Gen Microbrand: G.Gerlach - 303 LE (eye candy)

[GBOGH]

Recently received this G.Gerlach 303 Limited Edition model. It is a tribute to the Polish Air Force in a pilot style. Hands look black at certain angles, but then the blue really pops in certain lighting. Really liking it. But no more words, just some pics.

 

[Dr.Verylong]

I love these type of dials, white with that raised black print. The hands match that nicely. Very classy. Although I could do without the polish inscription, but that is just me.

 

[GBOGH]

It has the Polish inscription because it was produced by a Polish micro-brand (which is also a non-profit foundation within Poland) as a historical tribute to the Polish RAF 303 Fighter Squadron. Here's some more info about their foundation:

G.Gerlach - About the foundation

The idea of a foundation was born during some long conversations about the Polish industry, design and products.


We realised, that even though many products are produced in Poland, very few of those products were invented and designed in our country. Poland is one of the largest manufacturers of cars in Europe – so what if all of those cars were designed abroad.They’re just made in Poland. The same goes for airplanes, fridges, TVs and many more items.


Poland has one of the lowest factors of money spent on research and development in relation to a single citizen or the GDP. Our economy is not innovative – its just reproductive.


What’s happening with young inventors and engineers? Supposedly, we are so creative. Where are those ideas? Is it easy to develop a new, innovative idea nowadays? How can we help the Polish engineers and designers get recognition for their work?


And most importantly – the promotion of a country is most effective by associating products with the given country. The more innovative, advanced, good looking the product is, the stronger the association with the country it was made in. Ikea, Lego, Nokia, Mercedes-Benz, Sony – those keywords describe not only companies, but also the countries of their origin.


This is how the idea of creating a foundation was born. An institution,which will help to promote the Polish technical innovation and help Polish designs come to life. We want to show that both in Poland and abroad, products with the proud „Made in Poland†are of the highest quality and we can be proud of them.


We also want to support Polish engineers, technicians, specialists in design and ergonomy and help them put their ideas into production.


We chose our patron to be a Polish industrialist, who has produced measuring equipment and manometers of highest quality in his factory. You can read more about him in the „Our Patron†tab.


This is how G.Gerlach Fundacja Rozwoju Polskiej My?li Technicznej i Mechaniki Precyzyjnej was created.

Here's also an article from Worn & Wound about some of their models, and some more details about the 303.

G. Gerlach Watches: Made in Poland

On top of their mainline, G. Gerlach makes small run watches for specific forums. One of these projects was called the RAF 303 Fighter Squadron. Design aside, the watch was powered by a hand-wound SeaGull movement… with a Polish made module, to give the watch centralized hacking seconds and a 50hr power reserve. Any affordable brand that makes modules, like C. Ward or Louis Erard, gets an extra thumbs-up in my book, but G. Gerlach gets an yet another one (more thumbs than I have at this point) for doing it local. That’s simply amazing. So, the m/s Batory will have their next module, which will have sub-seconds, big date and a 50hr power reserve.