On the wrist, or at least on my wrist, there is no denying that the moVas Bronze Officer is a big watch. Fortunately, it is fairly thin, which means it fits under a cuff pretty easily. There is a pre-V buckle on the 24mm fabric strap as well as two leather straps included with the watch. This is something that is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. I understand the appeal of a pre-V buckle, but for me, it is simply overly large for what it needs to be. Thankfully, moVas has curved theirs, so it fits in a bit better. If it were up to me, a simple thumbnail would work better, and seems more thematically appropriate for the “large but compact” feel the watch has.

I do also want to take a moment to talk about the packaging for the moVas Bronze Officer. Often, I do not give too much attention to the watch box as it is something that, for most people, will end up residing in a closet or on a shelf. That is not to say that would not happen here, but I wanted to point out a component of it. In the main box, there was another, smaller box that was empty. When I asked about this, it was for storing the watch head (if you do not have it on a strap). Or, more critically, to be used to protect the watch head should you need to send it back to the brand for any reason. This is a great idea, frankly, giving you an easy way to protect the watch head in shipping without requiring that the whole watch box travel along for the ride. Then again, hopefully it would not need to be sent back (other than for routine maintenance), and could therefore be used for something else (spare spring bars, perhaps).

The moVas Bronze Officer has a Seagull 21-A automatic movement inside (based on the TY2100), which is a bit less of a known quantity, so perhaps it might be headed back to Singapore for service when maintenance time comes around. That aside, the watch seemed accurate enough, and I never found myself late to an appointment due to the watch. In terms of the GMT complication, it worked just as you would expect, with it being set in the first position for the crown, adjusting in one hour increments.

Turn the crown the other direction in this position, and you are adjusting the date wheel. I do want to touch on that a bit, as we often come down on watches where the date wheel is not matched to the dial, and it becomes a glaring eyesore. Here, we do not have a brown date wheel. However, the use of the black wheel was a good compromise, as it is nowhere near as noticeable as if there had been a white wheel used. I would not have minded seeing a brown wheel used there, but smaller brands like moVas need to balance those sort of aesthetics with what makes sense from a cost standpoint – especially when only 50 watches would be calling for that particular shade.

For me, the moVas Bronze Officer scratched several different itches. Bronze cases have always interested me (though I do not own one), I am drawn to unique case designs, and I find a GMT complication to be the most useful on a regular basis (after time and date, of course). Top things off with a color scheme that we do not see all that often, and you have the makings of a watch that really hits the spot for me. If you find yourself on the same page, you can pick up your own moVas Bronze Officer for $830. Should you find yourself drawn to the case itself but not particularly the material used, keep an eye out, as I have a feeling that this case will be showing up on some other models from the brand. For now, though, it resides on a watch that is ready for fall. And, if I were to own one, it would plant the seed that I need to visit Singapore some day… movaswatches.com

Necessary Data

>Brand: moVas
>Model: Bronze Officer
>Price: $830 (includes the two leather straps pictured in our review)
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Absolutely – aside from being an attractive watch, this is a great platform for pairing any number of colorful straps to it.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Outside of anyone with a tie to Singapore, this is for the fan of unique looks subtly executed.
>Worst characteristic of watch: I would not have minded seeing a few millimeters shaved off of the diameter.
>Best characteristic of watch: How well the curves and hard lines work together along with the finishing.