Glycine GL0388 – Cheap Homage or a Modern Classic?

It started with Black Friday Curiosity

One cool evening in mid November I decided to head back to Drop.com. Considering my new job and the upcoming black Friday deals I figured it would be the perfect time to check up on my once¹ beloved drop-shipping site. It was here that a watch caught my eye: the Drop + Glycine Combat Sub “Soda”, pictured below.

I’ve wanted a dive watch for two reasons:

1. measuring elapsed time is a useful everyday function,²
2. they’re durable as hell. I immediately fell in love with the classic blue/red bezel, but considering that Drop only ships limited numbers of products, the watch was currently not for sale.

Now being hooked on the Glycine Combat Sub series, I took a look at the official Glycine shop. I consider myself fairly picky with watche aesthetics, and of the barrage of dive watches, only two stood out to me:

Interesting Pricing Tactics

Glycine enjoyed a long history as an independent watch company, and manufactured a range of watches for soldiers, pilots and astronauts. In 2016 the company was purchased by Invicta, a company infamous for producing large, gaudy and colorful watches which rarely align with the tastes of the watch enthusiast community. Although some Invicta watches can offer good value for the money, most follow an interesting pricing tactic of extreme markdowns from the official MSRP.

Just my luck, these Glycine watches were “on sale” just as those of their parent company: reduced from € 1026 to just € 545, a generous 53% off.

Value for the Money

Going over the specifications of modern Combat Subs:

Automatic Movement

Using the GL224 movement, AKA the SW200-1, a reliable workhorse movement that is easy to service and features all the basic complications such as central seconds and a calendar.

Sapphire Crystal

“Unscratchably” hard material. While these are grown artificially and should not be confused for a precious gem, they do of course increase the value of a watch compared to one using mineral glass.

Swiss Made

not necesarily an indication of quality, but does indicate tradition and high(er) standards

While these specs are more than acceptable for a watch in the € 500 price range, I was still out for a bargain, as I went out on a limb that there must be a better deal that that what Invicta offers. As such, I headed to Jomeshop.com, probably the most well-known reputable gray-market watch seller on the internet.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find a more traditional Combat Sub design, such as the GL0185. As a result, I settled for the blue-red GL0388 on Jomashop for an unbeatable $322.05.

Déjà vu?

Looking at the watch from a distance does remind one of perhaps more famous status symbols watches. Without a doubt, Rolex has had an enormous impact on not just the industry but our day-to-day perception of watches.

This specific Combat Sub’s similarity has, of course, caught the attention of watch snobs enthusiasts, with varying opinions. Following quote in particular got to me:

It’s worse than a homage.

First, they put the GMT colors on a dive timing bezel. It’s spastic. Turrrble idea and should not be bought with anyone’s money.

Yes, there are GMT colors (in reference to day/night cycles between circa 06:00 and 18:00) on the watch, and I’ll admit that Rolex was the first company to produce a watch with this a two-tone bezel. But does that make it an homage? I don’t think so. Consider something like the Seiko SKX009K2 or the SNE591. These have also featured red/blue bezels for decades without being considered an homage to anything.

What about the dial, featuring triangle/rectangle/circle hours indices? As far as I’m concerned, these are also a very traditional style, found on dive watches from Bremont and Hamilton. The Glycine GL0388 simply happens to check all the boxes of an archetypical dive watch.

Still, the Glycine is different. It doesn’t feature the typical Rolex date magnifier. The date display, and minute tracks and seconds hand are very different from the GMT-Master II or Submariner. The bezel’s form and typography are unique as well. The devil is in the details.

It’s not just Glycine

I’m under the impression that certain styles will never die. The “Pepsi” bezel has been popular since its introduction, and I have been drawn to it for several months.

Case in Point: Bauhaus Watches

I adore my NOMOS Tangente, but they weren’t the first Bauhaus watch by far, and very few enthusiasts would claim they are “just” an homage.

All in all, I believe that much like phenotypes in biology, watch designs boil down to their heritage. These traits can be seen a celebration of history, while still providing leeway for individuality in the details.

My Verdict

It’s a charming watch that adds a splash of color to my wrist. I use the rotating bezel to time daily tasks like brewing my coffee all the time. The solid steel case, SW200 movement and sapphire crystal mean I can probably wear the hell out of this watch daily.³ Some people may mistake it for a Rolex or homage thereof at a distance, but at the end of the day, I bought this watch for myself because I like it.