Gruppo Gamma DG-06
Manufacturer: Gruppo Gamma | Price: $950 USD (£740 GBP, €860 EUR approx)
I’ve heard a lot of great things regarding the brand Gruppo Gamma and after chatting to them for quite a while, they agreed to send me out their second generation Divemaster for me to review. It wasn’t until after they told me that it was on its way to me, I went to their website to quickly check the spec. FFS! Did I bite off more than I can chew? Let’s find out!
Specifications
- Dimensions: Case Diameter – 43.6mm, Thickness – 14.4mm, Lug to Lug – 51.6mm, Lug Width – 24mm
- Movement: Swiss ETA 2824-2, Automatic, 28,800vph (4Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 38hr Power Reserve
- Case Material: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel
- Strap: Horween Leather, 125/75mm, Brushed Stainless Steel Signed Buckle
- Weight: 140g Helium Escape Valve: Yes
- Crystal: Double Domed Sapphire, Underside AR Coating
- Bezel: 120 Click Unidirectional, Ceramic Insert, Fully Lumed
- Water Resistance: 500m / 50 ATM / 1640ft
- Lume: Swiss Super Luminova® BGW9
- Crown: Signed, Screw Down Caseback: Screw Down, Deep Stamped Logo
- Warranty: 2 Years Where to Buy: Serious Watches (EU) | Watch Gauge (USA)
- Options: Dial Colour: Black, Blue | Lume: BGW9, Vintage | Complication: Date, No Date
Gruppo Gamma - The Company
Gruppo Gamma was founded in 2013 and has, in a short span of time, grown into a brand that’s appreciated by collectors and enthusiasts. They even have an owners’ club, an online community created by watch owners within months of the company’s formation. This online community comprises of customers, supporters and dealers from all over the world. Their manufacturing partners are in the business of building high-end pieces for luxury brands.
Gruppo Gamma are equipped with a showroom, a service center and a network of reputable authorised dealers. Be assured of a unique ownership experience; one that’s possible only when you own a timepiece from an independent boutique brand.
Case & Crown
The case of the Divemaster has a large diameter of 43.6mm. The lug to lug is 51.6mm and the overall thickness, including the double domed sapphire crystal, I measured in at 14.4mm. The entire case, caseback, bezel and crown are all 316L stainless steel. The finish of the case is entirely brushed with the addition of drilled lugs and is built like a tank!
The Divemaster has a water resistance rating of 500m thanks to the screw-down caseback & crown. The proportions of the watch, on my 7″ wrist are rather large. Given it’s size it does actually fit my wrist although it’s not what I’d personally wear day to day. I reckon you’d need a 7.25″ wrist (minimum) to pull off this watch comfortably without it looking like a helicopter landing pad on your wrist.
The signed crown is superb, looks great and there is zero wobble when the crown is pulled out to its fully extended position. The caseback is nicely done with a deep stamped Gruppo Gamma logo and various specs around the edges.
Strap
The horween leather strap that comes fitted to the Divemaster is of fantastic quality and matches the watch aesthetic being big and chunky at 24mm. The length is 125/75mm and it does taper from 24mm down to 22mm at the buckle. It’s obviously a bit large for me and feels more like a belt rather than a strap when putting it on my wrist.
The signed, matching brushed stainless steel buckle is huge, but it is beautifully manufactured. I’ve always been a firm believer that you can always tame a larger watch with an elastic strap, however I don’t have any 24mm elastic straps here so unfortunately I can’t test my theory with this one. All said and done, the horween strap is fantastically made. You are provided with a canvas strap of the same length, but I never got one with this press sample so I can’t comment on it.
Movement
The chosen movement for the Gruppo Gamma Divemaster is the Swiss ETA 2824, which is nearly 5mm thick and 25.6mm in diameter. It is self-winding, has 25 jewels and the oscillating weight spins up giving a 38 hour power reserve. The balance runs at 28,800vph (4Hz) and the movement is also hackable. Checking the accuracy after running the Divemaster for a couple of weeks, both on wrist as well as in my watch winder, I was very pleased with the results, with the Divemaster showing an average of just +5.4 seconds per day.
Dial, Bezel & Lume
The Gruppo Gamma has a 120 click unidirectional bezel with a fully lumed ceramic insert. It is of excellent quality and everything lines up 100% perfectly. The bezel action oozes quality and has absolutely zero backplay. The sandwich dial has very neatly done cut-outs for the hour markers, with arabics at the 3, 6, 9 & 12 positions. The text on the dial is nicely printed and very legible. The choice of font too is spot on, showing just the Gruppo Gamma logo under the 12 o’clock position and the word Divemaster in block letters with the depth rating of 500m just above the 6 o’clock position.
As you can see in the images, the hour and minute hands are very nicely done with their slightly chunky appearance and syringe style tips. The seconds hand is great too, done in red with it’s lumed section hitting just before the hour markers when sweeping around the dial. The lume used on the Divemaster is Super Luminova® BGW9 behind the sandwich dial and on the hands and bezel. As you can see in the lume shot below, it is bright and it does last the majority of the night.
Conclusion
Well what can I say about Gruppo Gamma’s Divemaster apart from that it is beautifully made and extremely well put together. Everyone that I’ve shown it to remarks on how nice it is, although it isn’t for me personally. I would love the watch if it was a bit smaller, maybe 41/42mm with a lug to lug of around 47/48mm. But hey, I can’t expect every watch company to make a watch just for me and my wrist size.
If you have a wrist size of 7.25″ and above then you can’t go wrong with the Gruppo Gamma Divemaster as it’s fantastically made and is actually worth it’s asking price. If you fancy this watch and ever see it on sale, or it’s on offer during Black Friday, don’t hesitate and buy it immediately. It’s an absolute cracking watch!
Gruppo Gamma – An outstanding watch, but any chance you could make a smaller version please? I’d buy one for sure!
You’re spot-on about the size. I’m hoping for a 40/41mm as well. Otherwise, it’s a fantastic watch.