First Look: The Limited Edition Bravur Geography GMT

Bravur, an eight-year-old brand based in Sweden, has introduced their latest special edition, a new version of their Geography GMT limited to just 25 pieces. With this edition, brand founders Johan Salin and Magnus Appelryd have quite literally put their own very personal touch on the watch, and it represents perhaps Bravur’s most fully realized attempt at achieving a design language based on Scandinavian culture, art, and design. Let’s take a closer look at this extremely limited and personal watch.

Bravur Geography Limited Edition 

• Case Material: Stainless steel with gold PVD treatment 
• Dial: Green sunburst
• Dimensions: 39mm
• Crystal: Sapphire 
• Water Resistance: 5 ATM
• Crown: Push/pull
• Movement: Sellita SW330-1
• Strap/bracelet: Vegetable tanned leather with gold PVD deployant
• Price: $1,850
• Expected Release: Available now (here)

Aesthetically, what jumps out you immediately when looking at the Geography is the interplay between the stepped green dial with the gold PVD-treated case. This is a classic look, and the color combination here really pops. With the gold case you would think the Geography would skew to the dressy side, but the green dial gives the whole package a much more casual and subdued vibe, and there’s something extremely appealing, almost comforting, about a gold colored watch being worn casually. Previous version in white and blue, both with untreated stainless steel cases, have a very different impact, and are I would argue are decidedly less warm and inviting.

The multi-tiered dial has a sector like effect, which is a great design choice for a GMT watch. A 24-hour scale is marked discreetly along the inner ring, while the outer ring contains raised metallic Arabic numerals at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00, with stick markers elsewhere, playing up the symmetry and further sectoring the dial. It’s easy to read, and extremely clean and minimal, which is right in line with what Bravur typically goes for. The hands are delicate and open-worked, which leads to a vintage feel, resembling hands of a watch that has lost its radioactive lume material. The GMT hand is particularly detailed, and in a syringe shape it contrasts nicely with the more traditional sword like appearance of the hour hand, even though they are roughly the same length.

Besides being extremely limited in production, this version of the Geography is special for a few other reasons. Each watch is numbered right on the dial. Normally I would tend to argue against extraneous dial text, but I think when a watch is this limited, it makes sense. Think of it this way: Bravur have essentially made 25 unique dials, which definitely gives the watch a slightly elevated feel. What’s more, each watch is engraved with the signature and date of the watchmaker on the inside of the case, and a certificate signed by the brand founders is included as well.

The kind of personal signature applied to this limited edition of the Geography is something that’s very common at the extreme high-end of watchmaking, where watches in the six-digit pricing category can sometimes become one-off collaborations between a watchmaker and his client. It’s nice to see brand owners in a very different market take a similar personalized approach. This feels like a watch for fans of the brand that doesn’t compromise anything with respect to Bravur’s unique take on design. Bravur

(Editor’s Disclaimer: Bravur watches are sold by the Windup Watch Shop, which is owned and operated by Worn & Wound LLC.)