Microbrand
Glycine
glycine-watch.chGlycine was founded on 20 May 1914 by Swiss watchmaker Eugène Meylan in Bienne (Biel), Switzerland, initially specializing in small, finely made movements for ladies' watches. Its legend was cemented in 1953 with the Airman — the first wristwatch capable of tracking two 24-hour time zones via a rotating bezel and 24-hour dial. The Airman became genuine pilots' kit, worn by U.S. aviators during the Vietnam War and even taken to space by astronaut Pete Conrad, giving Glycine a rare authentic tool-watch and aviation pedigree.
Today Glycine is best known for delivering Swiss automatic watches at aggressive value pricing, led by the Airman GMT family and the chunky Combat Sub diver. It has been owned by Invicta Watch Group since 2016, which kept production Swiss-made and movements predominantly Swiss automatic (ETA/Sellita-based) while pushing prices down sharply, often selling well below retail through discount channels.
Worth knowing
Since the 2016 Invicta acquisition, some enthusiasts feel the brand moved downmarket, and watches are frequently and heavily discounted online — which compresses resale value, so buying near full retail is rarely wise. Movements are outsourced Swiss (ETA/Sellita), not in-house, and the Invicta-era positioning trades more on value than prestige despite the genuine 1914/Airman heritage.
