Following up on last year’s Alku, our favourite Finnish watchmakers are back with a new design for 2022: the Galvin Loimu.
Galvin Loimu Review
We liked the Galvin Alku a lot: it was a neat dress watch with a couple of quirky touches that made it stand out from the crowd. Galvin is back in 2022 with a new design: The Loimu.
At a glance |
Galvin Loimu |
Price |
£365 |
Case size |
38mm |
Thickness |
11.6mm |
Water Resistance |
100m |
Movement |
Miyota 9015 |
The presentation of the Galvin Loimu is spartan but satisfactory, with a soft-touch cardboard flip-open box within a thick card outer box. You get a warranty card and cleaning cloth in the package but no other gimmicks to distract from the main event.
Case and Movement
The Miyota 9015 has been chosen as the heart of the Galvin Loimu. It’s a premium Japanese movement that is becoming increasingly common in microbrands as the Swiss makers price themselves out of the lower end of the market. The case of the watch is 38mm in diameter – smaller than the typical size these days. Combined with Galvin’s customary 19mm strap width it makes for a compact design that remains balanced. You really don’t notice the smaller size until you put it on. That smaller diameter means that what would be a relatively svelte 11.6mm thickness is emphasized. The Galvin Loimu is noticeably bulkier than my usual dress watch (a 1977 Rolex Datejust).
The crown is lumed, which is a nice touch, and it operates easily. There’s no real water resistance here, nor would I expect it in a watch that’s designed to look good rather than to be used as a tool. The fit and finish is excellent, with no sharp edges and a deeply stamped case back with a design that matches the guilloche of the dial. The flat crystal is made of sapphire – as you’d expect at this price point – and is antireflective coated to minimise reflections.
Dial and Hands
The Galvin Loimu – like all the best dress watches – is all about the dial. The case may be devoid of frills, but that’s a deliberate choice so as to avoid distracting the eye from the stunning guilloche. Instead of straight lines radiating from the centre, there is a slight wave. This optical illusion makes the dial almost feel as if it spins, drawing in the eye.
Everything else is sensibly minimal: numerals at 12, 6 and 9 and a date window at 3 O’clock. I did find that the date window surround was a little too bold for my tastes – I’d have preferred something a little more subtle as it unbalanced the dial somewhat. The hands are edged in black, which means the watch is easy to read in all conditions – assisted by a generous helping of C3 Superluminova.
Bracelet and Clasp
The Galvin Loimu bracelet is beautifully made – this is good because its 19mm lug width is going to make it very difficult to replace with an off-the-shelf watch band. It has the same high standard of finish as the case.
A taper along the length of the Galvin Loimu bracelet means that the clasp feels very small. It only has a few micro-adjustments, and this makes it hard to accommodate changes in wrist size without adding or removing links. I’d hesitate to describe the Galvin Loimu as a women’s watch – because a 38mm case is definitely a unisex diameter, and who needs to gender their timepieces? – but the bracelet and clasp more than the case made me feel that my 7.5″ wrist was too big for the watch.
Galvin Loimu – Video Review
What I Liked |
What I Didn’t like |
|
|
Galvin Loimu – The WRUK Verdict
Overall, the Galvin Watch Company has made another great watch, but my recommendation comes with a caveat: the larger-wristed may find the Loimu is just too small. It’s clever how Galvin has shrunk the size without making the watch look out of proportion – and that’s a much a positive as it is a negative.
The design and especially the dial are superb – the watch has probably the best-executed guilloche I have seen at this price point. The Galvin Loimu gets a thumbs-up, as long as you have the right-sized wrist to make the most of it.
Buy a Galvin Loimu
The Galvin Loimu is coming to Kickstarter this month. You can find out more at the Galvin Watch Company’s website.
BY BENYAR Watch for Men Analog Quartz Chronograph Mens Watches 30M Waterproof Luminous Big Face Designer Dress Wrist Watches Business Work Sport Casual Fashion Watch Elegant Gift for Men
