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In 2013, Gucci attempted to enter the luxury market by releasing a 5 figure luxury divers watch with a GP3300 automatic movement. The watch was pleasant enough, but for $9000-$13000 you could have easily picked up a submariner and have money left over.
It comes as no surprise then, that Gucci has downgraded its ambitions and moved into lower-priced quartz divers watches. Originally unveiled in 2015, the quartz divers watches come in both 40mm and 45mm. The latter of which is referred to as the XL.
These newer spec quartz watches have drastically lower price tags and can often be found online for under $1000 brand new. Whilst you may end up paying more in a brick-and-mortar store, the price will still be nowhere near the original Gucci divers price tag in the low 5 figures.
Table of Contents
Gucci Brand Overview
Gucci is not a brand best known for its watches. To be honest, they are most well known for their bags and shoes. With all that being said, Gucci is one of the few brands that have actually made a significant effort to innovate a decent watch brand and made at least some headway. In all fairness to the brand, they tried (and failed) to make a super luxury watch brand and instead have found a nice market share somewhere slightly below Tag Heuer and well above various other fashion brands.
The Gucci dive range is unusual in that it is not like a typical garish Gucci watch. There are no giant golden bees to be found and the only green and red pattern appears as a small splash of color on the dial. If you were to cover the logo on the dial, you may be forgiven for thinking that this was some kind of new Citizen release.
Dial
The dial of the YA136301 is very simplistic and has much more of a classic look. When compared with the other designs of Gucci divers watches, this one has the most mainstream appeal since it doesn’t have a snake or a giant fox head in the middle of it. The face is a solid matte black with only a single splash of color displaying the Gucci logo.
The date wheel is somewhat unusual at the 6 o’clock position. This is likely just a feature to differentiate it from the classic 3 o’clock date wheel of every other diver watch. The lumes on the watch are comparable to a Seiko or Citizen model, which is a high level of quality.
Watch Case & Size
The YA136301 is 40mm wide. The Gucci dive XL comes in at 45mm if you want something slightly bigger (although on the wrist, the difference is very noticeable).
The body of the case is pretty much just as you’d expect it. It’s neither too thick nor too thin. The lugs of the case do not protrude too far past where the case ends. Meaning if you buy a 40mm watch, then this is what you will get. Not a 40mm watch with giant lugs making it look more like a 50mm.
Bracelet
The bracelet is quite heavy as you would expect from a watch made of stainless steel. It is well finished and has the Gucci logo stamped on the inside of the deployment clasp, as well as the outside. This bracelet doesn’t really come close to a submariner bracelet for either finish or the safety of staying on your wrist. Although with that being said the Gucci diver is around 10 times cheaper.
Despite this watch being 200m water resistant, I wouldn’t want to wear it as a divers watch with a basic deployment clasp as shown. Although I highly suspect this would only ever be worn as a fashion watch anyway.
Somewhat disappointingly, the bracelet is held together by standard pins. For a watch of this price, it would have been ideal and almost expected to use screw links. Whilst this is not a dealbreaker, it would have at least added to the quality.
Movement
The movement inside the YA136301 is a Gucci signed ETA quartz. There is nothing particularly special about this movement, but it is very solid and reliable. You won’t be able to argue with its accuracy either which is almost always reliable to 1 second per month.
Other brands such as Tag Heuer, Breitling, and Raymond Weil regularly use ETA when developing mass-market quartz watches. It is neither an expensive nor cheap movement for a $1000 quartz watch.
Overall Value For Money
Overall the Gucci Divers YA136301 is not bad value for money, but there are far better alternative watches to buy for the same price or less. A Seiko divers prospex is really not any worse spec and will set you back far less. The same could be said for several Citizen models.
With that being said, you’re really paying for the brand. If you’re a fan of Gucci then this is certainly not a terrible deal. Around $1000 for an ETA quartz divers watch is not exactly a steal by any means. But then again, are you really going to find a Gucci watch for any cheaper than this?
Another consideration in a similar price range would be the variety of Oris divers which are available. These are better spec watches, but really depend on if you’re a fan of the brand or not.
Overall : Only buy if you’re a big fan of the brand. There are far better alternatives available.
