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Between Milan and Turin in Italy, GAW is named after Arditi, who formed the first Assault Units in the Special Forces of the Italian Army In 1917, during World War I. It established itself as a handcrafted workshop headquartered in Alessandria, a famous internationally recognised area for the historical traditions of craftsmanship of the highest level. From the likes of goldsmiths and fine jewellery, watchmaking has been part of their crafts. The brand manufactures quite a range of watches, each featuring hardwearing materials in tandem with a "bold", innovative appearance and excellent construction mechanics altogether. Let's get to know the brand a bit more before diving into our inaugural piece, which kickstarts our journey together.
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| Gruppo Ardito Lince Black |
Like the Swiss watch industry, where they rely on different suppliers to build their fine luxury pieces, GAW partners also come from professional experiences ranging from precision mechanical engineering to design and micro-mechanics applied to watchmaking. From a business standpoint, they also share the desire to combine their great passion and experience in founding a small business making great professional watches with superior technical and quality characteristics.
Proudly made in Italy sans the Swiss mechanical movement within the watch, GAW watches are designed to comply with the highest quality standards; part of the components are made directly in the workshop and, in any case, by expert master craftsmen, under the direction and constant supervision of GAW Until today, the brand has developed an elite range of professional watches that have been heavily influenced by divers and military, designed and built to stand the test of time and heavy-duty use while maintaining their value intact. Today, we are incredibly excited to bring to you guys their 1000m water-resistant timepiece series - the Lince Black.
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| Even the dial is handmade and customised to Gnomon's specifications |
Lince is the new access model to the GAW world, a sports watch that proudly caters to a universal appeal suitable for all occasions. Its collection features grade 5 titanium material throughout its watch case to give the watch absolute lightness and strength. Other than the glass made from a modern sapphire, the finishes throughout the watch are handmade and denote superior construction care. All while maintaining the high constructive care typical of GAW watches.
Let's start with the case. The 42mm matte wide body is fixed by 10 Allen screws (five on the solid case back and five on the bezel). And with a height of 12mm and lug-to-lug distance of only 46mm, this 1000m water-resistance sports watch could be worn on most wrists, befitting today's unisex-sized trend. The “GAW” screw-down crown continues using its customised grade 5 titanium material and is placed at 8 o'clock for the "destro" look. The impressive water resistance of the sapphire crystal at the top is guaranteed by one sub-glass O-Ring and an L-shaped ring that works on the perimeter, while the bezel has the task of packing the glass against the case. And since the watch is individually taken care of by the brand, each one of them is pressure tested to 1000m. How many indie brands could actually testify that?
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| The handmade screwdown crown feels solid and easy to grip |
Speaking of bezel, GAW and us have gave our customers more customised characteristic by allowing wearers to have the ability to swap a submarine’s porthole bezel made out of CuSn12 bronze, or other materials in different colourways. Swapping the bezels allow the wearer to not only indulge a two-tone makeover, but also get to enjoy the patina or refreshing outlook on its bezel which is uniquely created by the journey of its wearer.
Before I go any further, when GAW mentioned their watches at this almost ridiculous depth that thrashes most conventional modern dive watches today, The watches are tested one by one in their water-pressure testing machine, developed and built internally with their engineering expertise. One additional detail that GAW nailed is the inclusion of a drilled-lug hole on each side, allowing its wearer to swap out the strap with ease.
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| Each of the bezel and caseback are secured with 5 screws |
Onto the dial, it is where we decided to infuse as much Italian military dive watch charm that we seek and love. The dial is in fumé black with a degradé effect, and its finishings are all handmade and denote superior construction care. The brand has implemented an old-school applied markers for its hours accordingly, only to be flanged by small circle lume plots. Along with the broadsword hands, the markers and handset are finished with C3 SuperLuminova that assisted in the retro charm while providing visibility during dark conditions. The brand’s logo is beautifully spelled out at the top of the dial, only to be balanced by the “Lince” text at the bottom.
GAW paired the fantastic piece with a 22mm natural rubber strap made in Italy to finish the watch's appeal. The rubber clads a sporty “carbon-fibre” texture on the top surface, and can be strapped on through a matching tang buckle.
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| Superluminova applied on the dial and handset |
Powering within the 1000m watch is the Swiss Selita SW200-1 Elaboré movement. It has 26 jewels, beats at 28,800 BPH, and a power reserve of roughly 38 hours. The elaboré grade movement is used here, a step up from the typical SW200 calibre you will find on most watches. Compared to the standard grade, a Selita Elaboré movement is adjusted in three positions and has better daily accuracy. This movement has been used for many years and has proven reliable, accurate and cost-efficient during servicing. The movement is then calibrated to within specs by their watchmakers, and is tested once again in-house before shipping out of their facility. Oh, we got to mention that it does not have the extra empty “date” position since it does not have one. Kudos to GAW once again for getting all these nitty gritty details right.
Sealing the movement is the well-decorated case-back sealed with 5 Allen screws. What makes this an even more unique handmade watch is the implementation of a bear paw and essential texts in Italian, engraved into the titanium case-back.
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| Customised case-back with the man-handled torpedo emblem |
| Maker | Gruppo Ardito |
| Movement | Automatic, Swiss Made SELLITA SW200 |
| Dial | Black |
| Luminous | Superluminova |
| Calender | 3 O'clock |
| Case | Made in 3 parts obtained from solid titanium |
| Bezel | Fixed bezel titanium grade 5 |
| Crown type | Screwdown crown at 8 O'clock |
| Lug width | 22mm |
| Crystal material | Sapphire glass and anti-reflective coating |
| Strap | Caucciù made in Italy with S.S. buckle and logo GAW |
| Water resistance | 1000m |
| Dimensions | 42mm in diameter, 46mm lugs to lugs, 12mm thick |
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