While I feel that I’ve been exposed to many of the brands that are out there making watches, I’m constantly reminded that there are many out there just flying under my radar. One that recently pinged was Nezumi Studios, with their second-gen GMT watch, the Nezumi Aviera GMT.
How they started
Nezumi Studios was started by David Campo in Stockholm, Sweden in 2011, with a small (50 pairs) run of selvedge jeans. Things took off, and in 2015, they expanded into watches. So, that means that they’ve been doing this for eight-plus years, and I’m just learning about them now. That said, this is a great introduction to the brand.
The GMT
Of course, a large part of why I agreed to have a loaner of the Nezumi Aviera GMT sent over was the inclusion of the GMT movement. Here, it’s powered by the Miyota 9075, which is a traveler’s, or “true”, GMT (John goes more into those distinctions in this video). For practical purposes, this means you give up the quick-set date in favor of an independent main hour hand that allows you to quickly set to local time when you land, leaving the minutes and GMT hand untouched.
The Design
This is another reason I agreed to have the Nezumi Aviera GMT come in – the looks of the thing. For starters, while the black dial option is going to be the classic, I was drawn to the darker teal option that they have. Here, the dramatically oversized GMT hand pops out in stark contrast (despite being hollowed out), as so the syringe-style hands.
While the case itself looks a bit tall, visually, they’ve done a good bit to keep things as slim as possible. The biggest thing they’ve done is to go with the fixed bezel. While a rotating bezel can give you a third timezone, that tends to be a bit of overkill in my personal use, so I like the ability to have a slightly thinner watch that a fixed bezel brings.
Daily Wear
While the Nezumi Aviera GMT came in with the rubber and leather strap options, I left it on the optional bracelet for most of my time with the watch. Once I had it sized, I basically defaulted to wearing the watch most days. If you’re used to small-make steel divers, this watch is going to feel right at home on your wrist. The 40mm diameter is very wearable, and the watch settles in nicely.
Yes, the sapphire crystal just pop up an additional 1.5mm, but that’s a slick surface that easily slides under a cuff. Day or night (thanks to the Super Luminova), reading the time at-a-glance is a cinch, and the teal dial gives things a subtle pop of bright color in your day.
Wrapping things up
One of the great things about the Miyota 9075 coming into existence is the great designs that it’s enabling to have a traveller GMT at very affordable price points. If you want to get one, it’s available for $528 on a rubber strap, or $560 on a leather strap. As you saw in the review, there’s also a great five-link bracelet, which is an additional $119 (you can see that here). You can get your own Nezumi Aviera GMT with either a blue or black dial directly from nezumistudios.com
Tech Specs
- ASSEMBLED & QUALITY CONTROLLED: Germany
- MOVEMENT
- Miyota 9075 Automatic GMT
- 28’800 VPH / BPH
- 42H power reserve
- CASE
- Brushed 316L stainless steel
- Fixed bezel with 24h markings
- Screw down crown
- Diameter: 40mm
- Lug to lug: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm ( + 1,5mm sapphire glass )
- Lug width: 20mm
- GLASS: Double domed genuine sapphire crystal with AR coating on the inside of the glass.
- LUMINOVA: Swiss Grade X1 Super-LumiNova®, custom cream color
- WATER RESISTANCE: 20 ATM ( 220m / 660ft )
