The folks at the UK brand Geckota design and sell watches, straps, and accessories through WatchGecko.com. I have long been a fan of their straps but never sampled one of their watches. With the announcement of the Geckota C-1 Racing Chronograph, it was time to give them a try. They sent me a prototype model V03 for this review. Overall quality is what I would expect from a finished product. The only planned changes are black fill on the crown signature and stronger lume.
The C-1 takes its cues from vintage racing chronographs, but goes its own way, most notably in case design, which is cushion shaped with hard corners, bowed edges, and flat sides. It has slim, straight, drilled lugs and measures 42mm wide, 45mm long and 12mm thick. Square watches tend to appear at least one size larger than round cases of the same width, but the Geckota avoids this fate by using a combination of finishes: radial brushing on top, vertical brushing on the sides, and polishing on the prominent bezel and around the beveled upper edge. The push buttons and crown are also polished. This variation breaks up the otherwise blocky shape, lending it a pleasingly tailored effect. I found it fit my 6.5″ wrist quite comfortably, without looking at all oversized.
The case is fitted with a signed, dual gasket, screw down crown and an anti-reflective sapphire crystal. Water resistance is a healthy 100m. On the flip side, you will find a threaded case back engraved with the Geckota name and your watch’s serial number. It would have been nice to see something more imaginative back there, but not essential.
Three colors are offered: black/charcoal, white/gray, and the brown/black pictured here. In life, the brown is a very dark, very warm gray that pairs nicely with the black registers and orange accents. It’s an appealing combination. The overall effect reminds me of a gray dial Omega Speedster Mk II without being an outright copy. Squares of SuperLuminova are printed behind the polished and applied faceted markers, and the polished hands are also filled with lume. The glow was merely average, but Geckota promises stronger material on the finished product.
The only text on the dial is the brand name, printed in a distinctive script. Really, the only thing I would change is the black-on-white date disk. The window is nicely incorporated into the 6 o’clock position, displacing that marker, and its polished frame works well with the other accents, but a black disk would have made it seamless.
Given the selection of straps for sale at WatchGecko, I had high expectations for the C-1’s strap, and I was not disappointed. The 22mm Vintage Racing strap is a classic, perforated rally style, cut from thick waxed leather that presents a pull-up effect when bent, creating lovely variations in its red-brown color. It has a wide, floating keeper and ivory stitching at the corners. The buckle is polished, but unsigned.
Like many of its automobile-inspired rivals, the C-1 uses a Seiko VK64 MecaQuartz movement. This popular hybrid marries a quartz timekeeper with a mechanical chronograph module for a 1/5th-second sweep and crisp reset snap-back. It also helps keep the price down. The C-1 is now available for pre-order for £299 (about $368 USD) including two extra straps in addition to the one that comes on the watch. This is in line with the advance pricing for the VK64 Straton Synchro ($330 with one extra leather/mesh strap and two NATOs), but frankly, it is also uncomfortably close to the $375 Marloe Lomond Chronograph with its arguably more desirable ST19 mechanical movement and ceramic bezel. Nonetheless, the Geckota C-1 has an appealing retro look and a competitive price. For more information or to place your order, head over to WatchGecko.com. ⬩
