Taking a look at the latest from Belgium, the Gavox Roads

As you are probably all aware by this point, chronographs are not my favorite style of watch. So, why am I taking a look at these? Well, for one, I am fond of Gavox as a brand, and have enjoyed a number of their pieces over the years. Second, it was just a bit of serendipity that I was the reviewer that could handle them, and as it turns out, these were rather endearing. So, it was good fortune that I spent time with a trio of Gavox Roads.

Now, the more astute of you will realize that the Gavox Roads looks pretty similar – and indeed, it is very much the same watch as the Gavox Squadron, which we reviewed here. Of course, this time around, the focus is on driving, rather than flying (both arenas where chronographs tend to be handy).

We actually spent time with three variants of the Gavox Roads – a blue one (blue dial, blue bezel insert, black leather strap with blue stitching), a panda version (white dial with black subdials, black bezel insert, and black leather strap with white stitching), and a dark reverse panda (black dial, grey subdials, steel bracelet). For the review, Gavox also supplied some of the other strap options from the range, but I felt they worked quite nicely with what they came in on, so I didn’t swap anything out (if you’re ordering a Gavox watch, though, check out some of his strap options, they are quite nice).

I was immediately drawn to the panda dial, even to the exclusion of the blue dial version (a shock to all, myself included). On the leather strap, it just felt like a bit of class on the wrist, and my supposition that it would look great with a suit was tested the next day (spoiler alert: I was right), even with it’s brushed finish. That was fun, of course, but when it came to heading into the office, I did drop back to the blue version, and that became the one I spent the most time with.

As far as chronographs go, the Gavox Roads is going to be pretty familiar. You’ve got the running seconds at 3 o’clock, chronograph hours and minutes at 9 o’clock, and chronograph seconds being the large, central hand, and a tackymeter around the outside of the dial. That leaves the sub-dial at 6 o’clock. A good guess might be a second timezone, but that’s not it – it’s actually an alarm. All of this is made possibly by a quartz Ronda 5130D movement, just as the Gavox Squadron used. Once you get the sequence of setting things in order, it’s not too bad to adjust the watch (though, really, the only regular adjustment you might have is syncing the alarm reference time with the main time); Ronda also has a handy PDF as well.

The Gavox roads is a comfortable watch to wear, with the 41mm case coming in at a relatively svelte (for a chronograph) 12mm thick. For the ones I spent time with, it was on leather straps, but the bracelet (which I did use on the Gavox Squadron LINK) is comfortable as well. However you hold it on your wrist, the watch is an easy one to read at a glance, with a nicely proportioned (and lumed) hands spinning over the dial. Should you want to put one on your wrist, you’ll need a nicely affordable $395 – $444 (the higher price is for the PVD variant) outside of the EU; inside the EU, well, you’ve got some VAT to deal with (400€ – 450€). All in all, the Gavox Roads is a fun variant on their prior chronograph, and it will be interesting to see what roads come next in the collection. gavox.com

Review Summary

Brand & Model: Gavox Roads
Price: $395 – $444 (excl. VAT)
Who’s it for? One of the editions is of your favorite road to drive – or you’re just on the look for a well-sorted (and affordable) chronograph

Would I wear it? Surprisingly, yes – though I wouldn’t leverage a lot fo the functions. It’s just a good-looking watch
What I’d change: Wondering if there’s a variant of the movement that would put a second time zone in that subdial rather than an alarm complications
The best thing about it: The color palettes on the versions – all well thought out.

Tech Specs from Gavox

Surgical stainless steel case (Steel of PVD black)
- Case diameter: ø 41mm
- Case depth: 12 mm
- Screw down Crown
Sapphire Crystal
Luminescent on hands and dial (Superluminova)