Spending Time With The Improved Traska Venturer GM

It’s been only a few weeks since I reviewed the Traska Commuter 38. It left a lasting impression because it is a great daily wearer — let me rephrase that: it is the best affordable daily wearer I have worn recently. It proved to be a great go-to pick among other, far more expensive watches we had in for review. But what about a GMT version of that watch? As some of you will know, I am a big fan of GMTs, so that sounds like an even better proposition. I had a chance to find out more about the improved Traska Venturer GMT.

The famous Russian-French artist Wassily Kandinsky once said, “Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” This statement certainly applies to his vibrant, oversized works. If you stand before them, the colors immediately feed your brain with a thousand impressions and make you feel a certain way. Watches are a far less wild and much smaller canvas, but I agree with Kandinsky and think that dial colors can influence or reflect how you feel. I don’t know what it says about my personality that I naturally gravitate toward black dials. Let’s say it is predominantly sparked by the neutral presence of a black dial that matches any outfit.

The story of the Traska Venturer GMT

Leaving my dark personality aside, you will understand that my natural pick of the four available Traska Venturer GMT dial colors would be black. But that would be too obvious, and the brand is adept at selecting just the right shade of specific colors. For the Venturer GMT, you can pick from a black dial with red accents, a steel-blue dial with light orange accents, a deep green dial with dark orange accents, or a white dial with blue accents. The white dial is also the one with a contrasting gray inner rotating 24-hour bezel. The other three models have an inner bezel that matches the dial color.

When the team at Traska decided to send the white-dial version, I was happy to hear it. Besides it being the natural opposite of my obvious choice, I was curious to learn more about the watch because it uses three colors. Additionally, Traska uses beautiful glossy lacquer dials for its Venturer, giving the white dial extra visual power. So, to make a long story short, I was curious to find out whether this white dial could become a favorite and top the impact of the Commuter 38 that impressed me so much.

A story of constant improvement

With the launch of the latest versions of the Venturer GMT this past Sunday, September 14th, Traska also presented some nice updates to the watch. As I explained in my review of the Commuter, I adore the brand’s approach to introducing new versions. It’s all about improving an existing product rather than constantly changing things. Ultimately, that strategy will pay off in consistently building a better, recognizable collection that fans will love. For this sixth generation, Traska worked on a redesigned bezel for enhanced legibility as the main visual update for the new Venturer. On top of that, the new Venturer comes equipped with clearer crystals and quick-release spring bars for even greater practicality.

The Venturer GMT has a 38.5mm stainless steel case with a 9.75mm thickness, excluding the crystal, and a 46mm lug-to-lug. As a result of the box-shaped crystal, the watch has a 12.2mm profile, and Traska rates it water resistant to 150 meters. The case design is in line with the brand’s other models. As I explained in the Commuter 38 review, Traska uses the same case design for all its watches. This creates a design signature rooted in great consistency. On top of that, depending on the watch style, the dial significantly changes the presence.

The Venturer’s design feels familiar with a little twist

The Venturer GMT and the Commuter are the two models closest in terms of overall presence. A lazy way of describing the Venturer’s design is to say that it is a Commuter 38 with an added crown, GMT hand, and a rotating inner 24-hour bezel. But there is more to it. Integrating these elements and using a new caliber means completely redesigning the case and the dial. Traska basically had to create the watch from the ground up.

The brand did an excellent job of making the watch look slender. The box-shaped crystal ensures that the hands fit inside the watch nicely, without affecting the case’s presence that much. As a result, the Venturer GMT still appears quite slim. In reality, a little over 12mm for a GMT makes for a super wearable watch, so it isn’t thick at all, even with the sapphire crystal.

A crisp white lacquered dial

Inside the case lies a glossy white lacquered dial with applied baton markers filled with Super-LumiNova. I must say, I love the crispness of this dial. Encircling the hour markers is an open minute track with a slightly thicker marker for every five minutes. The light gray rotating inner bezel holds a white 24-hour scale and is easy to read from every angle. You can operate the bezel with the crown located at 10 o’clock.

Both the main crown at 3 o’clock and the bezel-controlling one at 10 are nicely proportioned. On top of that, they are easy to grip due to the distinct knurling. The two crowns also add a nice visual touch to the watch. Having two crowns can be a visual design challenge, but I didn’t have to get used to the look of the Venturer. Next to the light gray 24-hour bezel, additional hints of blue come courtesy of the arrow-shaped tip of the 24-hour hand and the “GMT” text on the lower half of the dial. The text sits right above the date window at 6 o’clock. This window features a nice frame to match the markers. Lastly, the baton-style hour and minute hands have a luminous filling, and the sharp seconds hand completes the set nicely.

The bracelet and movement

An Oyster-style bracelet — the same one we know from the Commuter — finishes the look. It has 20mm-wide end links and a beautiful 4mm taper to the clasp. The quick-release spring bars are an upgrade compared to the previous version. The fully articulated links allow you to stack them, which displays the bracelet’s incredible flexibility.

The bracelet utilizes single-headed screw pins and a clasp with push-button release. If you open the clasp, you will see the beautiful perlage finish on the folding arms for extra visual brilliance. This clasp also comes equipped with a brilliant toolless six-step micro-adjustment system. Overall, this is one of the best bracelets at this price point.

Inside the case of the Venturer GMT, we find the Miyota 9075 caliber. The automatic GMT movement operates at 28,800vph, has 24 jewels, and offers a 42-hour power reserve. As most of you will know, the 9075 is a flyer-style GMT caliber. As such, it allows you to move the 12-hour hand independently in one-hour increments to adjust the local time. The GMT hand displays the time in a second time zone in conjunction with the inner 24-hour bezel. The Miyota 9075 has become the go-to flyer-style GMT caliber for small brands. It’s reliable and keeps the price affordable, making it a popular pick.

Wearing the Traska Venturer GMT

With all the details and specs out of the way, it’s time to talk about the Venturer as a daily watch. In short, it is an absolute dream to wear. The relatively slim profile makes this GMT wear like many other daily watches without the added functionality. The case proportions are spot on, the bracelet is comfortable, the build quality is outstanding, and it just sits perfectly on the wrist. That’s also where you get a good idea of the incredible level of detail that Traska puts into its watches. It is obvious in the intricate mix of brushed and polished finishes. Just like the Commuter, the Venturer GMT’s case has a brushed finish with polished chamfers and flanks. It is topped with a radially brushed bezel with a polished chamfer.

But there is more to it than just the finishing. The overall balance of the dial and the bezel design feels spot on as well. Add the functional and effective handset, and you are looking at a watch that immediately feels visually comfortable. But that is not easy to achieve. Usually, I will always find a visual quirk that I am not a fan of. But with this Venturer GMT, there is no such thing. It’s all properly thought out, from the crisp white dial and the frame around the date window to the crown sizes and the fonts used for the inner bezel and dial. The Venturer GMT also has plenty of visual sparkles that kept my eyes coming back for more.

The Venturer GMT is a great daily wearer

All these well-considered details make it so easy for this to become a daily watch, especially knowing that the case and bracelet are treated with a scratch-resistant coating. This has proven to be a brilliant move by some brands, including Traska, VPC, and RZE. It will ensure that your clasp isn’t marred by daily use. If there is one thing that I had to get used to, though, it’s the rotating inner bezel.

Previous versions didn’t always have a screw-down crown at 10 o’clock, but this new version does. Once you unscrew it, the transition into rotating it is flawless. Setting it precisely and locking the bezel without turning it was sometimes challenging. But I liked this little challenge because it adds a playful element, and I want to align it perfectly.

If you have the time, that is a fun little exercise, but if you don’t have that much time or are just practical, this could be a point of contention. However, I did find that I quickly got better at setting it. Plus, I use the handset more often to keep track of two time zones, so I didn’t use the bezel that much anyway. If anything, I started unlocking it and playing around with it just to have extra interaction with the watch.

Final thoughts on the white Traska Venturer GMT

By now, you will understand that I had a great time wearing the Traska Venturer GMT. First and foremost, it is a great daily wearer. It has a sleek overall presence and is extremely comfortable. Removing links from the bracelet is super easy, and the toolless micro-adjustment allows you to size it perfectly for your wrist. The white dial turned out to be a great pick as well. The lacquered dial is crisp in its presence, and the gray inner bezel and blue details provide a nice contrast. Is it my favorite of the four options? Honestly, I would love to try the Bottle Green and Steel Blue options to come up with a final verdict. Yes, you read that correctly. I would not pick the black dial.

This white-dial Venturer GMT thoroughly impressed me. It is easily one of my favorite white-dial watches. Has it influenced my soul in the process, as Kandinsky hinted at? In a way, it has, because the Venturer GMT has convinced me that I need a white-dial watch. Will it be this one? I could see myself owning one and wearing it regularly. At €650 / US$750, the Venturer GMT is easily the best GMT option out there for the money. It’s that simple.

What is the ultimate Traska pick?

That brings me to the question of whether I would pick it over the Commuter 38… If I had the ultimate choice, I would get both and rotate them. But if you forced me to choose one or the other, I would pick the Commuter. If you get the dateless version, it is slimmer and has a super clean look. When I wore it for a few weeks, it blew me away. But the Venturer GMT is not far behind. It leads me to conclude that Traska makes the best affordable daily wearers with the Commuter and the Venturer GMT. In this day and age, with all the available options, that is a massive accomplishment.