Glycine is a well-known watch brand from Switzerland. The brand is popular today, and its vintage models are also in demand. The brand was connected with numerous famous events of the 20th century, including the American war in Vietnam.
Models from Glycine feature large diameters and a masculine appeal. Most of the current watch designs have a vintage style that is inspired by the heritage pieces to suit modern taste.
The company is well-known due to the history of manufacturing pilot watches and the launch of its first Airman collection at the time when intercontinental travel became popular. At the time, the use of a GMT complication was a common practice among aviators.
Since then, the brand has been working on creating solid timepieces and introducing Swiss watches that actively appeal to both professionals and amateurs. Glycine is known for its striking designs and delivering an attractive price point.
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A (Very) Brief History of Glycine Watch SA
Glycine is a Swiss watch brand that was founded as Fabrique d’Horlogerie La Glycine in 1914 by Eugène Meylan and based in Bienne, Switzerland. The company is now owned by Invicta.
Meylan was an uncompromising watch engineer who had a profound understanding of both the watch market and the possibilities offered by the technological advances of that time. Very soon, he succeeded in producing extremely precise watches that were a commercial success.
During the Swiss watchmaking crisis in 1984, Hans Brechbühler, who had 30 years of experience working in the industry (he owned Belinda Watches since 1966) following initial training in business management took over Glycine and saved it from bankruptcy.
Hans Brechbühler was an enthusiastic leader who loved his work and had many bright ideas. He rebuilt Glycine and strongly influenced the brand, bringing new designs on board in a difficult time for the watch industry. Later together his youngest daughter, Katherina, joined the company. In 2005, Katharina Brechbühler assumed sole control of Glycine after 15 years of joint management and ownership with her father.
In 2011, Altus Uhren Holding AG took over the company and Stephan Lack was appointed as the new CEO while Katherina Brechbühler continued to look after the design department.
In 2014, Glycine celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
In 2016, Glycine joined the Invicta Watch Group, a Florida-based watch manufacturer. Since then, Invicta is involved with developing distribution channels and marketing strategies for the company.
If you’re interested in a more detailed history of Glycine, I highly suggest browsing the corresponding page on the excellent website called Glycintennial. Dedicated to the Glycine brand, Glycintennial is the result of countless hours of research performed by Emre, the owner of the website.
Glycine Watches Over Time
The Early 1900s
In the beginning, Glycine specialized in designing and manufacturing small movements for ladies watches.
The Swiss watch brand launched some of the finest miniature movements in the market. The movements were often wrapped in precious gold and platinum cases.
Glycine became a supplier of boutique watches to wealthy people, especially British and American, who valued works of fine craftsmanship.
Later, around 1931, the founder of Glycine Eugène Meylan presented to the world a self-winding watch that was entirely of his own invention.
Further reading:
Interested in the genesis of the first self-winding watch? Check out our article!
In 1934, the company introduced a chronometer range of timepieces, tested by the Official Swiss Quality Control agency.
In 1945, Glycine started to produce and rapidly deployed a complete range of automatic watches to the marketplace that were on par with the top manufacturers of the time.
The Late 1900s
The year 1959 saw the birth of the famous VACUUM chronometers by Glycine. These watches were known for their incredible resistance to water and shocks and were designed for long-term use under hostile conditions.
This advertising printed in 1962 highlights the selling points of the Glycine Vacuum (unpretentiously called “the best”):
- High precision thanks to permanent lubrication and no friction caused by air.
- Constant water-tightness until the breaking point – 180m under water.
- Alternative controls of anti-condensation protection – beyond fusion and freezing points (???).
- …
- Reasonable price ensuring easy sales and reasonable margins (I suppose this ad appeared in a magazine for dealers?).
In 1953, the Airman line was introduced to the world market and immediately received an enthusiastic welcome.
These watches appealed to jet-setters and frequent travelers who preferred the convenience of having two time zones on their wrists. The Airman line became a staple of the brand, and are still in production today (see more information about the Airman story below).
Glycine became a favorite watch for the military, and many soldiers and pilots used various watches from the company throughout the second half of the 20th century.
Following the purchase of Glycine in 1984, Hans Brechbühler developed new products that enabled Glycine to be marketed successfully in countries such as Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Germany.
The company created a quartz collection that was meant to compete in the new world of watches that emerged after the global recession of the 1970s.
In response to market demand, two Airman models with quartz movements were launched and gained a following in Japan and the USA.
In 1998, the Airman 2000 was created by using an ETA 2893-2 movement. Glycine offered a three-time-zone timekeeper that was unique in the field of GMT watches.
The next year, the Airman line was enlarged by adding a jumbo 46 mm watch which featured a special locking system on the revolving top ring.
The 2000s
Beginning in the late 90s, Glycine introduced an assortment of mechanical watches with steadily growing diameter.
The new line began with the 37mm Combat, moving to the 42mm Observer, up to the 44mm and 46mm Incursore.
Glycine was one of the first companies to move into much larger watches with the 48mm KMU and, to top it off, the 52mm F-104, which was one of the biggest wrist watches ever produced by the company.
In addition, chronographs with the famous Valjoux 7750 and Valjoux 7751 movements were launched such as the classic 46 mm Stratoforte, the giant Grand Carré 3810, and the elegant barrel-shaped Altus.
All these big watches helped Glycine innovate at a time when large watches were just beginning to become popular. Today, the company is marketing a number of watches, with the AIRMAN and COMBAT sub standing out as the most popular.
The story of the Glycine Airman
Charles Hertig Sr. bought Glycine in 1943, and the classic watch, the Airman, would be created under his tenure at the company.
In 1953, Samuel W. Glur, a sales director for Montres Altus S.A., was onboard a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Calcutta (now called Kolkata). Samuel W. Glur was able to make his way into the cockpit and strike up a conversation with the captain about his wristwatch needs.
At that time, although aviation had been around for 40 odd years, the idea of designing a watch specifically for aviation use was still in infancy and pilots needed a tool to help them as they crossed time zones.
The captain said that he wanted an automatic, waterproof watch with calendar function and a 24-hour dial with centralized hour, minute, and second hands that also had a rotating 24-hour bezel.
After arriving in India, Samuel Glur wrote a letter and told his friend Charles Hertig about the potential market for a dedicated pilots’ watch. As a result, a real watch was created with these specifications just a few months later, the Glycine Airman.
The very first release of the Airman watch was a test as a lot of elements were changed. The AM/PM written on the dial to allow easier reading of the time of day was eliminated on many models, but some prototypes still survive.
The dauphine hands were changed in favor of pencil/syringe while the hour markers became uniform in size rather than emphasize the even hours. Glycine kept the rotating bezel to stay mostly the same as well as its unique locking mechanism.
In the early 1950s, the idea of a rotating bezel to act as a reference device for checking time started to catch on.
The Airman bezel was unique thanks to its locking mechanism. Glycine added a thumbscrew at 4 o’clock to lock the bezel in place once set. The bezel did not feature ratcheted unique time zones that were in-between hourly intervals, which did make the bezel more versatile.
The Swiss watch brand later not only changed the pencil/syringe to a large arrow and a tail was added to the hour hand to allow the reading of the time on the other side of the dial, but also added a unique hacking seconds mecanism.
The Glycine Airman, at that time, was the choice of many US armed forces pilots during the American war in Vietnam and even much-admired by NASA astronaut Pete Conrad.
In 2002, by releasing new Airman watch models ranging from more complex world timers to unique collector’s items, Glycine made waves in the watch market. The Airman 7 features three mechanical movements simultaneously displaying the time in four time zones, which was interesting to see.
Today, vintage Glycine Airman watches are extremely sought after and original pieces in good condition can easily fetch $2,000.
For a more detailed story of the Glycine Airman and a list of different models, I highly recommend checking out the ebook dedicated to the Airman written by André Stikkers. You can download it here.
Glycine Airman is still in production today
There are three subcategories of Airman collection that are currently in production.
Airman Contemporary
The Airman collection is thought for thick cases, large diameters, and dials.
Glycine added a 24 Hour dial and two distinct crowns although this collection was designed based on the original Airman watch design of 1953.
This collection is attractive due to its sturdy features and real-world utility.
Glycine Airwoman
These watches are popularly known for having an option Mother of Pearl dial, or gold plating. They are also powered by an accurate automatic movement. The style is very close to the original AIRMAN line, but also distinctly feminine.
Airman Vintage
The Airman Vintage collection is modeled on early designs from the Airman series. Its signature piece is the 1953 Airman model. Each of the watches comes in 36mm, 40mm, or 42mm sizes, with a thick rugged steel case and rotating bezel marked for 24 hours.
This collection is mainly known for its dial that features an outer ring of numerals for the 24-hour arrow to show the time. Besides, there is an inner minute ring with differentiated circles and rectangles every five minutes.
Glycine Watches Represent an Excellent Value
Even though the focus of this website is vintage watches, it is still worth pointing out that there aren’t many Swiss watches out there that include a Swiss-made mechanical movement and cost less than $400.
While the purchase of Glycine by Invicta did garner a fair amount of criticism, the current offerings from Glycine offer an incredible amount of watch for the money.
A Combat sub with an automatic Swiss-made movement can be had for less than $350 if you don’t mind buying a gray market item from eBay, and an automatic Airman may run you under $800 from the same sources.
Needless to say, these are interesting price points for watches that are very much in-line with the vintage cousins, which can actually be far more expensive due to their relative scarcity. If you have the budget and the patience to do proper research though, I’d highly recommend getting an authentic vintage Airman for your collection.
Further reading : learn more about other prominent watch brands
Vintage Watch Inc
Dennis is the founder and editor of Vintage Watch Inc. Passionate about Soviet and Japanese vintage timepieces and a finance professional by day, he proudly wears a Seiko Pogue with his suit.
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