Grönli Bresjø
There’s no shortage of Norwegian microbrands at the moment. I’m on a quest to catch them all, and Grönli is up next. Bresjø is the third release from the brand, and their first venture into the world of automatics. Great success, or thank you, next?
DESIGN
You have seen it before. The Bresjø won’t win any awards for groundbreaking design, but it’ll probably excite a good amount of people looking to buy a watch. Does it excite ME? Yes, somewhat, but there are some design choices that keep me from utilizing the strongest words of praise.
It’s too small for my preference. At 38mm with 18mm lugs, it wears small. While this size is great for lots of people, I have never been able to enjoy an 18mm strap.
There are no brushed surfaces. This case is all polished and shiny. I believe that some brushed elements would help elevate the watch design.
The rubber strap (which is perfectly decent) is a strange choice for a relatively small dress-watch with a green dial. Perhaps it would work better with a more basic strap, but this rubber strap has a lot of stuff happening on it, thereby demanding the attention that should be given to the beautiful green sunburst on the dial.
Luckily, good design is a very subjective matter, and I know plenty of people who are big fans of the design choices taken on the Bresjø. The brand wanted to focus on creating a highly wearable and comfortable timepiece that won’t get in the way. They have most definitely succeded in that endeavour.
BUILD QUALITY
No complaints. The Bresjø feels solid and I haven’t found any flaws from the manufacturing. I can’t find any QC isssues like you would on a similarly priced Seiko, but the Seiko will probably have a higher standard of finishing.
MOVEMENT
Miyota 8215 is the obvious choice together with the NH35. Biggest difference is that the 8215 only winds in one direction, making for some rotor noise and case wobble in certain situations.
STRAP
I have a love/hate relationship with the rubber strap on the Bresjø. It’s a comfortable strap that’s soft and pliable, but it gets very dusty. The canal running down either side of the strap gathers dust and debrees that will be difficult to clean. I am also not sure that this style of rubber strap is the correct choice for this case and dial.
X-FACTOR
Grönli is a Norwegian brand. That’s cool. Bresjø (glacier lake) means a lake formed by the water from a melting glacier. These tend to be green. That’s cool. The X-Factor is that little something about a watch that you can’t relly point out. The thing that makes you want to wear the watch everyday. For you, it might be the green dial or the comfortable case size. For me, the Norwegian heritage is what attracted me to the Bresjø to begin with. It is also what makes me keep the Grönli in my box of timepieces with a special connection to my heart.
Thank you to Grönli Watches for sending me the Bresjø. I do not have to send it back, but I am free to be completely honest in my review.
