Model # Traveler
Brand/Model: Ticino Traveler Automatic Diver/GMT
Movement: Chinese automatic
Material: stainless steel case
and bracelet
Complications: date display, GMT function with independently
adjustable GMT (third) hand
Price: $240 USD
Plenty of photos follow the review.
Click on the pictures to enlarge.
The Ticino watch
company is an Asian-based producer of watches that represent ‘vintage watches
that pay homage to classic models from years past,’ according to the company’s
web site. The company has been in
business for eight years and has a U.S. authorized dealer in the state of
Florida called Sizzlin’ Watches.
I became interested
in the Ticino Traveler Diver/GMT because for one, I like dive watches as well
as GMT watches and any watch that combines attributes of both designs is a
winner in my book. Secondly, this
particular Ticino intrigued me because of the overall homage-style look with
some interesting details added to its design, especially the cool
micro-adjusting clasp (more on that later).
I appreciate the
high-quality photography that Ticino presents on their web site, as it accurately
represents what their watches look like and makes a purchase decision that much
easier. I contacted Rob at Sizzlin’
Watches and received a Traveler Diver/GMT a couple of days later, so kudos to
him for the excellent service and prompt shipping.
The Ticino Traveler
starts with an impressive all stainless steel case with polished sides and
brushed top. The overall watch has a great
solid heft to it and feels very substantial, with large shoulders that help
protect the crown. The Traveler measures
44mm without the screw down crown; 48.4mm crown inclusive. Thickness is a fairly robust 17.6mm. Lug spacing is 21mm and lug-to-lug, the
Traveler measures 52.4mm. The lugs are
somewhat on the short side, so the watch does not sit overly large on the wrist
and despite it being a bit thick, it is not top-heavy. This is a large and robust watch but even a
person with a thin wrist such as I have can pull off wearing it without a
problem.
The crown is
unsigned, screws down with about 2-1/2 turns and is just about the perfect size
at 8mm. I like crowns on the larger side
because I like to wind my automatics prior to wearing them. A larger crown also makes setting the watch
easier and in the case of a screw down mechanism, makes is much easier to screw
the crown down to the lock position.
The caseback is
brushed and screws down and is also slightly raised. It has just has some watch specifications and
the model name stamped into it. Nothing
fancy, but purposeful and clean all the same.
One thing that
impressed me immediately about the Traveler is the overall quality of the
piece. The polished sides of the case
are mirror smooth and the brushed surfaces are evenly finished. The fit and finish are totally acceptable at
this price point and would be acceptable at several times the price point as
well. Nicely done!
Since Ticino also
considers the Traveler to be a dive watch, it is factory rated for 20 ATM/200
meters of water resistance, so getting it wet shouldn’t pose any problems.
The dial on the
Traveler is a deep black, referred to as ‘glossy’ in their description. It is glossy, but not overly so, it is just a
near-perfect deep black color that gives the watch a rich look. Too many times lower priced watches fall down
in the dial department, with cheap looking dials, off-colors or sloppy assembly. Not so with the Traveler. The dial exudes class and quality all the
way.
The hands are crisp
and sharp, silver in color with white inset lume. The seconds hand is silver with a lume ball
about two-thirds of the way up. The
markers are applied, rimmed in silver with white lume middles. An inverted triangle marker sits at the 12
position, with rectangular markers at the 6 and 9 positions and round markers
at the 5 minute marks.
The independently
adjustable GMT hand is red with a large lume arrow tip. And speaking of the lume, the hour, minute,
seconds hand ball and GMT hand arrow tip glow a bright ice-blue, while the
markers on the dial glow a more subdued shade of blue. The lume pip on the bezel glows green. The lume of the hands is excellent while the
markers could be brighter.
There is a date
window at the 3 position, with a black on white date wheel. The window could be a bit larger, since the
date is a bit hard to read without a cyclops, but I am glad Ticino didn’t
bother with a cyclops, as they can sometimes be too distracting on a watch. The date wheel could have a bit more even
alignment, as it is about 97-percent centered in the date window, but not off
enough to raise any real concerns.
The dial has
minimal printing, which always gets a gold-star from me. Below the 12 is a printed Ticino logo and the
Ticino name. Above the six is ‘200m ≈
660ft’ and ‘TRAVELER’.
The dial is capped
by a double domed sapphire crystal without any anti-reflective coating. The lack of any AR coating made the watch
somewhat hard to photograph. Adding some
AR would be a good move on Ticino’s part, but as is, the crystal is still a
quality element.
The GMT bezel is a
120-click unidirectional design, which is nice and tight and has no
backlash. Having a unidirectional bezel
on a GMT watch is a bit odd, as most GMT designs either have a fixed bezel (not
so good) or a bi-directional bezel (preferred) which makes for quicker GMT
adjustments. A small nit to pick here,
but at least the bezel is very nicely machined and precise in its action. But since the bezel on the Traveler is
adjustable, it means the watch can track three timezones at once instead of
two, which means a lot to certain buyers.
And speaking of the
bezel, the red and blue insert (called a ‘Pepsi’ insert to most watch geeks) is
the perfect shade of each color. The
insert looks terrific and is easy to read.
The top half is blue and the bottom half is red, with the 24-hour track
indicated by silver arabics for the even hours and silver dots for the odd
hours. A silver inverted triangle with
lume pip sits at the 12/24 hour spot.
Ticino makes a
point of saying their watches are produced in a ‘clean environment’ and under
my standard 8X loupe exam, this appears to be true. The build is nice and clean and the quality
of the applied markers under magnification is great.
Inside the Ticino
Traveler is a Hangzhou 6460 automatic movement, which is a clone of the ETA
2836-2 modified for the GMT application.
The movement runs in 25 jewels and beats at 28,800 vph. The watch winds and sets fine. The GMT hands sets by moving the crown to the
first click position and rotating the crown counter-clockwise. This moves the GMT hand counter clockwise
around the dial to the desired position.
Alignment of the GMT hand to the desired hour is good.
The date sets in
the same crown position by turning the crown clockwise. Hour and minute hand setting is accomplished
with the crown in the second click position.
During my testing,
the Traveler ran at +15 seconds over 24 hours, in the dial/face up
position. Power reserve was a good 41.75
hours. Overall, no complaints with the
Hangzhou movement or time keeping functions of the Traveler and since this
movement is based on the venerable ETA 2836 design, it should be a solid and
dependable runner.
The bracelet on the
Ticino Traveler is a solid link stainless steel Oyster style, with brushed
links and polished edges. The end links
are solid. The bracelet uses screws to
hold the links together, so sizing presented no problems. The bracelet measures 20.8mm just below the
end link and tapers to 15.8mm at the clasp.
The clasp bears
special attention, as it is a cool, nifty design that you wouldn’t expect to
find at this price point. The clasp
itself is a brushed fold-over type with polished edges and a flip-lock safety
clasp. The deployant is machined and
solid with a look and feel of a watch that costs much more.
The neatest part of
the clasp is the micro-adjustment or ‘glide-lock’ mechanism. The center of the clasp lifts up the reveal a
ratcheting mechanism. You simply lift up
the center of the clasp and move the glide-lock to the desired position and
push the center of the clasp back down.
Doing this moves the part of the bracelet that is under the clasp in or
out to achieve the proper fit. I find
this mechanism superior to other glide-lock designs that have two clunky push
buttons on the side of the clasp that crudely move the bracelet in or out.
Hats off to Ticino
for including a well-designed and cool glide-lock clasp on the Traveler. The
clasp itself is a bit tight in operation, which is better than a too-loose
clasp and it’s my hope that the clasp with work in a bit over time and become
easier to operate.
There is also a
dive extension on the clasp, but it is very tight and hard to operate.
The only real part
where the Ticino Traveler falls down is in its presentation. A rather plain red box is all the watch comes
in, without any documentation, just a warranty card. I would have appreciated an instruction
manual, because since this watch has a GMT function, the user needs to know how
to adjust the GMT hand and how to use the GMT bezel for tracking various timezones. Also, how the glide-lock clasp and dive
extension operates should also be addressed.
I will say that I
have purchased watches at five times the price of the Traveler that came in
similar boxes and truth be told, you don’t buy a watch for its box, so I can’t
be too hard on the presentation, but I did want to make mention of it.
Overall, the Ticino
Traveler in an excellent choice in the vast sea of homage-style watches. The diver and GMT functionality of the watch,
along with solid build quality, interesting details and a price that is hard to
beat make this piece a worthwhile addition to any collection.
Pros: solid fit and finish, cool glide-lock mechanism
on the clasp, true GMT functionality, seemingly reliable automatic movement, superb
looking dial/handset, true diver capability
Cons: lume
quality on markers could be better, presentation needs a bump up, no
instruction manual, clasp a bit stiff/hard to open, dive extension hard to
operate
Verdict: the
Ticino Traveler is a great watch that represents quality and functionality at a
price point that makes it a no-brainer if you want a true GMT watch for your
travels that can also double as a diver, whether it’s to points far away or
just a trip to the grocery store. Well
done!
Thanks for reading
and enjoy the pics.
Excelsior!
-Marc
