I was recently watching the movie “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and it’s one of those movies that I just like. Not that it contains the best acting or best story, but it’s just a fun movie to watch. As you know I am obsessed with the ocean, and of course I gravitate towards Captain Nemo. I think this movie gives a very interesting take on Captain Nemo and he is obviously my favorite of the line up of characters. He is unique, has great eccentricity and he has an amazing arsenal of vehicles. His best vehicle in my opinion is his car. A car that merges two world together, the world of the sea and the world of the road, automobile meets nautical. Then my mind went right to the watch that we will be exploring together today, the Aevum GT, a watch that merges these two worlds together.

The precisely brushed stainless steel case has that vintage charm of the dive watches of the 1970’s, but with modern touches and dimensions 42×47 mm by 11 mm thick. As I was looking over the watch, at the details that I was seeing on this case, it led to one consistent thought that this watch is going to wear like a comfortable dream. What led me to this early conclusion was a few details. First we have the short, slightly curved lugs that are interrogated from the single block of machined stainless steel which cuts back on any wrist overhang. The next detail was the 11mm thin profile teaming that with my initial handling of this watch discovering the overall light weight of this piece, I knew at that point it was going to be a very comfortable ride.

As I have grown to expect and 100% appreciate on watches the details involving the crown. I think that a crown should be a detail that is a harmonious merging of both form and function. As I looked at this crown before exploring the function, I took notice that Aevum got the form part right. The crown features nice machined edges and also features Aevum’s shield logo. The small crown guards that extend from the block of stainless steel have nice rounded and smooth edges. Now some of these details of form also lend a hand to the function of this crown. The smooth, small crown guards and the machined edged of the crown, allow for absolute ease of crown operation. The screw down style crown is easy to grip and operate, and it functions without flaw.

Another detail that should always follow that form and function theory is the bezel. The bezel on a watch is not only a focal point, but it can also prove to be quite a useful tool. The bezel on the GT watch here is has a few note worthy details that I really like in terms of the form. The bezel inlay is made of sapphire which looks fantastic and is an extremely scratch resistant. The form and function comes together nicely again with the markers on the bezel. The numerals are crisp and legible in daylight and are treated with C1 lume so it remains legiable even at night. The bezel are a useful tool can be used as a second time zone for travel, or as a timing instrument. As I moved on to the function portion of the bezel I was definitely pleased with how easy the bezel was to grip and how tight/solid it felt as I rotated it. I completely appreciated the awesome sound of the bezel and the no extra play was appreciated even more.

A dial on a watch can definitely be a dealbreaker as we all know. The case and dial are the real focal points on a watch. Something that I have grown to really like a lot are orange dials on a watch. Orange has definitely become my second favorite color for a dial, matte black is my first favorite. The sundown orange on the Aevum GT is quite beautiful. It’s not an in your face blinding orange either, it’s subtle, a slightly darker shade of orange. The orange truly allows for the other details on the dial to pop, especially the black hands and the black printed text.

What’s a good way to make the dial pop even more along with the bold color? Border the dial with an ivory white rehaut and applied markers within the nice cut outs in the rehaut itself. That is how a bit of detail in one place can completely complement a detail even if it is located somewhere else on the watch. Aevum has given a great example of this with their Apex GT watch. The lume treatment on the Apex GT is quite lovely and made me realize how much in fact I appreciate lume on the bezel markers. The bezel, applied hour markers and hands themselves all have matching lume that glows with the same green intensity. I only wish that the seconds hand received some lume treatment.

Ticking away inside the Apex GT is “Seiko’s powerhouse NH35A automatic movement. It’s hacking, has a 40 hour power reserve and is hand windable as well as self-winding with a bi-directional rotor.”  The movement held up flawlessly during my review process and during all my outdoors activity with it, it still timed in at -10 seconds per day. To my pleasant surprise, the Apex GT stayed on my wrist without bother and with extreme comfort all day and night. I was very impressed with the handmade leather strap that it came on, so impressed in fact that it earned a spot on my favorite leather strap list.

My overall feeling about this watch is definitely a positive one. The 1970’s vintage dive watch feel is definitely a plus with this watch. I recently tried a well know company known for their dive watches since the 1960’s and I would pick the Apex GT over that watch every time. There is something that is extremely appealing about this watch. The two worlds that this watch pulls inspiration from, merge together seamlessly. The only thing that I found that I would change on the Apex GT is the seconds hand by adding lume to it and an arrow head tip.

This watch certainly has some noteworthy details and comes with some nice extras. At approximately $233 USD entry kit and free shipping, it is a hard deal to pass up in my opinion. Aevum has a nice little watch here and their excellent customer service just adds to a positive experience. I would easily recommend this watch to anyone looking for an affordable dive watch with an automatic movement and a design that isn’t the same old design that we have seen done a million times before. The handmade leather strap is one of my favorite parts of this package, which is included in the enthusiast kit for $272 USD, which is still a great value in my opinion.

I would like to personally thank you for reading and as always your comments and questions are welcome below.

A special thank you to Aevum Watches.

https://www.aevumtime.ca/Inside-NA.html