Introducing the Gavox Aurora

Gavox has had some interesting models lately. Most recently, it was the Gavox Squadron (more on that here and here) which was purpose-built for military pilots. Now, with the Gavox Aurora, they have another watch for pilots (designed with input from aviators) that offers something you do not often see with a world-timer – the ability to account for time zones that do not simply shift time by an hour.

That’s right – if you weren’t aware, there are parts of the world where the time, for one reason or another, might be shifted by, say, 15 minutes. If you are interested in those time zones, then the Gavox Aurora has you covered, as it can handle those intra-hour shifts in 15 minute increments. This is made possible by a multi-function quartz movement (the Soprod SP716) that also provides a countdown timer (with alarm), chronograph, perpetual calendar, and a moon phase indication. This is a lot on tap, and you can see by the register at the bottom of the dial that you switch between the various modes, which keeps the number of hands minimized. If you’d like to play with a simulation of these functions, you can head on over here.

While keeping the analog look ties the Gavox Aurora (in terms of aesthetics) to other watches in the Gavox lineup, I have a suspicion (based on prior experiences) that it makes for a more complicated usage than it might be if we had a digital display. When I have encountered analog watches like this that offer a ton of functionality, I have tended to end up not using much of anything other than the main timekeeping, as the user interface was complicated, and a lot to try to remember (especially if you don’t wear the watch daily). Then again, Gavox may have simplified things here, and those may well not be a concern.

Packed into a 43mm case, the Gavox Aurora is one of the larger watches we have seen come from the brand. Even with all of the functionality, legibility has been maintained, with some of the sub-elements printed in muted colors (grey, mostly, with some orange) so not as to distract from the white-on-black palette that is commonly used for pilot watches. If you like the clean cut look that Gavox is known for, but want something with a lot more capability, the Gavox Aurora (with pricing starting at $838) should be up your alley. gavox.com

Watch Overview

Brand & Model: Gavox Aurora
Price: $838 (steel or PVD), $885 (rose gold)

Who we think it might be for: You dig the overall style of the Gavox lineup and want to be able track non-standard timezones
Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: Probably not – I’m wary of super-complicated quartz watches with analog displays
If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Already went quartz, so why not explore an LCD display?

What spoke to me the most about this watch: How unified it is with the rest of the lineup

Tech Specs from Gavox

Measurements Ø 43 x 50.5 x 12 mm

Measure between lugs 22mm
Autonomy between 4 to 7 years depending on mode usage
Analog watch with 4 hands. Central hands for hours and minutes, mode hand at 6 o’clock and units hand at 9 o’clock.

Day and night visibility thanks to luminous hands and markings. Swiss Superluminova DGW9.
UTC time reference, and local time by increments of 15 minutes.
Countdown from up to 31 hours, with visual alarm.

Mission chronograph to 31 hours, with split and flyback features.
Perpetual calendar with simultaneous indication of date, day, month and leap year.
Moon phase.