Crazy how the past can haunt us, even by things that happened centuries ago. How we react to those haunting memories is what can really define us. My past has recently began to haunt me, events that were far beyond my control. It has affected me for years, though it was on a subconscious level, until they manifested themselves recently. I am working harder than I ever have to better myself, to make peace with my past, to put these demons to rest. When the Gruppo Gamma Peacemaker arrived for review, it really came at a very ironic time, an almost other world intervention kind of way. This is a very pivotal time for me and each day I work hard at the betterment of myself, I can actually feel that peaceful change.

I was very excited to hear of Gruppo Gamma’s plan to finally bring out this shelved design into reality. I know how passionate Naoki is about his watches & designs and how important this watch was to him to see it through design into production. This was also a first for me with Gruppo Gamma, in terms of a hand wound movement. I have to admit that when I first opened the new style travel style packaging, I immediately turned the watch over to look at the movement. Traditionally I am not particularly moved by exhibition crystal case backs, but this is different, this is special. Special because it is a first for me with GG, special because it is a hand-wound movement and the classic watch enthusiast inside of me still enjoys seeing the mechanical magic in motion. In the case of the Peacemaker, the mechanical magic that is set in motion is through the heart of the Miyota 8N33. A mechanical heart that is nicely bordered by a brass, which is ion plated to prevent patina forming.

When I was first exploring the case on the Peacemaker, I was thinking about the case finish. I was wondering why Gruppo Gamma went with a polished case and not a brushed finish. A brush finish would have initially been my design choice. But then I gave it some more thought and the polished case holds true to a Gruppo Gamma tradition in design choice, but it goes deeper than that in my opinion. This is the Peacemaker that we are talking about, and it’s parallel to life itself. Just as we make the conscious choice in life to make peace with things, we are still left with reminders of our journey to peace. May it be a mental, emotional or physical reminder, the reminders are there. Once we find peace, though reminders don’t have that same negative power over us, but they are there. Just like a polished case, it also has reminders of it’s journey, that first case scratch is always painful right? But as we journey with our watch, we begin to accept those scratches, dents in the polished stainless steel, we find peace with them, and sometimes they even trigger the memory of where we acquired the scratches, an awesome vacation adventure, an outdoor adventure with good friends, etc… that’s the way I see it anyway.

The Peacemaker 44mm case has a nice size and shape to it which with the polished finish, gives the Peacemaker a noticeable wrist presence. Those who are size weary, the Peacemaker has wrist presence but not an overwhelming wrist presence. The Peacemaker wears comfortable and I believe it will wear comfortable on all wrist sizes, even the extreme wrist size conscious wrists. Going with a shorter, rounded lug also allows for a wrist conforming fit with a less likely chance of wrist overhang on those with a wrist under 7”. A detail that I am very excited for is the design choice to go with drilled lugs, and more importantly going with actual screw bars instead of traditional spring style bars. It takes points away in my opinion when the screw heads are faux screws with just a spring bars.

There is absolutely nothing that I would change about the Peacemaker’s crown, Gruppo Gamma got the crown absolutely right here. Oversized, easy to grip and operate, signed, gear style appearance, a perfect example of how a crown should be done in my opinion. What is even better here is that there are no crown guards to obstruct the view or operation of this crown. I spent a lot of time just admiring this crown from all angles and there is something so satisfying using it to wind the movement. There’s that mechanical magic again playing a role as other watch enthusiasts know how magical it is to actually wind a hand-wound movement.

The fixed bezel has that same effect as having no crown guards, it allows you to really admire the vintage style box-shaped sapphire crystal. Under crystal AR treatment, offering you the ideal window to that lovely Gruppo Gamma traditional sandwich dial. I opted to go with the P-02 because it is the dial that really caught my attention first and personally I am a sucker for stenciled military style numerals. As simple as this dial is, it makes such a loud, bold statement that Gruppo Gamma has truly mastered. The matte black gave GG the perfect canvas to go off of. I was a little hesitant about the markers being filled with vintage color SuperLuminova because that faux patina/aged look can often look gimmicky to me, but that is not the case here. It is so fitting for this watch and the way it the dark brown leather strap plays off the dial is quite beautiful.

The traditionally classic Gruppo Gamma shaped hour and minute hands are gold color which adds to the harmonious flow of this dial and are a nod to Gruppo Gamma’s inspiration.  The hands are have the matching vintage lume which not only matches the markers but it also matches the text on the dial. Another classic Gruppo Gamma design that I have to give Gruppo Gamma credit for making me appreciate is the elimination of a seconds hand. Though they aren’t the first to do this, they are the first to make me appreciate this. I am a traditional 3 hand dial kind of guy, but how GG pulls of the two hand dial really amazes me, and it is amazing to me that I actually like it. Naoki from Gruppo Best described this “the lack of a sec hand moving all over the dial, in my opinion, conveys a sense of serenity/ peace that takes us way from our daily troubles.”

One thing that I respect about Gruppo Gamma is the fact that they have never denied where their original inspiration game from. They kept in touch with their roots throughout the years, but each watch that is released is truly infused with Gruppo Gamma DNA. I like that you can see the inspiration for example the hands, which were inspired by the vintage Rolex and Panerai. Then you see the steampunk movement inside the Peacemaker or the oversized crown, realizing that the watch has more Gruppo Gamma DNA flowing through it’s mechanical heart than where the original inspiration came from.

Gruppo Gamma and I both ventured out around the same time and as I watch my growth, I have also watched Gruppo Gamma’s growth. GG always has an open ear and an open mind when it comes to their customers, despite the growth, despite the rising popularity, Gruppo Gamma has remained grounded. In my opinion each release is an improvement from the last, and the prices stay in that affordable range of $599. There is a second round of preorders opening up this week – you can get the Peacemaker for $499.  The Peacemaker can make that transition from the office to play time. Traditionally people associate polished case to a dress watch, but tradions are made to be broken. The Peacemaker is definitely worth taking a look at, it’s a well made watch with vintage charm and nice details.

Thank you all for reading and as always your comments and questions are welcome below.

Thank you Naoki and Gruppo Gamma.

👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽A ton of pics are below👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

https://www.gruppogammawatches.com

Review Tests Passed:

*Timing of the movement against a atomic clock +23 seconds per day
*Gripping and operating the crown with/without gloves on, in cold/warm/wet conditions
*24 hours in cold weather below 30 degrees F
*Comfort and wearability of the case and leather straps(at work, outdoors)
*Durability test case, strap, crystal-hiking, climbing, running in snow, rain, mud. No noted scratches, dings or dents.

 

SPECIFICATIONS:

Overview
Mk I Peacemaker
Hours, minutes
Weight 140 g with strap
Water resistance 200 m

Case
Stainless steel, polished
Diameter 44 mm excluding crown and lugs
Length 52 mm lug-to-lug
Height 11.5 mm excluding 3 mm crystal
Lug width 24 mm
Vintage style box-shaped sapphire crystal with underside anti-reflective coating
Screw-in crown
Exhibition caseback, stainless steel and sapphire

Movement
Miyota 8N33
21600 bph
Hand-wound
Accuracy between -20 to +40 s/ day
Power reserve 42 hrs

Dial & Hands
Matte black dial, sandwich style, markers filled with vintage color SuperLuminova
Gold color hour and minute hands with vintage color SuperLuminova

Strap & Accessories
Leather strap, brown, length 125/75mm, width 24/24mm with buckle
Leather strap, dark brown, length 125/75mm, width 24/22mm with buckle
Screwdriver for strap changes
Travel pouch