Just last week we engulfed ourselves in a dissertation relating to what microbrands do best: allowing us to experience personal and often unique visions for horology. We’re back riding on this theme today but from a different perspective: not a watch whose design tells about the intimacy of a city’s singular culture, or two artists’ visual sensibilities, but a YouTuber’s multi-year dedication to uncovering the best value watches on the market for us the enthusiasts. Last week we dug deep into the design and color palette of a particular watch through which we could learn about a place in the world and the changes it went through over several generations; today we’re going to look under each square micron of a timepiece to study its holistic suite of specifications (a little spoiler alert) which was complemented by an old-school-cool microbrand design language (which beautifully leans into the commonplace), wrapped together in a more-than-attainable high-value horological package—which goes without saying. 

The YouTuber in question is Jody Musgrove from the channel Just One More Watch. One of the few I’ve been watching religiously since at least 2020, for he demonstrates a superb degree of consistency in his interest for good value watches and in the quality of production of his thousands upon thousands upon thousands of videos. Akin to the latest episode of a favorite TV show airing on Friday night, I look forward to Jody’s next video which I know will be, as it always is, of the perfect length, to discover what other value nuggets he has uncovered for us. What I didn’t expect for him to do however was to create his own watch brand alongside his good friend and long-time collector Steven Parker, for I know it is no small enterprise and for it was a ballsy move to make for someone like Jody who has reviewed so many timepieces. In other words: yes he knows better than most what he’s looking for in the perfect watch, however it wasn’t guaranteed that their vision would resonate as well as it did with so many. 

In hindsight I was probably naive. But so what? Today we’re going to discover Jody’s and Steven’s horological project, Erebus, through the Origin GMT Classic Black. Nor their latest collection but one of their most classic ones already. 

Specifications 

Ok, I know for a fact I was being naive because it makes sense for Jody (and Steven) to create a brand to make exactly the type of watches they’ve been looking for and collecting for a shit ton of years. Many probably saw it coming and I understand why, however I will continue to cultivate a dash of surprise because of exactly the type of watches Just One More Watch has been putting the spotlight on since 2016: high-value, over spec’ed, and sometimes, but not always, visually unique timepieces. The type of horological combo which made the latest generation of microbrands popular and successful, then an entire generation of AliExpress specials dominate the market. So why on Earth would they bother to make a brand just to make more good value watches? In their own words: We want to offer the best made watches, with the best specifications, at the best prices, and all with a personal service and attention to client that you don’t get from the big brands. That is, friends, the stuff the best microbrands were made out of. 

Yes, I used the past tense here because, in my own rather extensive however modest experience of the watch market—compared to Jody’s—most of the microbrands which brought so many of us into the hobby no longer exist, as they have either disappeared into the ether like a Swiss brand in the 80s or evolved to become independent and went up-market. As it will hopefully show through this review, the Erebus Origin GMT Classic Black is made of the same stuff the Helm Vanuatu Titanium, Bigi Design Ti Field Watch, or Draken Tugela GMT are made out of. In other words: relatively direct and effective designs paired with generous specifications and affordable prices. Thus this Erebus is the kind of watch my horological heart beats the strongest for which is why I’m so glad to be able to tell you about it. So, let’s get into the nitty gritty of this watch starting by the case and its dimensions: a universally sized 316L stainless steel chassis measuring 41mm in diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug, 12.9mm thick, and coming with a 20mm lug width. 

Indeed quite perfect and perfectly sized for Jody’s wrist but mine as well: 6.50”/16.5cm on which the Origin GMT commands a strong but reasonable wrist presence—166g on the bracelet sized to my French wrist which is just perfect. A heavily guarded 7mm screw-down crown and decorated screw-down case-back endow the Origin GMT with a more than sufficient 200 meters of water resistance, which is quite neat to have with a 12.9mm thick case and taking in account the caliber within: the Seiko NH34 caller-style GMT movement (3Hz/41 hours of power reserve) which requires more vertical space inside the case than a three-hander, and whose M.O. is more convenient to me than that of a true GMT caliber. (The NH34 comes with a clicky independently adjustable GMT hand and quick-set date function.) The traveler’s functionality is paired with a bi-directional 24-click bezel made of matte ceramic, showing off perfect clicky action in both directions, and a full set of lumed markings provided by generous applications of BGW9 SuperLuminova. 

We find the same luminescent compound applied in equally generous manner on all four hands and hour markers, which guarantee superlative nighttime legility. So far so good, ain’t it? Well, perhaps to your surprise and mine as well, there is more to be said about the technical specifications of the Origin GMT Classic Black which demonstrates, as I’m sure you’d agree, Jody’s and Steven’s resolve to indeed make good watches with good specifications at good prices. If all of the above wasn’t enough to convince you of the value of this model, perhaps what follows will: a flat piece of sapphire crystal atop the dial, complemented by several layers of inner anti-reflective coating, and a rather superb bracelet which is something I know Jody often moans and niggles about when reviewing others’ watches (in addition to lume, as an example): a curved H-Link bracelet, entirely brushed, equipped with serious screws to hold the links together, quick-release spring-bars, a tool-less micro-adjustment mechanism, and a 20-to-18mm taper. 

Design

Before we now turn our attention to the design of this Erebus, we must make mention of its price in American pesos: $449 USD which is excellent any day of the week with just about any watch, but oh so remarkable with the Origin GMT given its healthy—no opulent—list of specifications which rival the best value, and immensely mass-produced, AliExpress specials. After all, we do know that the duo behind Erebus set out to make excellent value watches demonstrating that superior technical abilities can be had for less than 500 one-dollar bills. But there is more to this watch than its spec-to-dollar ratio, however good it is. Because it is one thing to engineer a spec monster and another one to design what I would describe as being a delightfully simple-looking tool watch whose visual vocabulary is as effective as its specs are. Granted, now the best of the Chinese brands do produce visually compelling timepieces, however this is not what the Origin GMT was supposed to be and what Erebus aimed for*. It’s a tool watch, for Genta’s sake. 

*If you’re looking for more intricate designs, Erebus provides in the Ascent collection. 

I kind of knew that the Origin GMT was a spec monster even before seeing Jody’s video presentation of the collection, since the brand’s debut model, the Origin, was one already, and that I know what floats Jody’s boat. So what drew me in to write about Erebus and to pick the Origin GMT Classic Black is the standardized aspect of this color scheme which permits me to mentally compare the dial’s layout to the hundreds of tool watches I’ve already reviewed until now, and to formulate what I like about it: what I intelligently or unintelligently described earlier as being old-school microbrand design in a full matte treatment (save for the two-piece polished applied logo) of all dial’s furniture, from the white-surround pencil-style hour and minute hands, blacked-out and red-tipped seconds hand, as well as the red GMT hand, to the intense melted-plastic-like dial texture, and the thickly printed hour markers made of BGW9 and white borders. The icings on the cake for me are the framed date aperture and red rectangles on the minute track. 

All of what you see on the Origin’s dial has a clear purpose and was clearly designed and hierarchized to fulfill its duty with utmost efficiency. And so it is with the steel chassis of this model: a fully-brushed treatment throughout, even on the bracelet and clasp, underpinning the Origin GMT’s utilitarian nature. The case demonstrates Erebus’ understanding of what visually makes such a watch, with slab-sided flanks decorated with chamfers tapering out towards the edges of the lugs, flowing into massive, buttress-like crown-guards at the three o’clock, and a predominance of straight cuts and sharp angles englobing the case. I am impressed, and I have fallen for the crown-guards’ massive construction and appearance, and how, for once in the global world of horology, they actually frame the crown so that it is impossible to knock it off its stem. I do not know nor understand what took brands so long to make this happen but Erebus did, and it beautifully and fully integrated within the visual and technical ethos of this collection. 

The Heart of the Matter

Jody’s videos became classics for the “Hhheeelllooo and Welcome to Just One More Watch” opening credit, but also for his “moans and niggles” section he goes through even for the watches he buys with his own dineros and those which he co-designs with Steven for Erebus. I do not partake in YouTubers’ habitual juggling act of providing equal parts positive and negative remarks in order to produce, and come across as, being objective in reviews. I only write about watches I feel genuinely enthusiastic about and not all watches I receive make the cut. But with all of that said, I would have a hard time to find anything to fault with the Origin GMT Classic Black, not because I do not usually criticize watches, but because there is nothing to criticize here. Jody and Steven set out to produce the best-value utilitarian GMT on the market and I’m pretty sure they did—as far as my own experience goes—in the sense that it is a spec monster paired with an effective design vocabulary for a good price, but also for it is well manufactured and finished.

The case of the Origin GMT Classic Black is deprived of sharp edges and the bracelet of wobbleness, the dial printed elements are crisp and clean, the texture adorning the circular flat surface particularly intense and well defined, and the lume, which is a key specification of any watch Jody often does moan and niggle about, is evenly applied on all elements where lume can be found. In other words: for $449 USD, you get what you paid for and much more than that, proving that Jody and Steven were right in starting their own watch brand because they indeed understand not only what they’re looking for in a good tool watch, but what many of us do as well. 

Conclusion

If I’m not mistaken, I’ve watched all of Erebus’ launch videos and each time, the brand surprises me with the great number of variations they propose for each collection. The Origin GMT comes in two families, the Classic and Premium, where the two can be told apart by the use of a “J-Style” (read: Jubilee) bracelet and two-tone ceramic bezel inserts on the latter for an extra $40 USD which is more than reasonable. I won’t got into the “who is the Origin GMT for” kind of rhetoric but I will leave you with these final stereotypical words: I would be doubly hard-pressed to find a better value GMT on the market today which means that Jody and Stevens have kept their word. It is a fabulous piece of utilitarian horology which can be readily purchased on the brand’s website which is another final bonus most microbrands do not provide. 

Thanks for reading.