George J Von Burg is a fourth generation watch maker currently heading up the company bearing the name of his grandfather (the earliest generation made watches under a different name). GJVB watches are built in a pristine state of the art facility in a small picturesque town in Switzerland, a facility it has been my pleasure to tour twice. Here he builds not only the watches bearing his family name and crest but also for numerous other luxury watch brands.

One of the lesser known facts about this brand is that any product bearing the family name is made /entirely/ in Switzerland (a trait increasingly rare in the industry); even the packaging is Swiss produced, as is the exotic strap (crocodile) when applicable. As such it is among the most affordable options when one wishes to own a pure Swiss creation.

GJVB produces their classic 7750 model in both strap and bracelet examples, with or without gold finishing, and in a variety of dials, with and without texturing. For this review I’ll be illustrating the strap version finished in yellow gold.

weight 94g in 316L steel
case diameter 40mm (44mm with crown)
lug diameter 20mm
thickness of case at bezel edge 12.5mm
thickness at case center, including curve of crystal/back 16mm
water resistance 10atm

This watch is accurately described as a classic dress sport watch. The design is very clean with sharp case lines throughout. The case architecture utilizes both a domed sapphire crystal and bowl shaped back to accommodate the rotor of the movement, hence the multiple case thicknesses listed above. GJVB uses only sapphire crystals treated with glare resistant coatings in their namesake productions. GJVB opts to use only solid backs on this model, and each is bowl style and beautifully decorated and engraved with company, water resistance, and individual serial number. The water resistance is individually tested to 100m (330 ft); the company strongly recommends against attempting to operate the chronograph while under water, and this is sage advice.

One of the case aspects I wish to emphasize is the gold finish. As many of you know, such a treatment can often have an artificial air about it, and while GJVB will not elaborate as to their process, they produce without question one of the richest noble metal finishes I have ever seen. There is nothing to give this watch away from being built from a block of solid 18k gold.

The dial is very crisp and easy to read in every aspect. The numerals, indexes, and day/date complications are beautifully laid out and legible at a glance. This may seem basic, but not every watch design has achieved this and GJVB has achieved one of the most readable classic dials that I know of, and has established this design to work on both textured and non-textured dials in both light and dark colors. GJVB utilizes both tradition light green luminous material as well as the newer white material, depending on the desired overall effect. In this particular case (flat finish navy dial) they have used both. The luminous properties of both is quite good. It is worth noting that they often change out their dial colors and finishes in an effort to limit the availability of any single dial and to prevent the design from becoming predictable and stale.

One aspect of GJVB designs that I especially appreciate is the hand design. As many collectors know, finding a hand design that is both readable and not overbearing is a bit of a trick. Make then too thin so as to not to obscure the dial and they can be difficult to see. Too large and they appear overbearing. The GJVB design is a beautiful balance, and further achieves high marks for finishing the hands so that they are quickly readable in both bright and dim lighting.

The core of this watch is a Valjoux 7750 mechanical automatic chronograph engine, further finished at the GJVB facility. The power reserve is estimated in the 40 hour range, and while I have yet to time this from fully wound to expiration I can share from personal experience that once wound I have never had to touch it again for many days of wear, as the rotor performs beautifully. You can feel it take off for a prolonged “spin” during the course of a typical day wearing this watch.

The screw down crown unseats and re-seats smoothly, with the positions to set both both the time and day/date showing up crisply, with the chronograph being operated by non-screw down pushers at the classic positions of 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock.

As to wearability, there is nothing not to like. The case has a beautiful heft but at a finished weight of 94g (strap model) the piece never plays overbearing and falls perfectly into a classic status. It looks amazing on the wrist, wears very comfortably, and frankly much more high end than the msrp would indicate.
Price: Current retail about $1895.

Pros: Classic dress sport design. Crisp handsome dial easy to read in all lights. Classic durable mechanical automatic engine. All Swiss production.

Cons: Some may consider 40mm a bit small when contrasted in today’s larger trends. Would have liked to have had 200m water resistance.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for sharp looking well made all Swiss mechanical automatic chronograph that successfully rivals productions retailing for thousands more, your search is over. Acquire one immediately.

For more information about this watch, visit http://www.gjvb.com.