Review of Glycine Combat SUB Automatic

Model # 3863.18AT-O

Brand/Model:  Glycine Combat SUB Automatic
Movement:  Swiss automatic
Material:  stainless steel case and bracelet
Complications:  date display
Price:  Street price around $750 USD

Plenty of photos follow the review.  Click on the pictures to enlarge.

This is the second Glycine Combat automatic I have owned, the first being a smaller 39mm model with a modest 50 meters of water resistance.  The Combat SUB automatic series is quite comprehensive, with a variety of dial colors and combos available.  This model appealed to me because of its orange bezel and deep blue dial color, a unique color combination to say the least.

This Combat SUB starts with a polished and brushed all stainless steel case measuring 42.3mm without the large crown, 47.2mm crown inclusive.  The crown itself is signed, screws down very nicely and measures 7.3mm in diameter.  Flared case sides serve as crown guards.  Case thickness is a rather svelte 10.6mm, especially considering this is a 200 meter diver.  Lugs are 22mm, although they don’t look it.  The caseback screws down and is polished and brushed, showing the Glycine dolphin Combat logo.

The orange bezel is a 60-click unidirectional type, with a smallish coin-edge for grip and a small protrusion at the 12 o’clock position, presumably to more easily know where the start of the timing ring is located by touch rather than by visual identification.  A flush-fit lume pip is in the center of the triangle on the bezel at 12.  The shade of orange used on the bezel is a bit more glossy than I would prefer, but it does look nice nonetheless.

The Combat SUB is factory rated for 200 meters of water resistance.

The deep blue dial is an absolute gem to behold.  The dial can look almost black in low light but comes alive when viewed under bright light or outside in the sun.  It’s a beautiful shade of blue, not so dark as to look navy, but an almost perfect shade of deep blue.  It both contrasts and harmonizes with the orange bezel for a truly unique look.

The arabics and small dot markers are screened Super Luminova and the white hands have infill lume, as does the box-end seconds hand.  The SL lume, as would be expected, is bright and long lasting and looks superb.

A quickset date is located at the 3 o’clock position and features a black on white date wheel.  The date tends to ride ever so slightly high in the window, but not enough to be a distraction.

There is a subtle 13-24 hour inner track and relative minimal dial printing (what printing there is is fairly small, so it doesn’t intrude).  This watch features the letters ‘SL’ after the ‘Swiss Made’ at the bottom of the dial, indicating the dial has Super Luminova on it, much like the old ‘T’ indicating the use of tritium as a lume material.

The crystal is flat sapphire and sits flush with the bezel.

Powering the Combat SUB automatic is the tried and true Swiss Made ETA 2824-2 25-jewel automatic, which both hacks and manually winds.  During my testing, the Combat SUB has averaged about +3 seconds over 24 hours, with the requisite 42-hour power reserve and a nice smooth seconds hand sweep.

The bracelet is a brushed stainless steel solid link Oyster style with polished side links.  Solid end links are secured with friction pins pushed out through the drilled lugs on the case.  I would prefer standard spring bars.  The bracelet measures 22mm at the lugs and tapers to about 20mm at the clasp.  The clasp is a pushbutton double locking variety with a proper machined deployant and features five micro-adjustment holes.  The clasp is stamped with the Glycine name and logo.

Since this watch is fairly thin for a 200 meter diver, it is quite comfortable to wear.  I love the large crown as it makes the watch easy to wind and set and it has a nice, positive feel to it when screwing the crown in to lock it down.  This is a serious watch, but it doesn’t necessarily look like it at first glance.

Presentation is a black two-piece outer cardboard box and black composite material inner box with padding and pillow.

I have found this Glycine Combat SUB automatic to be a worthy addition to my collection.  It’s a great ‘grab and go’ piece that has solid construction, good quality and unique looks.

Pros:  Swiss quality in and out, beautiful blue dial, great lume, nice big crown 

Cons:  stamped part of clasp feels a bit cheap, would prefer spring bars on bracelet instead of friction pins

Verdict:  the Combat SUB automatic is a no-nonsense watch that delivers on looks, quality and overall value.  The orange bezel adds an extra bit of panache to a strong package.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics.

Excelsior!

-Marc