Oceaneva are an American watch brand making waves for their combination of accessibility and high specifications. Watches like the Deep Marine Explorer III are frankly astonishing with their combination of 3,000m water resistance rating and sub-£1,000 price point. However, if any criticism can be drawn to Oceaneva, it’s likely the lack of diversity in terms of style and design across their collections, which all follow a very traditional dive watch aesthetic. Pushing the envelope in terms of originality would go a long way. Fortunately, that’s exactly what they’ve done with the launch of the new Oceaneva OceanTrek GMT.
Gone are the big, chunky bezel and broad, lumed hour markers and in their place is a much more refined GMT wristwatch. It measures 42mm in diameter with a steel case that has a combination of brushed and polished finishing, adding a nice sense of contrast to the design. The bezel is smooth with a slightly stepped lip leading up to the sapphire crystal. It’s without question the dressiest design Oceaneva have ever produced.
However, I wouldn’t go so far as to call the Oceaneva OceanTrek GMT a purebred dress watch, as there are hybrid elements of sports and dive watch design present in its DNA. It has a 200m water resistance rating and the fluted crown is screw-down to create a watertight seal. On top of that, it certainly hasn’t kowtowed to the current popularity of vintage proportions, remaining appropriately sized for a sports or tool watch.
Looking to the dial, it leans much more completely in the direction of refinement. It has a layered appearance with a recessed 24-hour scale around the central portion of the display made through a hydraulic press method. The peripheral Roman numerals are presented in relief with a silver-tone finish that makes the shine. Speaking of finish, the majority of the dial is sunray brushed, catching the light in a lovely radial pattern that is very classy and classic. The same can be said of the central hour and minute hands, which are leaf-shaped and partially skeletonised.
The central hand stack also features a GMT hand that ends in a red-tipped crescent shape to point to the relevant time on the 24-hour scale. It allows the watch to display two time zones simultaneously, making it easy to keep track of local and home time if you are traveling or perhaps the time zone of an important client for your international business. It’s a complication less associated with adventure and diving because it serves no real function in those scenarios (unless you’re talking about the Rolex Explorer II), further emphasising the new direction that the OceanTrek GMT is leaning in.
We should also talk about colour. There are six versions of the OceanTrek GMT, not including the fact that five of them are offered on the choice of a brown or black crocodile strap. There’s a blue edition on blue leather strap, with the other five that come with the aforementioned choice of straps being silver, green, olive, grey and black. The black edition is unique in that its 24-hour scale isn’t monotone and instead features a red/black day/night indicator.
It’s a versatile everyday watch that’s suitable in the office or a party while at the same time being durable enough that it will be perfectly fine if you do find yourself in the water or a more extreme location. Powering the watch through whatever conditions you find yourself in is the Seiko NH34A GMT movement. An automatic calibre with a 41-hour power reserve that’s visible through the exhibition caseback.
While aesthetically the OceanTrek GMT is very different to Oceaneva’s other collections, it has the same great value. It has a pre-sale price of just £149, which is wild for an automatic watch and even wilder for a GMT – even if it uses a widely available work horse movement like the NH34A. The watches are only available in an initial limited production run with some colours only available in editions of 25 pieces, so secure yours quickly.
Price and Specs:
More details at Oceaneava.
