I’ve recently been in the market for a bronze watch. This is for the same reason that I wanted a brass black paint Leica. I like things that feature materials that will age and will uniquely patina to my usage. That being said, I’ve always been somewhat on the fence about getting a bronze watch. Nevertheless, I did my research and narrowed the options down to either the Tudor Black Bay Bronze at $4050 or the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary Edition at $2000. Both are seemingly great watches, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. I just couldn’t make that multi-thousand dollar investment on a material that I wasn’t sure of so I put the idea of getting a bronze watch on the back burner. Then one day, all of a sudden, I saw a listing for the Glycine Combat Sub 42 Bronze at $415 and I knew that I just had to get it.

The Glycine Combat Sub GL0187 features a 42mm bronze case with unidirectional turning bezel. Unlike the case, the bezel ring itself is actually made from aluminum. The dial of the watch is what Glycine calls charcoal-black and features a gradient. Towards the top by 12 o’clock, the dial is a much lighter shade of gray and works itself to black by 6 o’clock. If you don’t like the charcoal-black, there is a gradient brown dial version reference GL0188, gradient blue dial reference GL0174/GL0242 and even gradient green dial version reference GL0281. Also, if 42mm is too small for you, there is a 48mm version reference GL0200/GL0243. I’m personally still unsure of how I feel about this gradient dial. I would’ve much preferred a radial gradient which would’ve made the design more uniform. The dial also features applied indexes with a rose gold border and Super-LumiNova. The hour and minute hand features a similar treatment with a brushed rose gold coating and Super-LumiNova. For contrast, the Combat Sub features an all red second hand with more Super-LumiNova. Protecting all of this is a flat sapphire crystal with 3 layers of antireflective coating on the underside.

On the back is a solid steel screw down case back. This is fairly common with bronze watches as the stainless steel will not react to skin contact and will not patina over time. This is a good design choice considering that had the case back been made of bronze, it would’ve likely patina very quickly with all the exposure to the skin and this may be uncomfortable and can irritate the wearer. However, I would’ve liked the color of the case back to match the rest of the case. This is something that other bronze watch manufacturers do and it really pulls everything together. It’s not like this isn’t possible for Glycine because after all, the strap buckle is also stainless steel but as you can see, it’s treated to match the case. The silver is such a stark contrast and to me is unappealing. It’s just a good thing that this part of the watch never gets seen with normal use.

This combat sub ships with a composite strap. The exterior layer of the strap is a fabric material embossed with something reminiscent of a brick pattern and is bonded to the interior calf leather layer. To me, the strap feels comfortable on the wrist because of the leather but the exterior looks cheap and synthetic because of the pattern that Glycine went with. The perceived value of this strap would’ve been higher had they gone with a smooth texture, a more natural leather grain or an alligator grain print. I personally will not be wearing this watch on the stock strap. One thing that I would like to point out is that on the GL0187 spec sheet, it lists the strap as having 24mm horns and 22mm buckle. I’ve never seen a manufacturer list “horns” but it would make sense to assume that they meant that the strap is 24mm apart at the lugs and tapers to 22mm at the buckle. This apparently is not so because this watch actually takes 22mm straps. Again, if you want to fit this watch case with different straps, then buy 22mm straps.

The bronze Combat Sub features the calibre GL224 Swiss automatic movement which is a modified ETA 2824-2. This movement vibrates at 28,800 bph and has a power reserve of 38 hours. Now, I’m not going to be one of those people who will sit here and act like I’m knowledgable on this movement. Aside from the quick Google search, I have no frame of reference for it. But, according to the internet, this does seem to be a reliable workhorse that is widely use. This means that it should have some longevity and if it were to have some issues, you should be able to get it repaired with ease and for a decent price. To me, the only minor let down of this movement is the 38 hour power reserve. This would make it the shortest power reserve of all my watches. It’s just a shame that you can’t go at least full 2 days without winding it but it is what it is.

Check out THIS writeup to learn more about the ETA 2824 movement.
https://wornandwound.com/caliber-spec-eta-2824-automatic-people/

Earlier I mentioned that there were a few other bronze watches that I had in mind prior to buying this Glycine, one of them being the Tudor Black Bay Bronze. If you’re familiar with that watch, then I’m sure that you can see some very similar design cues. To me, this is a clear homage to the Black Bay. I don’t know which came out first but the original brown Black Bay Bronze was introduced in 2016 and black Black Bay Bronze in 2019. According to the Glycine website, all of its bronze Combat Subs are new for 2019. If this is correct, then I think we can assume where Glycine got the inspiration for its design. But that’s neither here nor there. This is not a comparison of the two watches. However, if you are interested in a cheaper alternative to the Tudor Black Bay Bronze 2016 or 2019 model, then this is a good choice.

This watch lists at over $1000 but you definitely should not be paying that much. I’ve seen this Glycine regularly around $600 and I think that that’s a fair price. However, if you’re able to pick it up for even less, again I paid $415 with manufacturer warranty, then this watch is an absolute steal.