Lots of brands iterate and improve upon their watches. Brands like Nodus, Monta, and others have all taken an early version of one of their watches and made minor improvements to make it better, sleeker, or add something they couldn’t before. What isn’t seen quite as often, especially in the microbrand space, are brands adding a complication to their watch. Even rarer is when that added complication makes the watch leaps and bounds better by making you feel like it was what the brand initially intended for the watch. That is precisely what we have with the Traska Venturer GMT. An added GMT complication allows the Venturer to come into its own and give some aspects of the watch a place to shine. Let’s jump in.
On the Wrist
The Venturer GMT wears just about the same as the Venturer 3-hander I reviewed last year (review here). I won’t gloss over this section, but if you’re looking for more than what I discuss here, check out that review. The Venturer GMT comes in at 38.5mm wide, 46mm lug-to-lug, and only 10mm thick. With a wrist-to-crystal of 9mm, the Venturer GMT wears like your favorite small field watch but with a GMT complication under the hood. Not too shabby.
What blows my mind about the Venturer GMT (and I thought I was losing it at first) is that this is .5mm thinner than the 3-hander. An added hand, and somehow Traska managed to shave half a millimeter off the watch’s height. I lament that it doesn’t make much of a difference on the wrist, but it’s still impressive.
Traska’s watches have always fit my 6.75” wrist well; this watch is no exception. Their watches are built to accomplish that with the goldilocks proportions they use for their watches. This is pure speculation, but I’d wager that most watch wearers fall in the 6.5-7.25” wrist size range, and a watch with these dimensions will look right at home. That isn’t to tell you big-wristed people can’t enjoy this watch. The additional crown at 10 o’clock gives it just a touch of added wrist presence that will make those looking for a slightly larger diameter happy.
Powering the Venturer GMT, and what is likely to cause the most commotion with this watch, is the Miyota 9075. This movement debuted (at least to my knowledge) in the Jack Mason Strat-o-Timer. The 9075 is a “traveler” GMT where the primary hour hand jumps independently of the GMT hand. If you’re unfamiliar, this is different than the GMT movements we are used to in the affordable space, where the GMT hand is the hand that jumps independently. The functionality that speaks to you is pure preference, and many will find that the only downside to a traveler’s GMT is that there is no quick-set date, and the hour hand must be rotated around to change the date back or forward.
Traska Venturer GMT Specs | |
Case Width 38.5mm | Lug-to-Lug 46mm |
Case Thickness 10mm | Lug Width 20mm |
Wrist-to-Crystal 9mm | Weight 130g (sized) |
Water Resistance 150m | Strap Bracelet |
Crystal Sapphire | Lume Super-LumiNova |
Movement Miyota 9075 | Price $695 |
Dial Details
The hour, minute, and seconds hand all remain the same as the 3-hand Venturer. The main section of the dial where the markers and date window live are also the same. The inky black dial with touches of red added gives it a sporty feel without overdoing it. Do we call this a “pop of color?” Are we officially done with that phrase? I’ll leave that up to you. Regardless, it keeps the Venturer GMT from looking monochrome, and if you’re looking for even more pops of color, the other colors from Traska will fit the bill.
The new GMT hand fits in well with the baton hands and doesn’t distract from the simple yet well-executed dial. The GMT hand reaches right to the edge of the inner bezel, giving the wearer no question about what time it is. You’d be correct if you’re looking at the lume shot and thinking the lume is a little sparse. However, this is a pre-production review sample and does not carry the full lume application the production units will.
The internal bezel has been changed from a 12-hour scale to a 24-hour scale to incorporate with the new GMT complication. This is the overarching theme of this watch, and why it now feels like the watch it was meant to be. 12-hour bezel watches undoubtedly have their place, but the way this watch was constructed makes it feel complete as a GMT watch. The internal bezel makes more sense, and even the watch’s name fits this type of complication. The only thing I’d change is to make the 10 o’clock crown that operates the bezel a screwdown crown. It spins just a little too easily, but given its position, it isn’t prone to many accidental bumps.
Case & Bracelet
As previously mentioned, the case is the same as the Venturer 3-hander (aside from being .5mm thinner). However, Traska changed one thing, and that is the finishing. The sides of the case are now mirror-polished and help give the Venturer some much-needed pizzazz. The additional polishing looks excellent with the chamfered case edges and allows the watch to break out from its previous toolish nature. Yes, this is still a tool watch, but now it leans more into the sports watch category.
Traska still has its proprietary hardness coating on the entire case and bracelet, and it is still outstanding. I don’t know what this coating is, but you can do anything up to running it through a blender, and you won’t pick up surface scratches. Hell, even running it through a blender might not scratch it.
Traska’s bracelets are the same style from watch to watch, solid and comfortable. I’d like to see Traska do more with their bracelets. Oyster-style bracelets are great, but a Traska jubilee or beads of rice would be a welcome change. I don’t think the latter would work on this watch, but a jubilee? Yes, please. It is also time for Traska to adopt quick-release bracelets and look into a quick micro-adjust system. These aren’t deal-breakers, but I don’t want to see Traska fall behind.
Final Thoughts
For a watch with a new movement, great design, and the excellent hardness coating Traska uses, $695 seems like a relative bargain. Prices of everything seem to be creeping up, but it doesn’t seem like that long ago that a GMT had a starting point of $1,000 +. It’s great to see brands like Traska pushing that entry point down without sacrificing quality.
The Venturer GMT is the penultimate version of the Venturer, even though it is only the second version. I don’t see how Traska makes this watch better. I can understand some people waiting on Traska’s watches to see if they improve them (and justifiably so), but I wouldn’t wait on this one. At the time of this writing, there are a few weeks until it is available for sale. Set those alarm clocks and get your order in if you’ve wanted a Traska GMT. This is the one.
Check out more Traska reviews at The Watch Clicker here
Check out the Traska website here
Just received the A45. Out of the box impressive.
Haven’t yet put it thru the paces. But quality is there.
Overall impression is a superior timepiece and a good value. Report back