Glycine Combat Sub Bronze Automatic Watch Discussions | Drop

Jan 16, 2019

I’m tempted, but a cautionary tale here. About 18 months ago I purchased the 42mm Combat Sub off MD, with the ETA 2824 movement. After a month or so, I began to notice a “grainy” feeling in the stem when hand winding, changing the date or time, etc. At first, I considered it tolerable. Fast forward to today...it no longer hand winds, and feels like the stem tube is failing. It’s going to my certified watchmaker for a look next week. More likely than not, the repair will cost half of the original purchase price. I own other watches with ETA 2824 movements, as well as numerous Miyota and Seiko units. The only failure I’ve ever experienced of this nature is with the Glycine. Your experience may be much better- likely so. But I’m very leery of anything coming from Glycine these days.

TayTayBalls

125

Jan 16, 2019

Danlib1mmmm.../that's why ive never bought anything from MD. if i see something i like, i buy it elsewhere

Jan 16, 2019

TayTayBallsFollow up on my previous post- just left my watchmaker. The Combat Sub I purchased off MD was advertised as having a ETA 2824 movement in it. He opened the case in front of me and there sat the Sellita 200, with totally worn gear mechanism which was why it stopped winding. So, I'm done with Glycine. And I might add that MD might want to do a better job in the product description- because I was misled.

AkMikes

Jan 16, 2019

Danlib1Yeap I noticed the same gritty feel winding mine up, compared with another glycine I have that had a clear case back and has an eta movement. Sure enough the recent one I bought on MD has a Sellita 26 jewel movement. Hope it lasts.

TayTayBalls

125

Jan 16, 2019

Danlib1sorry bro. This is ALL MD does, false advertising, regular (or more) prices, and the icing is the two month delivery. It's very hard to believe that a company could suck so badly. Puzzled how they still in business. You should follow up though...false advertising is against the law, and they do it with most of their shit.

CalvinL

Jan 18, 2019

Danlib1MD says this one has a 2 year's manufacturer's warranty with this watch, so hopefully that works if something goes wrong.

Mar 14, 2019

TayTayBallsQuality would be a Glycine problem, not Massdrop. Massdrop is just a different "retailer".

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Mar 14, 2019

BobrazOf course. My problem was the fact that MD specifically stated in the spec that my Combat Sub had an ETA 2824. Later inspection- post failure- revealed a Sellita 200.

Mar 14, 2019

Danlib1I see your point. Yes, I agree it is frustrating to the buyer when Massdrop is not able to get precise and in-depth information. I guess the MD Product Managers are, themselves, at the mercy of erroneous information from the supplier; i.e. the supplier assures them in writing that the product has this or that characteristic, but in the end it does not. Not that there is anything wrong with Sellita movements; I have a Monta with a Sellita movement and it is as good as if it had an ETA - although I acknowledge that everyone prefers ETA!

Mar 14, 2019

BobrazNot knocking all Sellita movements of course..just my broken 200😟

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Mar 14, 2019

Danlib1Totally understand! Myself, as a watch aficionado (check it out) I prefer ETA to Sellita. I know it is not rational and quality wise they are more or less equal, but ETA has such a history that it totally has ingrained - and endeared - itself to the watch collector community.

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hovo73

Apr 2, 2019

BobrazI have bought 4 Glycine watches through MD over the last 18 months and I have never seen any of them advertised as having ETA movement (or Sellita for that matter). All of the official product description referred to Glycine barnding GLXXX when referring to the movement (GL224, GL280, etc).

(Edited)

Apr 2, 2019

hovo73True, but the GLxxx movements are modified ETA or Sellita movements (Soprod also makes movements and resell them to watch manufacturers, but I haven't read about Glycine using them). Many manufacturers of relatively affordable Swiss watches buy third party movements, do a modification, and rename the movement for (what I assume to be) marketing reasons. Sometimes, it's an important modification, sometimes it's purely aesthetic and other times, nothing really important is done (or nothing at all, just renaming). Glycine does not produce any movement in house from scratch. They are not what is called a 'manufacture', they use ETA or Sellita movements and rename them. With a little bit of Google skills, one can easily find online which ETA or Sellita movement has been used by Glycine and if any real modifications have been done besides renaming.

(Edited)

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Apr 2, 2019

TayTayBallsJust so to make it clear what Massdrop is and what it's not; basically Massdrop is a group buying platform. They have to become authorized resellers / distributors of what they want to sell, in many cases when it's mandated by the manufacturer (e.g. knives, watches, leather goods, etc.). That means they have an agreement with the manufacturer and they have to abide by their rules around maximum discounting, minimum price, etc. Some other non-authorized vendors, like Jomashop, discount more than what they would be able to if they were official resellers - those are called "grey market" resellers (nothing illegal there, and often manufacturers turn a blind eye to these players - while condemning them publicly - since grey market resellers allow them to sell more products). Due to the volume they sell and the way they work, Massdrop is able to offer better prices compared to other authorized dealers. And Massdrop have Product Managers that often can develop a privileged relationship with the manufacturers, or work on obtaining a preferred vendor status or special treatment (e.g. Bertucci watches; best prices online are at Massdrop). But it is true that other times, they have the same prices as other vendors (imposed by the manufacturer), for example Spyderco knives. Product Managers and privileged relationships are also why Massdrop is able to develop exclusive items with manufacturers. Here, I have to point out that regardless of the above, Massdrop often has, for foreign buyers (i.e. non-USA buyers), the best price of any online vendor because of the very competitive shipping costs they have (I myself have experienced this multiple times for purchases coming to Canada). Meaning that in some cases even if Massdrop has the same price as other retailers (again Spyderco knives come to mind), they still can offer the best overall competitive package. Because it's a group purchasing, delays are inevitable due to obtaining, from the manufacturers, the goods that have been purchased; Massdrop don't often have them in stock, in a warehouse, at the beginning of the drop (except for some of Made-by-Massdrop exclusive items). Once a drop is done, Massdrop has to pay the manufacturer, which in turn has to often produce the goods and send to Massdrop. Bear in mind that many manufacturers use just-in-time and/or according-to-order manufacturing processes, and will not have units of a certain item (say, a Glycine Combat Diver watch with blue dial with 12 hour bezel) ready to send as soon as Massdrop asks. Hence often delays can be from the manufacturer side - and don't forget there is international bulk shipping with customs clearance, etc. involved with manufacturers. I just wanted to point out these differences with traditional retailers, and point out Massdrop is not a scam or false advertising or whatnot. It's a different purchase experience and process, that can often lead to better prices and/or exclusive items. (I am not affiliated in any way or shape to Massdrop; the above is what I was able to understand by engaging in discussions on the forums here, and by corresponding directly with Product Managers).

(Edited)

hovo73

Apr 2, 2019

Bobraz @Bobraz, I think we agree. Glycine is rebranding slightly modified ETA or Sellita movements as GLXXX. I think that much is clear. What is not clear is why some people claim that MD advertised ETA movement specifically. My point was if you look at the official product descriptions none of them claimed ETA or Sellita. Sure you can do all type of online searches to try to find out more info, but MD still never advertised ETA. The only think you can blame MD for is inaccurate description such as the number of jewels (25 vs. 26) which might have set some people on the wrong track. And even that, is probably (I haven't checked) taken from official Glycine literature.

(Edited)

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Apr 2, 2019

hovo73Oh, I misunderstood your comment earlier, sorry for that! Yes your point is absolutely valid! From what I have gathered here and there including other forums, seems Glycine indiscriminately changes the source provenance of their movement from ETA to Sellita based on some supply voodoo without changing the name of the movement. And, since they do not inform the resellers and retailers (like Massdrop) about this, the resellers end up having wrong descriptions in store or online, based on Glycine literature. Seems in some cases, even the papers accompanying the watches are not right i.e. papers say Glycine GLxxx with 25 jewels while the actual watch on hand has 26 (or the other way around)!

AkMikes

Apr 3, 2019

BobrazI believe it revolves around eta being in the Swatch group and limiting the supplies of those to non Swatch group manufactures. Invicta now owns Glycine. One of my Glycines ( pre buy out) has an eta everything since has had a Sellita.

Apr 3, 2019

AkMikesI think that is the explanation indeed, althought I've seen this online, no one has been able to confirm positively.

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AkMikes

Apr 3, 2019

BobrazHere’s a piece I ran across with a little of the movement saga;https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/swatch-group-issues-statement-warning-of-massive-price-hikes-for-supplied-movements