Grayton Watch Co. is a relatively new watch brand that started out in 2015. Grayton focuses mainly automatic dress watches that are well-made and affordable. I am not normally into dress watches, but I must admit that their designs caught my eye. I reached out to them and they we kind enough to send me out a model to review. Lets take a look.
The Dial
The Grayton is a simple 3 hander with a satin blue dial. The hour number and hour markers are large and give the look of the lume having been poured into them. The edges of the markers raise above the lume, which gives a nice shot of dimensionality on the dial. As with the indices, the handset is well-limed as well. Set against the satin blue dial the white markers stand out nicely.
The Case
Made from highly-polished 316L stainless steel, the case measures in at 44mm wide and 14.44mm thick. This is definitely on the larger size, but with its rounded edges it wears nicely on the wrist. Covering the dial and on the exhibition case back is a hardened mineral glass which looks great but does have a lot of glare in the sun (some AR coating would be an appreciated upgrade here). The crown is a simple screw down deal that is not signed. The case is water resistant to 10ATM or 300 feet, no doubt in large part to that screwed-down crown.
The Movement
Powering this watch is a reliable Seiko NH35A automatic movement that is visible through the exhibition case back. This movement is pretty simple with very little decoration with the exception of the signed router.
The Bracelet
One thing I really liked on this Grayton watch was the quality of the bracelet. This has a stainless steel five link brushed/polished bracelet with butterfly clasp. After sizing this to my 6.5 inch wrist I was surprised how comfortable this bracelet was. Many lower priced watches have stainless bracelets that tend to pull hair or pinch. Happily, this is not the case here – this bracelet has a very smooth and solid feel.
Overall Impression
If you are in the market for a nice looking dress watch but don’t have a large budget, this is for you, with a solid feel with nice finishes. On top of that, the lume (which is rarer on dressier watches) is excellent and the dial looks very clean and classic. If that wasn’t enough, you get the bracelet in the mix, which has the Grayton punching much higher than the $255 price tag would suggest. All this, and a relaiable automatic movement? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. You can check them out at grayton-watches.com.
REVIEW SUMMARY
- Brand and model: Grayton (ref. S.8-44-005-DR)
- Price: $255
- Who’s it for: Someone wanting an affordable dress watch.
- Would I wear it: No, not my style of watch.
- What I’d change: Add a little detail to the crown, and some AR to the crystal
- The best thing about it: The finish – it’s nicely polished.
Tech Specs from Grayton
- Case: Solid stainless steel case.
- Crystal: Hardened mineral and see through exhibition case back.
- Dial: Satin blue
- Movement: Japanese Automatic
- Measurements: 44mm wide,
- Water resistance: 300ft/10 ATM
