Anyone own a Gerlach Kosmonauta???
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Richard
Budget watch fan with small wrists!
Liverpool
Member since
Last active: 3 hrs ago
6.00” / 15.24 cm
That looks very similar to a gold LED watch I had in high school in the late 70s. I don't recall the brand of my watch.
Yes, I've had mine (in steel) since 2016 and I absolutely love it.
First, the things to be aware of, or cons, depending on your perspective. Probably because of the red LED, the time display is not always on. You have to activate it by pressing the button, which then illuminates for 5 seconds. It's not extremely bright, which makes legibility harder on bright sunny days. And I've always found adjusting the time to be annoying; my finger nails are never long enough to actively depress the adjustment button so I use a large needle.
But the pros are the looks, which are obviously subjective. I should (dis) qualify myself by admitting this is my first post here and I'm not sure I'm a watch nerd because I find the vast majority of watches most people are getting excited about deeply uninteresting from an aesthetic perspective. To give you an idea of my tastes, my collection includes a Farer Lander GMT, a JLC Master Control Date Sector, a Baltic Aquascaphe Blue Gilt and an incoming Lorca Model No. 1. I'd buy something from Oak & Oscar if I wasn't already saving up for a silver dial Omega Railmaster.
But within the strict context of my tastes, I think the Kosmonauta looks utterly magnificent. It's sleek and minimalist, with the red display giving me echos of 1970s sci-fi, Battlestar Galactica cylons or Tarkovsky. It wears very well on my small 16 cm wrist and I find it far more elegant than the Hamilton PSR, which I've also tried on and which I think is bulky and vulgar in comparison.
And not that it matters, but despite being by far the cheapest watch I own, it gets the most questions from random non-watch people in London. "What is that? A smart watch?" And when I activate it and the red display flashes on, their minds are blown...
Yes, I've had mine (in steel) since 2016 and I absolutely love it.
First, the things to be aware of, or cons, depending on your perspective. Probably because of the red LED, the time display is not always on. You have to activate it by pressing the button, which then illuminates for 5 seconds. It's not extremely bright, which makes legibility harder on bright sunny days. And I've always found adjusting the time to be annoying; my finger nails are never long enough to actively depress the adjustment button so I use a large needle.
But the pros are the looks, which are obviously subjective. I should (dis) qualify myself by admitting this is my first post here and I'm not sure I'm a watch nerd because I find the vast majority of watches most people are getting excited about deeply uninteresting from an aesthetic perspective. To give you an idea of my tastes, my collection includes a Farer Lander GMT, a JLC Master Control Date Sector, a Baltic Aquascaphe Blue Gilt and an incoming Lorca Model No. 1. I'd buy something from Oak & Oscar if I wasn't already saving up for a silver dial Omega Railmaster.
But within the strict context of my tastes, I think the Kosmonauta looks utterly magnificent. It's sleek and minimalist, with the red display giving me echos of 1970s sci-fi, Battlestar Galactica cylons or Tarkovsky. It wears very well on my small 16 cm wrist and I find it far more elegant than the Hamilton PSR, which I've also tried on and which I think is bulky and vulgar in comparison.
And not that it matters, but despite being by far the cheapest watch I own, it gets the most questions from random non-watch people in London. "What is that? A smart watch?" And when I activate it and the red display flashes on, their minds are blown...
Thank you so much for your detailed opinion - much appreciated 😊
Yes, I've had mine (in steel) since 2016 and I absolutely love it.
First, the things to be aware of, or cons, depending on your perspective. Probably because of the red LED, the time display is not always on. You have to activate it by pressing the button, which then illuminates for 5 seconds. It's not extremely bright, which makes legibility harder on bright sunny days. And I've always found adjusting the time to be annoying; my finger nails are never long enough to actively depress the adjustment button so I use a large needle.
But the pros are the looks, which are obviously subjective. I should (dis) qualify myself by admitting this is my first post here and I'm not sure I'm a watch nerd because I find the vast majority of watches most people are getting excited about deeply uninteresting from an aesthetic perspective. To give you an idea of my tastes, my collection includes a Farer Lander GMT, a JLC Master Control Date Sector, a Baltic Aquascaphe Blue Gilt and an incoming Lorca Model No. 1. I'd buy something from Oak & Oscar if I wasn't already saving up for a silver dial Omega Railmaster.
But within the strict context of my tastes, I think the Kosmonauta looks utterly magnificent. It's sleek and minimalist, with the red display giving me echos of 1970s sci-fi, Battlestar Galactica cylons or Tarkovsky. It wears very well on my small 16 cm wrist and I find it far more elegant than the Hamilton PSR, which I've also tried on and which I think is bulky and vulgar in comparison.
And not that it matters, but despite being by far the cheapest watch I own, it gets the most questions from random non-watch people in London. "What is that? A smart watch?" And when I activate it and the red display flashes on, their minds are blown...
Where did you buy yours from and how much was it?
Where did you buy yours from and how much was it?
Hey Richard, I went back in my emails to check. I bought it directly from Gerlach because there was no other way to get it in the UK. Back then it cost 800 ZLY (it's now 1500 ZLY) which equated to £150 or $200 in 2016, which I thought was pretty cheap at the time.
I'd still pick it today over the PSR or the Yema LED but obviously that's a personal style thing. The one Youtube review I could find, between the praise, contains the quite provocative phrase
I coudn't disagree more strongly! I've worn the Kosmonauta regularly and unless I guess you're in the habit of checking the time consistently when your other hand is occupied, it is plenty practical enough. Plus it dresses up really well in a stylish, urban style that works in both formal and informal settings, in a manner that many people struggle to place as it's not a retro Casio, it's not a dress watch and it's not a smart watch.
If you can deal with the relative lack of brightness, the two-handed requirement, the relative lack of precision (forgot to mention, Gerlach says runs to about 60 seconds every month which is right in my experience, so definitely not a Casio but also very appropriate for 70s Warsaw Pact tech vibes), I don't think you'll be disappointed if the price is acceptable and the styling appeals more than its very few peers.