# GL 293



## thm655321

I've been eyeing the Airman 17 and just recently discovered that the movement was changed from the ETA A07.171 Valgranges to the GL 293, which is the same movement in the smaller Glycine watches. So basically I assume that there is a spacer inside the 17 because the movement is "too small" for the 46mm size, correct?

What is the GL 293 movement based on and what modifications are made by Glycine? I know the rotor is custom and there are blue screws but is there anything else special about it? 

Lastly is the price drop on the new 17 because of the different movement?

Thanks in advance.


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## Dennis Smith

I think it's the ETA 2893, which would use a spacer. And yes, it's far less expensive than the Valgranges, so this allowed a price drop.


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## chasecj7

Yep 2893-2 and they are silky smooth.


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## tothelandofnod

Looking at some GMT options, really like the beautiful design of the Airman 22, blacked out with DLC that uses this GL293 ... how does it compare with an iconic movement like Cal. 3186? First hand experiences from anyone who has both the GMT Master and an Airman Base 22? Thanks.


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## Dennis Smith

Well, a bit apples and oranges. Both movements tell 12 and 24 hour time for a second timezone, but functionally do so in very different ways. When traveling a lot, I prefer either the purist 24 version of the Airman, or the Rolex, because neither needs to be re-hacked. The Airman can have a permanent timezone on the main dial (home or Zulu) and the constantly changing timezone on the bezel. The Rolex is one of the few GMT movements that allows you to pull the crown out one click (without hacking) and "jump" the 12 hour hand around the dial to adjust for changing timezones (the 24 hour hand remaining on the bezel at the fixed reference, usually Zulu). The only drawback here is that this feature takes away the quickset date. You must jump the hour hand around twice per "day" to advance the date when resetting...but this is accomplished very quickly, and not an issue until the end of some months if you wear the watch every day .

The 2893 in 12/GMT format is a little less user friendly when globe trotting. When you pull the crown out one click you can then jump the 24 hour hand around to track your adjusting timezone, but to change the 12 hour hand you must hack. If, on the other hand, you are usually in one timezone and you wish to have a second timezone reference, the 2893 hold its own solidly. Occasionally, the 24 hour hand of a 2893 movement is bumped out of alignment (for example the 24 hour hand is directly on an hour marker when the minute hand is still at :45 (15 minutes from the top). I've heard about this on the forums from time to time, as it is especially noticeable when you're wearing a 2893 in purist mode (24 hour primary time; no 12 hour hand). I never experienced it myself until recently with my Airman 1953, whose 24 hour hand is now 20 minutes off from the minute hand synch, making it unwearable at this point. I need to have it reset by a watchmaker. This leads me to suddenly have a little less faith in the 2893. I've never had any such problem in my Rolexes, which stand up top tons of abuse.

Hope this helps.


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## Robotaz

I prefer the 2893 because I rotate watches so much and I prefer not to spend five minutes rowing my watch through its paces to set the day. If I wore one all the time, I'd prefer Rolex/GS style.


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## imprezhouse

so far so good for my purist airman 17.


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## publandlord

tothelandofnod said:


> Looking at some GMT options, really like the beautiful design of the Airman 22, blacked out with DLC that uses this GL293 ... how does it compare with an iconic movement like Cal. 3186? First hand experiences from anyone who has both the GMT Master and an Airman Base 22? Thanks.


Well the ETA 2893 on which the GL293 is based is also fairly iconic, although the amount of engineering compared to the Rolex means it's probably not as iconic as the 3186. The 3186 is a fairly recent movement, receiving an upgrade in iconicity (I supposed!) over the 3185 to reduce geartrain backlash. But icon levels are at least as high as the old Valgranges movement, which is somewhat iconic, being based on the Valjoux 7750, but a bit thick and heavy.

The GL293 is too small for the 42mm Airman, let alone the 46mm. So yes, there's a massive spacer in there. But, it does have an engorged date wheel which is much larger than the movement underneath, so it doesn't appear so, at least from the dial side.


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## eddiea

Dennis Smith said:


> Well, a bit apples and oranges. Both movements tell 12 and 24 hour time for a second timezone, but functionally do so in very different ways. When traveling a lot, I prefer either the purist 24 version of the Airman, or the Rolex, because neither needs to be re-hacked. The Airman can have a permanent timezone on the main dial (home or Zulu) and the constantly changing timezone on the bezel. The Rolex is one of the few GMT movements that allows you to pull the crown out one click (without hacking) and "jump" the 12 hour hand around the dial to adjust for changing timezones (the 24 hour hand remaining on the bezel at the fixed reference, usually Zulu). The only drawback here is that this feature takes away the quickset date. You must jump the hour hand around twice per "day" to advance the date when resetting...but this is accomplished very quickly, and not an issue until the end of some months if you wear the watch every day .
> 
> The 2893 in 12/GMT format is a little less user friendly when globe trotting. When you pull the crown out one click you can then jump the 24 hour hand around to track your adjusting timezone, but to change the 12 hour hand you must hack. If, on the other hand, you are usually in one timezone and you wish to have a second timezone reference, the 2893 hold its own solidly. Occasionally, the 24 hour hand of a 2893 movement is bumped out of alignment (for example the 24 hour hand is directly on an hour marker when the minute hand is still at :45 (15 minutes from the top). I've heard about this on the forums from time to time, as it is especially noticeable when you're wearing a 2893 in purist mode (24 hour primary time; no 12 hour hand). I never experienced it myself until recently with my Airman 1953, whose 24 hour hand is now 20 minutes off from the minute hand synch, making it unwearable at this point. I need to have it reset by a watchmaker. This leads me to suddenly have a little less faith in the 2893. I've never had any such problem in my Rolexes, which stand up top tons of abuse.
> 
> Hope this helps.


Adding a late comment that in my personal experience with two different Breitlings fitted 2893-2 GMT, I encountered the same issue on two separate occasions with the misaligned 24 hour hands, supposedly an easy fix but, since the Breitling were both 500 meters W/R , I sent one back to Breitling for the hand reset and W/R to specs testing that require new gaskets and traded the other.....


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