements to put in this Vanguard series.
With the lights down low, you get bright C3 lumed Roman numeral hour markers at 12/3/6/9.
Detailed Specs:
- Reference: AN-18
- Movement: Automatic, Swiss made
- Caliber: ETA 2824-2
- Case: Bronze
- Diameter: 48mm overall including the crown guard; ~44mm just the bezel; ~36mm crystal/dial
- Thickness: 14mm
- Lug-to-Lug: 52.5mm
- Dial: Blue to black gradient with Roman markers
- Lume: C3 Super-LumiNova
- Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire
- Band: Black leather strap
- Matching Gruppo Gamma tang buckle
- Lug-Width: 24mm
- Crown: Screw-down
- Water Resistant up to 200m
- Retail Price: Discontinued, unavailable from Gruppo Gamma
Beautiful watch. Will they ever make this dial again? I can’t find it anywhere.