[VIDEO REVIEW] LIV GX-Diver Full Lume

You Can’t Miss the GX-Diver Full Lume When the Lights Go Out

Words/Photography: Me. LIV Watches provided this GX-Diver at no cost as compensation for this review.

So, you’re wanting a dive watch, you want it Swiss-made, and you want something a bit special? If that’s you, the LIV GX-Diver Full Lume might be exactly what you’re looking for.

With an MSRP of $690 (with steel bracelet, $640 without), for many, the GX-Diver is getting to the top-end of what they consider “affordable”, but those that make the investment will find that this sub-$700 watch hits with four-figures of value – and that feels pretty good in today’s “interesting” economic circumstances.

View price on Amazon.

Sporting a completely lumed-out dial, an ETA automatic, 300 m of water resistance, and a 5-year warranty, there are a lot of things to like in the GX-Diver Full Lume. Let’s explore this after-hours superstar in more detail, shall we?

Watch the LIV GX-Diver Video Review

LIV GX-Diver Full Lume Specifications

Model: GX-Diver Full Lume
MSRP: $690
Case Diameter: 41 mm
Alternate Models: 7 Colorways
Movement: Automatic, ETA 2824-2
Complications: Date Display
Power Reserve: Est. 40 hours
Water Resistance: 300 m / 990 ft
Crystal Material: Sapphire

Shine on!

Let’s start with the dial which is, true to its name, completely covered in lume. A good diver should have sufficient lume, and the GX-Diver Full Lume takes it to the next level.

Along with the lume, you get the signature GX finishings: a sandwich dial, which provides lots of depth, cut-out hour markers at 6 and 12 o’clock, a date window at 3 o’clock, and applied chrome/lume combo markers for the rest.

The seconds hand is orange with a white tip, and the LIV logo and livery is tastefully applied above and below the center column. No one element is overpowering, and even the sole oversized element (the LIV text underneath the center column) is muted so that it is notable but not overnoticed.

A criticism here lies with the choice to use a white-tipped seconds hand on an all-white dial. While the orange seconds hand is mostly visible, the tip itself blends into the background. In hindsight, I bet it’d look sharp as a white seconds hand with an orange tip.

Like the LIV Rebel and GX-1A that I have reviewed prior, the GX-Diver goes all-in on the cut-out/sandwich combo. This adds a lot of depth, as the dial never looks flat, and this effect only gets more prominent as you increase the viewing angle. For a macro photographer such as myself, this makes the GX-Diver an interesting specimen to have behind the lens.

Also like other LIV’s I’ve worn, the finishing on the dial is excellent. There isn’t a speck of dust or imperfection to be found… and I looked.

GX-Diver Case, Bezel & Crown

A good diver should have an easily legible bezel, and that is again the case with the ceramic bezel used here. The ceramic bezel uses BGW9 Swiss Super-LumiNova for the markers. Day or night, above or below the waterline, you’ll always be able to tell the time.

At 41mm, the case is far from overbearing. When the rubber strap is affixed, the 41mm sizes down a bit and makes it very wearable for nearly anyone – even the wimpy wristed people out there such as myself. The steel bracelet, on the other hand, looks and feels very size appropriate.

Of course, you couldn’t reasonably achieve 300m of water resistance without a screw down crown and this one is easy to use with no sticking points or unnecessary friction.

Both the bezel and the crown feel very tactile when in use and give the impression of a quality unit.

As you’d rightly expect from a nearly $700 Swiss-made micro, sapphire is used both top and bottom to help with durability. The crystal is treated with a layer of antireflective coating, and as a result the watch is both easy to read and easy to photograph… a plus for a certain watch fanatic photographer.

Excellent built quality (as usual)

I have to admit that my tastes have steered toward the “less is more” motif, and in that way I appreciate the flat white sandwich dial. While the orange logo and seconds hand break from the monochromatic theme, they serve as true accent pieces and draw your eye to the parts that matter. Along the way, the watch will hold up to a discerning eye.

The model I have – #58 of 1,000 – has great alignment with the bezel and hour markers. Not a week goes by that I don’t find someone asking about bezel alignment and tolerances in a Facebook group (and about whether or not their particular watch is up to snuff), but even the most diligent of the detail minded will be hard pressed to find something out of tolerance.

What’s your ETA?

In a change-up from their other models, the GX-Diver is rocking an ETA 2824-2 automatic movement. To paraphrase Bill Gates, “the ETA 2824-2 ought to be enough for anybody“. It’s the standard-bearer for Swiss-made watches that want a reliable and accurate movement without unnecessary faff, decoration, or pinpoint accuracy. Or, if you want to make a watch with an accurate-enough and long-lasting movement.

That’s not to say it isn’t accurate, by the way, but the 2824-2 used here is not the elabore/chronometre versions and so you might expect the +/- 30 seconds/day accuracy of the standard 2824-2. However, you’d be underestimating your movement – LIV calibrates their movements in-house to +/- 5 seconds/day. I’ve got a few 2824-2’s in my collection and they’re all accurate to around the 10-15 second per day mark.

LIV has chosen to keep styling reasonable, and thus you’ll find no Geneve strips, blue’d screws, pearl effects, or other decor on the movement. Aside from the LIV livery on the rotor, the movement is left to stand on its own and that’s perfectly fine – the 2824-2 is a good-looking movement, and the finishing on it more than stands up to scrutiny.

An Excellent Daily-Diver That Pulls Out All the stops – Love It

LIV backs the GX-Diver with a five year warranty, which is more than double the industry average of 1-2 years. It comes with your choice of strap or bracelet, with pricing bouncing between $640 and $690 USD depending on what you choose.

If full lume isn’t for you, you can grab the GX-Diver in 6 other colorways. But come on, who doesn’t love a full lume dial?

Overall, I have no complaints with this one: it looks great, is made well, can go deep, and is made with all the right stuff. It’s a great buy at under $700.