When sifting through all major, noteworthy, and iconic watch releases of the past century, we notice that certain models, more than others, stand out. They stand out with such vigor that their designs and mechanical souls have already, and will continue to, inspire countless other models at both ends of the price spectrum. Like music and food, horological designs get recycled, reinterpreted, and rejunevated ad vitam eternam and it seems mostly impossible for brands to steer clear of a few key references. But that’s all good since the folks behind those brands are inspired by certain types of watches or eras of watchmaking and want to return those back to the fold. Just like jazz will always constitute the basis for most other genres of music that have come since and that oversized suit jackets are, alas, back in fashion. Iconic watches are iconic because they define a timeperiod of horological design—they encapsulate the zeitgeist of the era in which they were were born. 

One such timekeeping device is the Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655 from 1971 which has inspired the latest GMT from California-based Vaer: the G5 Pacific Steel 39mm USA GMT. We instantly notice the visual traits both models have in common—the steel GMT bezel, orange GMT hand, black dial, and the three-link Oyster bracelet—though the Vaer is its own thing, its own sporty and capable GMT, proudly assembled in ‘Merica. Coming in at $1,025 USD with the combo of the FKM waffle strap and aforementioned Oyster-style bracelet, it is perfectly in line with a couple of other American GMTs we’ve looked at before, for example the Jack Mason Strat-o-Timer and Nodus x Raven TrailTrekker Slate. All three are complete adventure-ready travel and everyday watches powered by the Miyota 9075 flier-style GMT caliber, with good water resistance and lume, and commonly-agreed upong great average dimensions. The G5 is therefore a watch for all occasions, a one-watch collection, or simply just an awesome tool. 

Correction (made on 8/1/25): the movement is not assembled but encased in the U.S.A.

Specifications 

I’ve looked at Vaer watches a few times before but never in the form of a review for Mainspring. So I’ve handled quite a few of them in the past many years and each time I found that they make for great purpose-driven timekeeping devices. Field watches, divers, and GMTs, one can find most sport models one could be looking for at relatively good prices—that is compared to the global watch market and what my brothers and sisters from the New Continent are generally coming up with. Vaer got started in 2016 with surf-ready, quartz-powered everyday watches and has climbed the steps of horology one at-a-time ever since, and the G5 Pacific GMT Steel is the model that has gotten my horological bits the most excited in the past year and some because I love the steel-on-steel color scheme and the dash of vintage which emanates from the aged lume (15 layers of green-glowing Old Radium SuperLuminova.) 

So this model is indeed a good tool for all occasion on account of a few things. First, the Miyota 9075 caliber as mentioned earlier, a “true” GMT movement with a bouncing local hour hand and smooth GMT hand action, which runs at 4Hz, comes with 42 hours of power reserve, and has a stated accuracy of -5/+15 seconds per day. More importantly perhaps is the fact that it is encased in the good ol’ US. of A since Vaer assembles the watches there. The latter is something that some of you will care about and others won’t. (It’s neither here nor there for me.) But this fact could explain in part the $1,025 USD price tag because encasing and therefore testing a movement in the U.S. is certainly more expensive than doing so in the Far East. But I may be digressing because you will soon realize that you get a lot more for your money. 

For example, 200 meters of water resistance made possible courtesy of a see-through screw-down case-back and crown; a double-domed upper sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating; indeed very generous applications of Old Radium lume on all four hands, applied hour markers, and lume plots outside the minute track; a three-link stainless steel bracelet with male end-links, quick-release spring-bars, screwed links, and Nodus’ NodeX clasp equipped with a double-pusher closing mechanism and a tool-less micro-adjustment system. The NodeX is great overall but I yearn to see a more elegant design solution for the part where the north side of the bacelet attaches to the clasp—where a metal tongue protudes out when fully extended—which isn’t hunky-dory for yours truly. So clearly the Vaer G5 Pacific Steel 39mm GMT does offer a lot of good specs for your hard-earned cash, and its dimensions might also seduce you: 39 x 45.83 x 13.06mm. 

Design

Though I did moan about the NodeX clasp, and moaning I don’t do often, in the grand scheme of thing it doesn’t really matter because (1) thus far in my horological career I’ve never had to fully extend a tool-less micro-adjustment clasp because I’m just so good at sizing bracelets (ah ah ah;) (2) because I’m more interested in telling you about the gorgeous dial and case. And let’s start with the latter as it is indeed superb—superbly designed and finished—and a beautifully strange mix of an Omega case and of something Vaer has been working on in its own corner for a few years. The twisted lug design isn’t proper to Vaer, however the brand has been fine-tuning and refining it one release after another, so much so that now twisted lugs are synonymous with Vaer in the micro/independent watch world. And do you remember what I said in the introduction? How certain key references inspire many other models? Well that’s exactly what I’m talking about here. 

And again I would say that Vaer has done a great job making this lug design its design for they are massive, aggressive, and timeless. Seen from above they are endowed with massive polished chamfers which account for the majority of the steel seen on the case, which narrow down towards the side and run all along the other side. Then below the chamfers the case bubbles and curves down towards the case-back, in a satin-style brushed treatment, to which perfectly integrates the medium-sized knurled crown. The steel bezel (totally forgot to talk about that one in the spcecs) has the profile of a Pagoda—the insert curves down and out at a gentle angle and delicately meets the bezel assembly which curves back down inward and at a more intense angle—and is very easy to use. The GMT markers are incised within the steel bezel insert and filled with a glossy black paint so that they are very easy to read. All pretty good, right? 

And now the dial, which is the main part that was inspired by the Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655. A matte black backdrop from which all elements pop for superlative readibility and functionality. A sword-style handset for the local time, where the hour and minute hands are multifaceted and adorned with upper horizontally brushed sections, so that they are visible at any angle. Then a fully brushed seconds hand and orange GMT hand, both equipped with lumed geometrical elements, the latter having one that resembles an unharmful arrow. (???) And then a suite of applied hour markers with polished surrounds and of two shapes—an inverted triangle at the twelve and earplug-fashioned markers everywhere else. A deeply-set and color-matched date disc with small numerals printed on it comes with a polished frame to match those found on the applied markers. A bit of text above and below the pinion and rectangular lumed elements between each hour markers a la GMT Master II. 

Bonus points for those of you who noticed the 5-minute increment numerals printed in red outside of the minute track. 

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of the matter is the fact that the Vaer G5 Pacific Steel 39mm USA GMT is many things and can be many things for you. It’s a capable diver and GMT, a sporty everyday watch, and a potential one-watch collection piece. Specs-wise it has it all: a flier-style GMT caliber; 200 meters of water resistance; a bi-directional 120-click bezel; really good lume; a functional bracelet. Design-wise it is “Vaer” although it transparently borrows from Rolex and Omega’s icons of watchmaking in the stainless-steel GMT bezel and twisted lug affair, combining the two in a way that only the California brand knows how to. So you do stretch the value of your $1,025 USD quite far here when looking at this model globally—its soul, intended purpose, and how it competes within the micro/independent watch market from a spec-to-price ratio perspective—and in the smallest of details—the cohesive nature of its aesthetics, the superb finishing, and sporty wrist presence. 

Conclusion 

In the past nine years, Vaer’s catalog has grown exponentially to include all genres of utilitarian horology. (It also includes a couple of dressier options.) And prices for its models range a couple of hundred bucks to over a thousand, making its horological creations at the reach of many of us, therefore so from stylistic and price perspectives. Though nowadays the watch world is such that the Asian competition is putting immense pressure on Western brands to offer more original designs for less money, and more and better specifications for fewer dollars. Which is why American brands are pushing the “Made in USA” message more each year, where Vaer equips some of its more affordable options with Ameriquartz calibers and gets its automatic models assembled and tested in the U.S., which invariably must come with an uptick in prices. But at the end of the day, the G5 Pacific Steel 39mm USA GMT remains a solid option for a GMT-powered everyday sports watch.  So it is. 

Thanks for reading.