French watchmaker Charlie Paris has developed a bit of a fan base here at The Time Bum. I discovered the brand through their excellent Condocrdia dive watch and was delighted to see the same elegant aesthetics carried through in the Latitude 0° GMT. Charlie has a knack for taking a traditional tool watch design and elevating it, delivering a product with equal measures of utility and panache. It is a winning formula that is reflected yet again in their newest model, the Grande Randonnée or GR Field Watch, which I received in Chronograph form for this review.
This is the second generation of the Grande Randonnée, literally translated as “Great Hike” and henceforth abbreviated as GR, which is how it appears on the brand’s site.
All of Charile’s offerings are sensibly sized, and the GR follows suit, measuring 39mm wide with a 20mm lug gap. As you can see in the photo above, the brand employed precious few tricks to make the case appear slimmer, just a sliver of a polished beveled edge where the top and side surfaces meet. They could have made it look skinnier with deep undercuts or an aggressive chamfer, but as the case is only 10.6mm thick, there is no need. They did, however, employ steeply angled lugs and end links, lending the watch an early-’70s sports watch air that makes the case seem even shorter than its already curt 45mm lug-to-lug.
A predominantly brushed finish telegraphs the GR’s utilitarian intentions. I particularly liked the knurling on the crown and buttons. After all, things get messy in the field! You have to keep a good grip.
The crown features a polished head, signed with the model designation. It is easy to grasp, but truth be told, you won’t need to operate it very often. This GR runs a Seiko VK64 MechaQuartz movement. The chronograph module is mechanical, providing excellent actuator feel and a snap-back reset, while the quartz timekeeper gives you that set-and-forget convenience. When you do set it, you won’t be screwing it down. The GR is ready for the outdoors but not for diving. It is rated for a more than adequate 100m of water resistance with a push-pull crown.
Charlie Paris produced the GR in green, beige, and brown in addition to the blue dial shown here. The view through the domed and AR-coated sapphire crystal is busy but nicely balanced and quite pretty. Large Arabic numbers mark the hours in classic field watch fashion, although the chronograph’s 60-minute and 24-hour subdials displace the 3 and 9. Similarly, a beveled date window eliminates the 6. A 1/5th second index frames it all. Add to that a logo and other dial text and soon, you are running out of room.
And yet, it doesn’t feel cluttered. I partly credit that to a pleasing North-South balance in the text that echoes that of the East-West subdials but also to the choice of color. Had everything been printed in white, like most of the dial’s elements, those elements would be fighting for your attention. Instead, the designers judiciously applied a complementary beige to set things apart. It’s on the primary hands but not the sweep hand, the head of the left indicator. It’s present on every other line of text. It’s on every fifth marker in the index but not the rest. Most intriguingly, the 60-minute indicator is white, while the 24-hour has a bare stem and a beige arrowhead. It is enough to make the watch more interesting, attractive, and easy to read.
Some of those beige bits are Super-LumiNova, but not many. Lume freaks will likely look elsewhere because, at night, you won’t see more than the four cardinal points and the main hands. There will be no using that chronograph function in the dark.
Flipping the watch over reveals a solid, screw-down case back with a handsome Grande Randonné/GR engraving, surrounded by the key specs, including the fact that the watch is proudly designed and assembled in France. Note the serial number 000, identifying this one as a prototype.
Charlie Paris supplies the GR with an excellent bracelet polished through the narrow center links. It’s a good look, amplifying that dash of reflection in the case chamfers and making the whole unit seem that much more refined. It is secured with an engraved push-button clasp whose low profile matches the proportions of the links and case. It also has quick-release spring bars, which I consider a godsend on any bracelet.
Overall, I found the Charlie Paris GR to be a versatile sports watch. The only thing I felt it lacked was a connection to the field watch style. There is no military time here, and the case shape makes it seem more like a vintage race timer than an infantryman’s watch, especially in chronograph form.
This is more an observation than a criticism because the result is still quite appealing — even more so when considering the price. The Charlie Paris GR Chronograph sells for $381 on the bracelet or $336 if you substitute a nylon or leather strap. The 24H model offers a more open dial with no date and a single 6 o’clock 24-hour subdial. It is powered by Seiko’s excellent smooth-sweeping (1/5 second) VH60 quartz and sells for just $292 with a bracelet and $247 without.
In either form, the Charlie Paris GR is sensible, dapper, and ready for your outdoor adventures. For more information or to place an order, visit charlieparis.com.
