Glycine Combat Sub 39 mm Automatic

Product Information

Unlike the Combat Sub 42 and 46, this one has a fine coin-edge grip surface and does not have the characteristic protrusion at the 0/60 marker.

Offering excellent value at reasonable prices is an important part of Glycine’s philosophy. The company’s strong foundation, coupled with its emphasis on rugged and reliable products, make Glycine a respected name in Swiss watchmaking today. The collection consists of Quartz powered and automatic watches made by the highest standards. The founder of Glycine, Eugene Meylan, aimed at absolute perfection with the first models. The models that followed still satisfy the essential conditions of a star-quality watch. Containing the Glycine Airman, the Glycine Airpilot, the Glycine Bienne, and the Glycine Combat, the Glycine Watch collection continues to deliver the heights of glory into timing reality. Powering the watch is of course the classic, reliable Swiss ETA 2824 automatic movement, although Glycine refers to it as the GL224. Not much needs to be said about these movements; they are tough, refined, and capable of excellent accuracy. When I bought my Combat Sub it was keeping time at +20 spd, which is within spec and not terrible, but with a bit of easy regulation (done by myself- my first time opening up an automatic watch) it keeps time consistently at +6spd. We’ll begin this review with the external, physical aspects of the watch, starting with dimensions (measured by myself with digital calipers). The tactile feel of the bezel, the crown, and the clasp as well as the excellent finishing earn the podium here. They beat a number of way more expensive pieces I’ve handled.The Airman collection has watches sized 36, 40, 42, 43, 44, and 46mm… There’s something for every wrist. Then there’s the Combat and Combat Sub – 36, 39, 42, 43, 46, and 48mm. That is the most considerate range of sizes for every wrist that I’ve ever seen. Dive watches are rarely light unless they’re made of titanium or bronze. Things that seem trivial in lightweight materials actually make a significant difference in steel cases. The first thing you should know is that this is not just a Combat Sub 42 scaled down to 39mm. The case has been completely re-engineered. Sure enough, seeing it through the transparent wrappings gave me the same impression. Once unwrapped, the reaction was a strong “Wow!”.

The COMBAT SUB 42 GL0200 has a bronze-hued unidirectional turning bezel with an aluminium ring. It is paired with a blue dial and a versatile brown calf leather fabric strap that matches the bezel, crown, and lugs. Its large indices and hands are framed with gold plating to give additional luminescence and visibility when needed. This model also contains an eye-catching red-coloured seconds hand that adds to the watch’s classic look. It seriously punches above its weight. For the money, you could get a Seiko Turtle, which will offer better lume, but everything else is well below Glycine’s level. Once unboxed and unwrapped, my reaction to it was a strong “Wow!”. The watch is really well made, and the first impression is that it’s sturdy, like a dive watch should be.Whether you are a beginner or a long-time watch collector, you have to be well-informed about the watch that you are planning to buy. Learn about its brand, movement, materials used, case size, etc. Know where and how it is made so that you will know exactly what you are paying for.

I think that the Combat Sub 39 can easily compete with watches priced up to 1000 euros, give or take a hundred. At 545 euros, it’s hard to beat. If you’re looking for near-absolute accuracy, Glycine offers the Combat Sub (in the 42mm case size) with a quartz movement. But if you don’t need to time Japanese bullet trains, this is all you could really ask of it. The Combat Sub delivers in the accuracy department. I worked in watch retail and handled dozens of watches, plenty of dive ones too. So, take it from me – it’s great. And what’s the worst about it? The exterior of the watch is satin-brushed on top and well-polished on all sides. The transition between the brushed dial to the polished stainless steel case is finely crafted, and the blue bezel and gold PVD coating adds to the beguiling look of the piece. This piece also comes with three layers of anti-reflective coating, which makes the readability of the watch great regardless of whatever lighting conditions you are in.

In general, Glycine is an enthusiast’s brand. However, since I’ve spotted quite a few of them in the wild, I assume it’s more common than you’d think. If you require an extra large bracelet or you are in need of additional links these may be supplied at an additional cost. The Combat Sub 39 uses Super-LumiNova C3. It isn’t the kind of torch that the CS 42 Bronze was. However, when we speak of torch-like lume, we usually speak of what I call peak performance. That peak performance usually only lasts for a few minutes, after direct exposure to sunlight or a strong source of artificial light, say, a LED lightbulb. Once that peak glow is gone, what the lume is left with is what I refer to as base glow, which – ideally – stays for several hours. The base glow of the lume.