Glycine was at one point my best watch, i loved it. But we tend to move on and move up in watch collecting don't we? Seeking the more refined brand, the more respected brand. Well this video reminded me of what a soft spot i have for Glycine and prompted me to order this model. It came today and it is knocking me out. It demonstrates to me that a great watch is a great watch---regardless of price. I have other more expensive pieces now, but man, this one is great. I mean, the finishing on my Tudor BB is not noticeably different than this. Wears like a thin slab of coolness on the wrist (again, besting the Tudor in thinness and wearability). As a side note, nobody seems to have a problem with Swatch group watches so there's no point making a huge deal about the Invicta ownership here either. Actually, huge props to them for helping Glycine to continue making great Swiss watches and doing it at a price that, as you point out, is a headline itself.
My family owns 3 Combat Subs. No better deal out there for mechanical Swiss divers. Very nice watches, well made and highly recommended. The Swatch is a disposable plastic toy.
I think you struck a great balance. The Glycine is definitely the better watch if you're looking for a daily wear watch. The Swatchpain is the better watch if you're looking for a fun addition to your collection of capable serious watches.
@julienfroidevaux1143 I'd say that the global consumer base would disagree... sneakers, fashion accessories, most clothing, etc., are all "throw away" items. It's cool to not like the watch, but be honest about why, there is no need to parrot a silly talking point.
Proud owner of the 39mm version, GL0401 ! It's my absolute favorite watch, started wearing it pretty much all the time. It wears amazing, put it on a black/gold Nato strap, the gilt is great and build quality is unrivaled for the price :) My dream was to get a Tudor BB58, but honestly after getting the Glycine for 500€, it's hard justifying spending 4k on a BB.
Glycine blows any plastic watch out of the water. The most underrated swiss brand. Bar-none. Absolute value for money. No other brand can give you so much watch, for so little money.
@@CH-yp5bycould you explain the "grade", do you mean number of positions tested etc? I am curious because i am looking at sinn and Christopher Ward which both have sw200-1 but everyone praises sinn and says CW doesn have good mechanism.
I have been interested in watches for many more decades that I would care to admit and, these days, I have quite a few high-end mechanical timepieces and one sort of high-end quartz (Breitling Aerospace, my go-to travel watch). Even though I decided to stop buying watches 8 years ago as what I had collected was way more than anyone might possibly need, I saw the Glycine Sub at local Costco in December 2022 and immediately bought it as, being interested in watches for many decades, I was well-familiar with the brand and wanted to check it out to see what was the catch and why it was so cheap. During the month after that, I discovered that I gradually started picking it up over other watches I had at that point at home (the vast majority of my watches are in a bank safety deposit box, but I rotate them constantly). Fast forward almost a year. It has been on my wrist practically non-stop since then. I just love it: it is light, comfortable, well-built, accurate (+4.5 seconds a day - totally on par with all my high-end pieces), easy to clean (taking it off the NATO strap takes 10 seconds and it can be rinsed or washed). Unscrewing and screwing the crown back in gives that hard-to-describe pleasure one gets only from operating a precisely built mechanical gadget, but - if you happen to have a gadget like that - you'd know exactly what I am talking about. In short, it is a great watch. I was smiling through the Glycine part of the video, as @WatchCrunchOfficial's opinion was so close to what I think about that watch.
I just re-bought a Glycine Sub, having owned one "early" in my watch hobby, I believed it was less-than other higher-priced watches. I think i was wrong... can't wait to get this one back on my wrist.
I just picked up a Helm Miyako. Design inspired by the Fifty Fathoms. ISO Certified diver, decent Miyota movement. Absolutely solid and incredible build quality for the price. Doesn't have the brand history but an incredible watch for $375 plus $35 shipping. Only real downside.....well not easy to get one...there is a waiting list....you have to be patient unless you want to over pay for second hand but well worth it.
I go with the SwatchPain. If I wanted a value diver in the Submariner vibe made by an Invicta company... I'd go for *another* Pro Diver for less than $100 (my current one is at least 10 years old and runs great, even after my washing machine "test" last year). If I wanted a quality watch at a great price but in the Blancpain vibe I'd recommend the Baltic Aquascaphe which has many elements of the BP Bathyscape. But I can see a day at the beach with the SwatchPain.
Your essay on the comparison between the plastic Blancpain and the Combat is so spot on. Enough so that I subscribed. Your point about the deep discounts (thanx Invicta bad press) is absolutely true. This is a situation in which an unused nice quality diver containing a Sellita for under 400 is extremely rare. The only other brand with similar specs that gets routinely discounted this significantly would seem to be Gevril....but the history of Glycine is much more legit. I guess you could occasionally put Certina and Mido in there too, but anything new contains a Powermatic with the "hobbled" regulator---which is why I don't acquire them anymore. I think it is cool that you buck the typical online trend of only whispering Glycine, due to the instant backlash about them being Invictas. I have a 24 hour "blue/black" Worldtimer, and a gorgeous sunray blue moonphase Combat, and paid relatively nothing for them. I also have Speedies, Seamasters, Ulysse Nardin, Hydroconquests, etc., but will pull out a Glycine when I want a carefree outing not worrying about scratches on the Hesalite. Bang for the Buck baby! You might want to double check your timeline comparison on the whether the "Fifty" was patented or came to market before the "Sub". Not sure we should always blindly follow the corporate storyline. You are presenting intelligent narratives, and don't seem to have been ensnared by manufacturers "quid-pro-quo" largesse yet. I will continue to have you on my top half dozen watch stuff views.
Though I don't own any of these collaborations, I do think that they're great for the watch community. They bring awareness of brand that many may not know of and bring new collectors to the hobby. I can't help but wonder what other collaborations may come...maybe Casio and Audemars for a real "Casi-Oak".
This affordable Glycine is real food for thoughts. It has provenance, performance, street cred and looks good on the wrist. Do you really need a SeaMaster or a JLC Polaris to feel good ? Buying a €61 Pagani Design vintage Patek chronograph homage (something I would not have been caught dead doing five years ago) and a €200 1990’s quartz YEMA Superman Worldtime from eBay has had more impact than I expected. I truly enjoy wearing these two pieces, and suddenly made the spending of €5000 on a watch look completely shocking.
The Combat Sub. Literally the best name for a watch in all of watchdom. If BP has to move to plastic to bump sales, well, that tells you something about BP and SG. Maybe they aren't as awesome as they think they are.
Years ago glycine combat subs were going for 600-1000 and i thought of them like squale. Now the products haven't really changed, but the invicta ownership had changed the business side of things for them and the perception. They aren't exclusive or scarce anymore and that changes value dramatically. They used to be critically acclaimed and now they are simply a fantastic bargain, so their notoriety is for a completely different reason
@@SpaceG95 i agree. I bought a hamilton khaki aviation air race grey market a few years ago for around 300 and was amazed to actually get a swiss watch for that price. I ended up moving that on and i largely gravitate towards german brands or microbrands now because i prefer the designs and value for money. I like some swiss brands and watches, but bending the knee to elitist swiss watch cartels is something i really dont want to do.
My wife has a 36mm Glycine Combat Sub. It has a brown dial that I thought I wouldn't like. It has a copperish color to it. It's a beautiful dial. Her's is on an oyster bracelet. A little light for my taste but it's a damn nice watch for the money. The new 36mm has better finishing than the larger models. Great value for a Swiss watch and automatic Swiss movement
I bought a green bezel Glycine combat sub back when they were priced along with Squale and Steinhart from a grey market retailer. Lume dot came off and it became my work watch for the last 10 years. It has been though a lot and has been a great watch. I need to decide if I replace the bezel when I retire or wear with pride the "patina" I have put on this watch.
I would go step further and say any alternative is a better alternative to the swatch plastic chunk… It would be one thing if the price point was $149. At that price I could see taking a flyer on it and enjoying the fad that it inevitably is.. with that said, the glycine is an awesome watch!
I have a GL0083. It's a great watch. The one annoying thing I will note about it is that the lume pip at midnight on the bezel is a different color than the lume on the dial. Of course, this isn't even noticeable in daylight.
Have that one, the “Coke” and my everyday wear to work airmen worldtimer ghosted blue dial. Great work watch for the value. The most impressive is most of the movement are 8vps. Good call on a great brand with a rich history.
Glad you are bringing the love to the Glycine Combat Sub 42. I have had mine for a year. BTW, this watch has anti-reflective on the inside of the crystal.
The Glycine combat sub is THE best value Swiss diver available. So much to love about this watch. Invicta's purchase of Glycine has only made it more affordable, and I view that as a good thing. I've owned one now for about two years and am still amazed at how nice it is. The Swatchpain looks like a high priced piece of plastic trash.
I wear my Costco Combat on a mesh bracelet and had someone wearing a Speedmaster ask me if it was a 300m No Time To Die. For the "on the internet" price, it's pretty hard to beat.
I would prefer the seiko diver prospex SNE573P1. 38,5mm, 11mm hight. It is a solar quartz 200 meter. It is a verry classic seiko millsubish thing that will work on a lot off wrists and without any problems (solicone strap is not to my liking but easely switched). I’m considering it for a first main watch for my son. Advice price around 500€.
Live rocking the Glycine for a while, and we both know how I feel about the collaboration. I agree brilliant marketing Greta video, Max. PS: “A Seiko had S3ks with a Rolex floored me”
I recently saw the bronze combat sub and was on the fence because they were taken over by Invicta, but after seeing this video and looking at the comments I think I’m going to pull the trigger and get one
each to their own, the blanpain feels more robust & durable but the difference is that the blanpain model is one time use only (due to using mechanical sistem 51) while the omega uses replaceable battery..
I bought the Moon-Swatch because I thought it would look cool to have it side by side with my Speedmaster. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is one of my Grail watches that I've yet to obtain. I will buy the Swatch Collab to scratch the itch for the time being. The Antarctic is hot and not because of climate change. At first glance, the Nato on the Blancpain looks much nicer than the one on the Moon-Swatch. That doesn't matter because I will put a decent strap on it just like I did with my Moon-Swatch. You put a nice sail strap on one of these pieces and you have a hell of a good-looking timepiece.
The Swatch X Blancpain looks nice, but the Sistema 51 is not accurate having owned one. I will still give it a miss. Great video though, as always. When you think though, that for a similar price you can get a Seiko 5 GMT!
I have the Glycine quartz GMT- it’s pretty decent. It has one QC flaw, the cyclops is crooked. Seems solid otherwise, and worth more than the price for a Swiss watch.
Good job with the analogy doctor Max :) about the Glycine yeah it’s better watch then Scuba but so many others at that price point which I’m not even bother listing here and still I’ll buy the new Swatch
I purchased a Combat Sub as my return to watch collecting perhaps ten years ago. It’s built like a tank, no doubt but in the end, it’s just decent if unspectacular. Once you’ve experienced nicer watches, its shortcomings are pretty obvious. At that price, I’d go for a Seiko Turtle.
@@WatchCrunchOfficial We are talking sub-$500 watches, so expectations should be managed, right? To my eye, the Turtle is an iconic design that screams “Seiko” - it’s recognizable and unique where the Glycine is just a generic “diver.” I love the Willard, it might be my favorite diver but then again, they’re considerably more expensive. You can buy a Turtle for $350 or so. The Willard reissues start at over $1100 from an AD, prior to any discounts you might wrangle.
i actually love the swatchpain indian ocean. most watch companies do not do to good a job with the color green. ( looh at the omega seamaster 300 in seaweed green ) this indian ocean green is amazing.
During peak Panerai era, I wanted to pull the trigger on that Glycine but the 42mm case didn’t speak to me upon trying it on at the AD, and thought it would better looking in a smaller case which wasn’t available at that time.
I do like the collabs they do I just wish they were a more reasonable price. This shouldn't be more than £200 IMO and the moonswatch should be around £150 maybe £175
Glycine's parent company is Invicta. So you can annoy snobs and tell them you have an invicta watch 😂 I got the bronze combat sub as my first and only bronze watch. Happy with it so far. About 1 year of ownership.
@@roytofilovski9530 you buy it for yourself and annoy snobs with it- telling them you have an invicta watch. Invicta seems to be one of the watch brands on the "hate" list of watch snobs.
Got the black SwatchPain automatic, it's fun, cheap but feels more like a "real" watch vs the actually cheap Moonswatch. Fun daily that may not last but who cares.
The cost of the Happy Meal plastic toy is the real kicker for me, $400! Stainless steel will outlast any of the Swatch groups plastic collaborations and where will it end?
Swatchpain is the agreed nickname for this thing?! I was hoping for Swifty Swathoms. I definitely like the "what if" nature of the moonswatch and this watch. There's never going to be a brightly colored ceramic Blancpain. There is probably never going to be a red ceramic Moonwatch (which I would jump through hoops to buy). These are just fun and even the Swuba costs about as much as a leather strap from Omega. Hating these things is silly. Wear what you want to.
Glycine are real watches that will last a life time. I have a 39mm Brienne 1914; looks and feels as good as my Tudor. I also have a Swatch MoonSwatch and it feels like a toy.
Wow the 39 looks amazing but some quick googling seems to suggest its impossible to find! (unlike the 42 which seems easily available). Who are the official North American sellers?
Which camp am i in? I found myself looking for alternatives to a throwaway fun piece that is the Swatchpain but i wanted at least a bit of the BP look. I ended up with a fairly inexpensive look-alike of the Fifty-Fathoms with a clone of a Miyota 8xxx series movement that i enjoyed swaping for a real 9xxx. Now i had my fun tinkering with the watch and i enjoy wearing it, knowing what's inside.
7:04 Looks like Max hasn't done his research again... That's a very special reissue from Citizen with a beautiful story behind it. These so called ''watch lovers/experts'' should really learn how to use Google properly.... But other than that, cool video.
Hi my friend I wonder if you can please help me. I’m trying to find the model number of your glycine sub on your review. Can you please let me know. Ps fab review
