Autodromo Group C, hit or miss?
Are you ready for a $475 LCD watch that isn't a G-Shock?
As someone who's raced cars in one format or another for the better part of 3 decades, it's easy for a brand like Autodromo to grab my attention. Their marketing pushes all the right buttons and the Group B was a masterstroke for such a young brand IMHO. But with this latest offering I'm struggling a bit.
At first glance I said "oh no" out loud. Someone took a Casio F91w module, wrapped a stainless slug around it and called it a racing chrono. Missed opportunity to slightly italicize the numbers, like on the Casio Royale (giving it an intrepid sense of motion, as soneone once said?). There's also an awful lot of surface area on the case for such a small screen.
As the day has gone on, it's started to grow on me a little. Could I see one strapped on the sleeve of my firesuit timing my stint in an endurance race? Maybe...if it could take hits like a gshock. But that level of resiliency isn't being advertised here (that I've noticed). Would I wear it out and about? Well, it certainly looks unique, but would I blush when someone asked me how much it was?
What do you think, crunchers?
EDIT: to clarify, this isn't a "should I buy it" post. Genuinely curious about people's reactions to this release.
Watch enthusiast, occasional racecar driver and scuba diver, full time dad, wannabe photographer
I think that's a miss for me, especially at that price.
Not my style, so it's a 'No' at every price.
And if I liked the look, I'd still struggle with the price
It's kinda cool! I'm telling you, the time for microbrand digital watches is upon us!
Miss.
By a mile.
It's kinda cool! I'm telling you, the time for microbrand digital watches is upon us!
I agree there's some real potential for micros to make digital cool. Just not sure this is it! And I do really enjoy the brand overall
I'm wearing this guy today and keep thinking about how I paid less than $35 for it. Sure no stainless, no sapphire, but still...
Miss
This is a massive no from me.
The price is crazy for a basic digital quartz movement with only 30 metres of water resistance. Save your money for something decent.
This is a massive no from me.
The price is crazy for a basic digital quartz movement with only 30 metres of water resistance. Save your money for something decent.
Yeah it's even worse when I convert to Canadian dollars! 😮
Someone's making a s*** ton of money off these.
I'm not a fan but if you like it I say go for it. Just seems like a lot.of money for what it is. I liken it to a Supreme Backpack.
How about “NO”. 😎
It seems to me to be an absolute waste of money.
But it's not my money or my wrist .
I'm wearing this guy today and keep thinking about how I paid less than $35 for it. Sure no stainless, no sapphire, but still...
But you can get that bad boy into a metal case and bracelet for $150, so…
At that price this is a miss for me. While the stainless steel case is nice, I can get that for the price of an Armitron.
Granted, I don't know what functions this watch has, or its durability, but I can get a steel G Shock for that price.
I would love to see some digital microbrands, and I am definitely interested, but it just seems to be priced about $300 too high for me. Honestly, after looking at the specs on the website, this pricing is almost as offensive as Tom Ford or Dave Portnoy.
I like the design but I agree with the consensus that I’m not going to pay that cost for that watch.
I'm not a fan but if you like it I say go for it. Just seems like a lot.of money for what it is. I liken it to a Supreme Backpack.
I definitely do not $475 like it.
Someone's making a s*** ton of money off these.
Assuming they sell any! So far I've just seen the usual influencers raving about the ones they received pre-launch on Instagram.
I've been looking more for Micro Brand/Upscale digital watches. Like the PSR or Computron (not micro brand watches but more upscale), and this is an interesting addition to that market. But I'm not seeing the value. I'm not seeing anything about this that makes me want to drop that much. The one place a lot of steel digital watches fail, is the bracelet. If this had an awesome bracelet, or some interesting tech, maybe.
The case real estate is grossly-bulbous compared to the screen size. Could be a guinea pig habitat if you want.
The case real estate is grossly-bulbous compared to the screen size. Could be a guinea pig habitat if you want.
Yes I think this is what bugs me most about the design
IF the glass is really chamfered sapphire, then that is probably the most expensive part of the entire watch....But I am a bit doubtful they really mean 'sapphire'; it's likely only PR talk.
The price is quite a bit higher than I expected. I get that it's steel and sapphire w/AR, and there's a lot of work that goes into the design/build quality. A good watch is more than just the some of its parts/specs. The Autodromo Group B is a good example, and I own one. I don't think I'm into digital enough to pay that, but then G-Shock sure seems to charge much more for many of their metal G-Shocks just by going to metal cases. I also have a hard time translating measurements on a watch this style to what it might be like on my wrist. I want to check these out in person. I don't think I'm there on this type of watch yet, but I dig the inspiration for them. I'd love to see an all blue case, as I'm not into yellow (it's fun, just not me).
I know I am late to this conversation, but to be honest, the Group C wasn’t on my radar until a recent visit to the Wind Up Watch Fair in San Francisco. I will say after handling it and trying it on that I was impressed. There is no doubt that it contains a very simple LCD quartz movement within but everything else about the watch is top quality. It has a stainless steel case and sapphire crystal - which one does not usually find on cheaper quartz models. The stainless steel case is a solid piece of metal that feels great on the wrist.
According to the owner, the printing on the crystal was done in Switzerland to obtain the quality he wanted and this was quite expensive but looks great on the dial. In discussing the movement with the owner at the fair, he sees the simple movement as a “throw back” to the era this watch is supposed to represent when quartz movements did not have as many functions. All this being said, I would have appreciated a movement with world time function included.
Is it a hit or miss? That probably depends on where you place value and what you hold as important. For me, the overall design, the sapphire crystal, and the metal case make it a hit for me. I probably would not have said this before I held one in my hand, but after experiencing the watch in person, I became a fan. I ended up grabbing the yellow model because it seemed to me to be the perfect watch to wear with shorts and flip-flop sandals on a summer day.
In comparison to a Casio, I think a fair comparison would be the DW-5040PG-1 (a G-SHOCK 40th Anniversary Recrystallized piece) which sells for $300, has a recrystallized and deep-layer hardened stainless steel case and a simple LCD quartz movement, but lacks a sapphire crystal. My one criticism of the yellow model is that the negative LCD display can be a bit hard to read in some light, but I can see that it was done this way to keep with the overall aesthetic of the watch. And the excellent backlight basically solves the problem most of the time. After reading all the criticisms on this watch, I ldid a bit of researach and found a Scottish Watches podcast (#441) in which Bradley from Autodromo explains why the watch costs what it does. It’s an interesting interview.
I know I am late to this conversation, but to be honest, the Group C wasn’t on my radar until a recent visit to the Wind Up Watch Fair in San Francisco. I will say after handling it and trying it on that I was impressed. There is no doubt that it contains a very simple LCD quartz movement within but everything else about the watch is top quality. It has a stainless steel case and sapphire crystal - which one does not usually find on cheaper quartz models. The stainless steel case is a solid piece of metal that feels great on the wrist.
According to the owner, the printing on the crystal was done in Switzerland to obtain the quality he wanted and this was quite expensive but looks great on the dial. In discussing the movement with the owner at the fair, he sees the simple movement as a “throw back” to the era this watch is supposed to represent when quartz movements did not have as many functions. All this being said, I would have appreciated a movement with world time function included.
Is it a hit or miss? That probably depends on where you place value and what you hold as important. For me, the overall design, the sapphire crystal, and the metal case make it a hit for me. I probably would not have said this before I held one in my hand, but after experiencing the watch in person, I became a fan. I ended up grabbing the yellow model because it seemed to me to be the perfect watch to wear with shorts and flip-flop sandals on a summer day.
In comparison to a Casio, I think a fair comparison would be the DW-5040PG-1 (a G-SHOCK 40th Anniversary Recrystallized piece) which sells for $300, has a recrystallized and deep-layer hardened stainless steel case and a simple LCD quartz movement, but lacks a sapphire crystal. My one criticism of the yellow model is that the negative LCD display can be a bit hard to read in some light, but I can see that it was done this way to keep with the overall aesthetic of the watch. And the excellent backlight basically solves the problem most of the time. After reading all the criticisms on this watch, I ldid a bit of researach and found a Scottish Watches podcast (#441) in which Bradley from Autodromo explains why the watch costs what it does. It’s an interesting interview.
Thanks for the in-person report! A couple months on and I'm still intrigued by it, but couldn't see myself paying full price. I will keep an eye open for gently pre-owned pieces. I actually went a different direction and spent similar (slightly less) $ on another quartz (but not LCD) micro that caught my attention, the Vero Workhorse Canyon.
The Vero Workhorse Canyon is a great do- it-all watch. I saw one at the fair and was impressed by its build quality. I was impressed by Vero overall to be honest. I was lucky that I got the Group C at a discount at the watch fair. I always like a discount 😂. Have a great day .