Glycine is one of those watchmakers that flies under the radar for most people. Their watches are possibly a little specialist and despite pioneering the pilots GMT watch genre are just not very well known. That is somewhat tragic because the make fantastic watches, on the other hand, it is a boon for enthusiasts as their goods remain very affordable.
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![Glycine combat sub bronze](https://tfhorology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/received_224450802226885-1024x683.png)
![Glycine combat sub bronze in the snow](https://tfhorology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IMG-20210125-WA0020.jpg)
![glycine combat sub bronze with marine nationale strap](https://tfhorology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PXL_20220410_173906364-768x1024.jpg)
The Glycine catalogue is quite deep but their three headline products are the Airman, Combat and Combat Sub. The Combat Sub has been accused of being a little bit of a Rolex-a-like clone of the submariner. That accusation is not entirely fair. With the exception of the general mid century dive watch aesthetic, the Combat Sub genuinely has a look all of its own. If you are not convinced of this by the pictures, holding and wearing now will dispel any illusions you may have that this is a Submariner homage.
All that said… This special edition I am holding happens to have a Rolex Explorer inspired dial layout which does weaken my argument so I must point out that the regular Combat Sub’s dial is nothing at all like this.
Specifications
- Model – Combat Sub 42 Bronze GL0267
- Movement – Glycine GL224 – 25 jewels, automatic hacking, hand winding
- Power reserve 38h, 25 jewels, automatic (bidirectional rotor), hack feature, quickset date
- Case material – Bronze (CuSn8)
- Case features – screw-down crown, stainless-steel case back
- Bezel – Bronze with aluminium insert, 120-click, unidirectional
- Crystal – Sapphire
- Case diameter – 42mm
- Thickness – 10.6mm
- Lug to lug – 50mm
- Lug width – 22mm
- Water resistance rating – 200m
- Lume – Super-LumiNova
- Price – Approximately £400 on eBay
To make things more interesting, this Glycine Combat Sub is cased in nautical grade bronze that shines brilliant and golden when new but reacts with just about everything in the universe so that it quickly tarnishes in unexpected and wonderful ways. My watch is now a year old and has a lovely warm patina, a tiny little bit of verdigris here and there but not overwhelmingly so. I have seen some bronze watches force aged to look as though they were discovered on the wreck of the Titanic. If that is offputting to you, fear not, that will not happen to your watch unless you really go out of your way to make it do so. Rather the reality of living with a bronze watch is a lovely warm feeling brushed case that slowly darkens over time to a coin brown colour. There is also the smell, it is an interesting smell that you get off the reactive surface. I find it charming and manly, with a hit of gun oil and purpose about it.
An interesting point about the bronze Combat Sub is that is has a 120 click bezel. The stainless steel original only has a 60 click bezel which while very high quality feels very outdated. The bezel action is very tight and it takes concerted effort at 7 and 2 to move it swiftly.
The watch is driven by a Selita SW200 which Glycine calls the GL224 – sometimes they use ETA 2824 and give it the same name. It is a great movement and it powers so many fine swiss watches and micro brands that it is beyond criticism.
The real trick of the Combat Sub though is its thickness. Or rather lack of it. For an automatic diver rated to 200m, it is very thin indeed. It is a mere 10.5mm thick when its competitors are often 13mm thick, a real advantage when it comes to slipping under a wrist or not being banged on things. The other dimensions are less important. I have the 42mm case, the 48mm case looks ridiculous on me and more importantly is not available in bronze. The lug width is 22mm which is really handy for finding aftermarket straps. The aged leather it comes on is however rather good. The wearability is helped by a dead flat piece of sapphire crystal and a gently sloping bezel insert making the watch a very sleek thing indeed.
The dial is a rich deep burgundy or actually more of a brown sherry colour and the bezel complements it is more towards the red again. The white date wheel with red text is perhaps a bit of a miss. I would have loved this to be a no-date watch. The lume is decent but as it is coloured with what some may call faux patina, it is not perhaps as bright as some other dive watches in your collection. It is long-lasting though and is entirely fit for purpose. I did a bit of ocean sports last summer with the watch on a Marine National style strap. It was a great holiday companion and felt right in its element. It was fascinating to watch it patinate after each plunge.
What would I change about it? Well over time I have decided that I prefer the standard Combat Sub dial. This explorer inspired one is nice but it does make it feel a little more like a homage than it needs to. It has a look all of its own as the Glycine Combat Sub and I should not have messed with that,
![Glycine Combat sub bronze with patina](https://tfhorology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IMG_20210413_090330_168-1024x1024.jpg)
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