Why just 25 pieces Kobold? I mean this watch is really quite nice. While I appreciate the “Avantgarde” designation, this watch isn’t that weird. I could easily see myself wearing it daily. I wonder what other styles of straps it would well on? Well for just 25 pieces, they are pricey. Is that Kobold’s way of recouping the development cost for the piece? Well, I will tell you what you need to know, and then you can decide whether it is too expensive. Either way, very pretty timepiece.
The most avant garde aspect of this Soarway GMT is the bezel. The uni-directional diver’s bezel has but one indicator on it. At the top, with a lume dot and a black ring around the “eye” just like “Alex” in A Clockwork Orange. Plus the whole bezel with its notches (like eyelashes) and the dial color contrast reminds me of this iconic “man with single eye in drag” look. Fake eye lashes on a man trying to be a man never did quite look as good since the film. In fact, I am going to dedicate the the Kobold Soarway GMT Avantgarde watch to A Clockwork Orange. Not only did that little resemblance occur to me, but the style of the watch seems to fit in the classic 1970s shock film. Stanley Kubrick would be proud. I really do love that movie – genius. Though the book is incredibly hard to read. You literally need to sit there with a Russian dictionary to read it, as every few words is something in Russian.
It is also a positive coincidence that Malcolm Mcdowell is a serious watch lover. Anyhow, the nifty watch is going to be placed in large 45.85mm wide steel and DLC coated steel case. That is without the crown. Including the crown the watch is almost 50mm wide. But probably wears smaller due to the thickness of the bezel. The case is 500 meters water resistant – 300 meters with the crown un-screwed. Inside the case is a special shock absorbing system for the movement, which is also surrounded by a soft iron shell to protect against magnetic fields.
While it is hard to tell in the images bit, the surface of the bezel is brushed, but the sides are polished. Other than the crown and the screws, the rest of the case is DLC black -which is a really cool look. The watch houses a Swiss ETA 2893A2 automatic GMT movement. Dial is pretty great. No complaints there. The large hands are easy to spot and the dial has an interesting layout in terms of all the hour and minute markers. It is sort of minimalist, and not minimalist at the same time. The traditional looking red stem, arrow GMT hand is present and has a 24 hour scale to accompany it. The watch comes with a natural rubber strap, although an alligator one is available.
Price for the Soarway GMT Avantgarde is substantial at $4,950, with just 25 pieces in the limited edition set. Bummed that you might not be able to get one? Then just check out the standard Kobold Soarway GMT or the all DLC black Soarway GMT Tactical.
See Kobold watches on eBay here.