Presenting The Amazing Glycine Combat GoldenEye Diver Automatic Watch Replica

Soon to be offered in a black PVD-treated case with rose gold PVD elements, the new timekeeper is rather pretentiously named Glycine Combat Golden Eye watch replica. The Swiss watchmaker Glycine has finally updated its Combat range of diving watches with a new version.  Well, I truly hope that next year they will offer the same model with the bezel and crown crafted from bronze. Although not as flashy, it’s going to be smashing.

The Golden Eye is offered in the same body that measures 42 millimeters in diameter and sports the same flowing, Rolex Oyster-style crown guards. The rotating bezel with the diving scale seems to be the same, but the dial was reworked in order to look, um, more original than the base model.

Presented earlier this month during the Baselworld 2012 show, the new watch is basically a refreshed Glycine Combat Sub model that’s been here for a while.

The movement is remains the same tried and true ETA caliber 2824-2 self-winding ebauche.

The hands are now simpler and more pleasant to look at and the luminous hour markers are accompanied with military-style Arabic numerals from 13 to 24. I must admit that the whole layout looks really attractive.

What bothers me here is the finish of the case and other parts.

I always tried to stay away from PVD watches for two main reasons.

The first of all, the treatment is not particularly practical

While more durable than traditional plating technologies, it is still prone to scratches. This may not be a serious problem for dress Glycine Combat copy watches that are usually worn a dozen times per year and tend to be handled with necessary care, but beaters like this one will soon receive their fair share of battle scars.

The second thing, and it relates to models with gold PVD plating, is that it is just plain lame to buy a watch that looks ten times more expensive than it is. I mean, if you can’t afford a real thing, be honest with yourself and others: get yourself a model in steel or titanium and wear it with proud!

I really like the combination of colors (the one with the brown bezel looks especially attractive when accented with rose gold surfaces,) but I hate the plating. However, if you are not that biased then you should probably go ahead with this model: it looks great, it offers superb legibility, it is suitable for mild scuba diving and it is powered by a reliable Swiss made automatic movement. Really, you can’t ask more.

So, I am kind of divided when it comes to this new fake Glycine Combat Golden Eye watch.