Hands-On: the Vaer G5 Meridian GMT

Before receiving the G5 Meridian, I had what I thought was a clear idea of Vaer in my head: mil-spec watches at an affordable price. Founded in Venice, California in 2016, the brand has built themselves a reputation of earnest capability and practical styling that appeals to budding enthusiasts looking for an everyday watch that leans towards rugged simplicity rather than fast-fashion. Vaer watches have been built in the States since 2018, with their first mechanical piece coming to market in 2019. 

Whether through my own lack of in-depth research or via social media algorithms showing me exclusively the brand’s field watches for some reason, I had apparently missed the relatively diverse other half of their catalog, spearheaded by the release of their first dive watch in 2020, first solar diver in 2021, and first chronograph in 2022. Since then, they’ve expanded each category into multiple references that cover a wide array of functions and styles, shirking my own narrow-minded ideas and, apparently, their own social media advertising algorithms. Thus, with a heap of welcome and humble surprise, I received the new G5 Meridian GMT and began my Vaer re-education.

Unboxing

My G5 arrived in a slim navy box with a clean, minimalistic design—appropriate for its price range, but not “cheap”-feeling in any way. I prefer minimal packaging (what the hell am I going to do with all these empty boxes anyways), and Vaer has done a nice job presenting the G5 as a serious, enthusiast-grade watch without embellishing the unboxing experience too much. Inside is the watch, a certificate of assembly, and a spare bracelet. According to Vaer’s website, the buyer can choose which straps their G5 comes with; mine came with a delightful rubber FKM Waffle Strap, and a Jubilee Nodex Bracelet, which classes up the watch into the dress category. I’m only including this section because I felt that minimal, purposeful packaging is a rarity these days, and though I may be one of the few remaining people who doesn’t like crazy, YouTube-worthy unboxing experiences, I appreciate Vaer’s dedication to clean packaging.

The Specs

For my personal preference, the “sweet spot” in watch sizing ranges from 38 to 41mm. The Vaer G5 Meridian comes in at 39mm in diameter and 45.83mm lug-to-lug, and it wears true to that size on the wrist. I’m also not a fan of uber-thick watches, and the G5’s 13.06mm case thickness (double-domed sapphire crystal included) is democratic and carries a satisfyingly sturdy heft. I was surprised by how light it felt on my wrist, despite it not boasting any “lightweight” features, though I suspect that some of that is due to the excellent strap that came with my G5. I’m fussy about textures and rarely opt for rubber straps, but this one captured my admiration almost immediately. The texture and thickness make it feel much less “grippy” than a normal rubber strap, and much less prone to catching on your skin or arm hair and creating a nasty shock (yes, these are things I think about, because I am that fussy). 

Back to the case, the G5 is constructed of 316L stainless steel and sports a chunky, 120-click bi-directional GMT bezel. The bezel itself is “lumed” ceramic, and the friendly sans serif typeface matches that of the Vaer logo and creates a unified, clean aesthetic. The action of the bezel’s clicks is satisfactory, though noticeably not as nice as bezels on watches I’ve tried from Seiko or Hamilton—still, given Vaer’s relative youth and smaller scale compared to those juggernauts, it’s an impressively solid and suitably clicky mechanism. It also wears that titular navy blue and black color scheme—the “Batman” colorway to seasoned watch enthusiasts, which matches the strap and dial, and elevates the new G5 stylistically over previous offerings, in my opinion. It’s a familiar colorway for fans of luxury sports watches, popularized by Rolex in their GMT Master II and used by a variety of other brands, but Vaer’s design language is clear enough that it distances itself from more copycat-like competitors. A locking screw-down crown additionally gives the G5 a suitably rugged 200 meters of water resistance.

The black dial is nothing particularly inventive, but Vaer has added a few nice touches to give it a proper GMT look; notably, the date window sits at the 6 o’clock position and the orange GMT hand features a balancing white rectangle towards the end that lends some additional color to the no-nonsense face of the G5. The hour, minute, and second hands wear a BGW9 Super-Luminova coating, and according to Vaer, the dial has 15 layers of the stuff. I was hard-pressed to notice whether the lume was any brighter than other watches in my collection, though that at least gives it an acceptable score; it was very easy to check the time in my dark apartment garage with a broken overhead light, something I found useful as I stumbled around like an idiot, wondering whether it was late enough to warrant a tip-toe entrance. 

Inside the G5 beats an automatic self-winding Miyota 9075 GMT movement, visible through a see-through caseback and touting a 42-hour power reserve and a local jumping hour “flyer”-style GMT function. I didn’t get the chance to push that reserve estimate, but I did give the G5 one day-long break over my trial, and it was ticking as expected when I picked it back up a full day later. The 24-hour hand and bezel were handy for me as I spent my work week scheduling calls with coworkers on East Coast time, and even helped me plan my pub trips to watch the Giants as they traveled to take on NL Central and East teams. These are decidedly more mundane uses of a GMT than the marketing of most watch brands would suggest is the norm,, but the vast majority of people will use any style of GMT watch in a similar way, given that most of us aren’t globe-trotting adventurers. So, while the ”flyer”-style GMT function may be idealistically overpowered for the humdrum average use case, the extra handiness and legibility of the zesty orange 24-hour hand meant I was happy to check the well-designed dial of the G5 often to double-check time zone disparities, even if a “caller”-style GMT with more adjustability may be better suited to the task. 

Conclusion

I was very impressed by Vaer’s most premium watch, and found myself growing fonder of it as the week wore on. I’ve never considered myself a dive watch enthusiast, but the added functionality of the GMT can’t be overstated, even if my applications of it were snore-worthy. The “Batman” colorway, of course, gives the G5 a huge boost aesthetically. I was delighted by the FKM strap, and I advise that any potential buyers choose it if they purchase through Vaer’s website—even for a persnickety person like me, it made the G5 comfortable and effortlessly wearable. With the added bracelet, the G5 can pull double-duty as an adventure piece and a dress watch; this versatility and the relatively reasonable price make it a savvy “one watch solution” for the enthusiast on a budget. 

At the end of my time with the G5, I found myself sad to send it back to Vaer, and that’s a relatively rare occurrence with a borrowed timepiece. It didn’t wow me in any particular way, but it did charm me, and the GMT function is icing on the cake for the pragmatist that I am. Vaer has situated the G5 Meridian at the top of their catalog, and it feels every bit worthy of that status. 

The Vaer G5 Meridian Navy/Black GMT is available now on Vaer’s website and retails for $935. Vaer