Andrei

This to me is one of the most attractive GMT watches. It gives off some tool watch vibes, it also gives off some luxurious vibes in a perfect mix.

Despite its 39mm case size, it's still a bit of a chunky watch that wears a bit larger than you might expect. Part of it is the case that has almost no curvature to the ends and also the male end links that extend the effective lug to lug a bit. On my 6.5-inch wrist, I think I can pull it off.

This is a “true” GMT so you get a quick set on the local hour hand and it also means you don’t get a quick set for the date. So setting the date means going through the days one by one with the hour hand.

The dial is great, has applied numerals, the logo, and some stars that I don’t know what they represent but look cool. I know some people dislike them, but I don’t. They give off a military vibe to the watch.

There is also a raised minute track around the edge of the dial that gives it another layer of depth with a very nicely polished beveled edge to it.

The bracelet is good but nothing special. It has a quick release but no on-the-fly micro-adjustment. I would expect it to have it since it's starting to become a standard. Maybe they will update the bracelet in the coming years.

The bracelet also uses split pins and some people might dislike that for a watch in this price range. Personally, I still prefer them to pin and collar because they are easier to deal with but would prefer screws over any other option.

It's going to be a challenge to review this watch without sounding like a marketing guy, but I’ll give it a shot. In short, the watch is great.

The style is obviously inspired and CW doesn’t try to hide it, instead, they created their own interpretation of a fixed bezel GMT and I’m glad they did. I’m a big fan of the Rolex Explorer 2 but it's out of budget, current version is too large and the older version is…old…and out of budget. The CW has a modern build, great size, and great price.

The build quality is excellent and the design of the case is something you don’t see every day. In case you are not familiar with the “light catcher” case, as they call it, it has a more intricate shape than most watches in this price range with a mix of polish and brushed finishes.

The ends of the case have nice curvature making it wear even smaller than the size might suggest. The bracelet is solid and has a quick release and on-the-fly micro-adjustment. The one thing I dislike is the use of a pin and collar system on the links as they are very stubborn to get out.

The movement is also a choice I like but some people might not because it's an “office” type of GMT meaning that you don’t get the quick set on the local hour hand. Instead, you get it on the GMT hand. However, because of this, you get a quick set date and personally I prefer this configuration. Just be aware in case you need a “true” GMT.

I have the full-black version and it looks like it means business. Joking aside it's a great stealthy-looking sports watch. Also, I got the watch as a gift from my wife so if you are looking to gift this, yeah, go ahead, I think any watch lover would love it in the collection.

The size is perfect for me, it doesn’t look chunky even though it's quite large and the band goes quite sharply downwards and not extending the effective “lug to lug” which helps a lot for smallish wrists.

The build quality is where I have some issues with it. After about 3 years of semi-regular wear, the outer shell has started to warp and get a bit loose. It's not as tight around the watch head as it was when new.

This is something that happened with an older G-Shock that I have as well. I’m not sure how common this issue is but it's something I noticed. The watch still holds together very well so it's not falling apart or anything but it is quite annoying.

Another issue I have with the watch is the lack of lume on the hour makers. I think it would have helped with legibility. Sure there is the usual G-Shock LED light but since there is some lume on the hands why not add on the markers as well?

Some anti-reflective coating would have been nice since at least in the full black version the dial is quite hard to see if light hits the dial. On other color options, it doesn't seem to be as bad. My wife’s GMA in the pink color scheme doesn’t have this issue.

Even though I mostly complained about the watch here, I still think it's a great watch for the money and also there are quite a few mod kits out there to change the look of it, cases, bracelets, and whatnot if you are into modding.