Traska: A Go-To Brand For All Your Watch Needs Under $1,000

Here’s a scenario you may be able to relate to: you have a diver from your favorite brand, and you would like to add a field watch. You wonder whether the brand has one in its catalog. Luckily, it does! You buy it, receive it, and love it. Two months later, you decide you want a GMT, so again, you hop on your favorite brand’s website, and there’s one of those available too! So you buy and love it as much as the field watch and the diver. Then, you talk to fellow watch enthusiasts about GADA/everyday watches. Owning one sounds awesome, but does your brand make one too? Of course, it does. Shopping on that one website covers most of your watch needs. It sounds too good to be true, right? Nope, it doesn’t. Not with Traska.

I’ve talked plenty about Traska in the past, and I’m going to do it again today. The brand has once again updated all of its collections so that its five models are better than ever. Since I’ve reviewed several Traska watches before, such as the Commuter, Venturer GMT, and Seafarer, I won’t go into the nitty-gritty of each model’s specifications. Instead, I’ll make a blanket presentation of what Traska watches are and what they are made of, and then I’ll speak about each collection in more philosophical and emotional ways. After all, while specs are important to many of us, design is equally so. But perhaps the most important factor is our connection to the watches. If you don’t like Traska’s design language, you won’t connect with them. But if you do, then stick around. 

The overarching philosophy of Traska watches

Whether you’re new to Traska or not, it’s probably helpful to understand the brand’s philosophy. For each collection, Traska aims to offer great value for specs and finishing, regardless of the genre of watches. Since the company’s inception in 2018, not one of its models has ever crossed the US$1,000 price barrier. And that doesn’t mean Traska’s collections don’t get better each year; they do. Traska offers better value each year by fine-tuning the proportions, quality, and design of its models. Today, in 2025, none of Traska’s collections is in its first iteration, and its longest-standing one, the Freediver, is in its sixth generation. The latter fact indicates how invested the brand is in what it does and what enthusiasts think. Traska makes the smallest of upgrades to each model each year and offers some of its collections in multiple sizes. 

It’s also one of the few companies to have “firsts” in the world of micro/independent brands. For example, as far as I know, it was the first to offer hardened stainless steel cases and bracelets. I believe it was also the first microbrand to make 34mm watches, which too few people asked for but which sold like hotcakes. Traska was one of the first brands to use the Miyota 9075 GMT caliber besides Jack Mason. It has also been a pioneer in color experimentation, being best known for its Mint collections, and the first microbrand to dare revisit the iconic three-row stainless steel bracelet. Beyond that, each of Traska’s collections could be a potential GADA (go anywhere, do anything) watch for you thanks to their classic yet sporty designs and good specifications. Again, you have to like the way they look to agree with me. 

General specs of all Traska collections

All right, what are these great specs I keep telling you about? First, the watches in all five collections have cases and bracelets with surfaces rated to 1,200 Hv on the Vickers hardness scale. That’s practical and neat for everyday use. Second, all models house premium Miyota movements with a 4Hz frequency and 41-hour power reserve, from the no-date 9039 and the date 9015 to the 9075 flyer-style GMT calibers. Traska does not regulate its calibers, but from experience, I find that they run very well out of the box. Moreover, all Traska models have sapphire crystals, generally of the box-cut type, with several layers of antireflective coating. Dials are either matte with thickly printed hour markers or glossy with applied and polished markers. They also feature diamond-cut hands and a generous application of lume, which is typically Super-LumiNova BGW9. 

By the way, all models have a water resistance rating between 100 and 200 meters. 

Traska Summiteer: the field watch

Let’s now get into philosophical and emotional explorations of Traska’s collections, starting with the Summiteer. I chose to begin with this one as it is the first Traska I experienced three years ago. As of 2025, the Summiteer is available in two sizes (36mm and 38mm) and four colors. It is a de facto field/exploration watch, and to me, it is philosophically connected to the Rolex Explorer ref. 1016. In particular, the 36mm models make me think of Ian Fleming in that famous photograph of him at his desk in the Goldeneye estate in Jamaica.

A writer and retired intelligence officer, Fleming may well have opted for a Traska Summiteer 36 if it had existed in the early 1960s. It’s the type of watch you can take on all your adventures. It’s the micro/indie equivalent of a watch that would look right at home on the wrist of James Bond (yes, I do like hot takes!).

The Summiteer 36 retails for US$640 and the Summiteer 38 for US$650. 

Traska Freediver and Seafarer: the dive watches

Similar in purpose but not in form, the Freediver and Seafarer are two versions of tool watches for underwater exploration. The Freediver was Traska’s first model launched on Kickstarter in 2018. It’s the epitome of the classic and capable dive watch that works equally well while diving or dining at the Met Gala. In other words, it’s the independent and affordable version of a Rolex Submariner, which I mean as a compliment. On the other end of the spectrum, the Seafarer is a beefier compressor-style diver with two crowns.

Both the Freediver and Seafarer are ultra-legible dive watches, but the latter is only available in a no-date configuration. Both do come with Traska’s comfortable and well-engineered bracelet, which indeed makes them ultra versatile. Of the two, I prefer the Freediver in black with a date. So classic! 

The Freediver retails for US$685 and the Seafarer for US$665. 

Traska Commuter: the GADA/everyday watch

I’m a big fan of the Summiteer, Freediver, and Seafarer, but I’m a bigger fan of the Commuter. As the name suggests, this collection was created to be the perfect everyday watch for those on the go. Therefore, Traska decided to offer it in three sizes — 34mm, 36mm, and 38mm — so that anyone can find a perfect match. All sizes have more or less the same colorways with a few exceptions. As is often true with Traska, the brand came up with some more distinct dial colors, such as Faded Copper (Commuter 34), Cypress Green (Commuter 36), and Oxblood Red (Commuter 38). But while each version/size is endowed with the most restrained of designs, this keeps the Commuter classic and versatile.

I own a Commuter 34, and it’s a delight to wear every day while doing anything. Despite their elegant allure, these watches are built as tools for modern explorers of the urban or green jungles. 

The Commuter 34 retails for US$600, the Commuter 36 for US$640, and the Commuter 38 for US$650. 

The Venturer GMT: the traveler

The Venturer GMT is the latest entry into Traska’s catalog. The first version was a sort of diver/multipurpose tool watch with an internal 12-hour rotating bezel. However, when the Miyota 9075 caliber came out, the brand immediately transformed the Venturer into a robust and capable GMT. One could argue it’s the most versatile of all Traska’s models for having a date, GMT complication, and a 150m depth rating.

Emotionally, it’s the brand’s coolest model and, philosophically, the one that best demonstrates what it can do. It offers Traska’s high manufacturing quality and finishing with everyday looks and GADA specs. For the price, it’s also a darn good deal and one of the most affordable flyer-style GMTs out there. It has a unique combination of James Bond-like capability with red-carpet-like elegance, which is quite stunning. 

The Venturer GMT retails for US$735 and the new meteorite-dial version for US$965. 

Conclusion

See? I didn’t lie when I said that no Traska watches retail for more than US$1,000. In fact, they retail for much less, with the most expensive serial-production models costing US$735 (the Venturer GMT Meteorite is the only limited edition at 100 units). This means you can create an entire collection just by shopping on one website. And you can do so by spending about half the price of a Tudor Pelagos. Of course, Traska’s design language has to resonate with you to enjoy a one-stop watch brand like this. If it does, I would be hard-pressed to find a better option except for perhaps Lorier or Baltic.

The only practical caveat is that Traska’s watches tend to sell out quickly, but the brand does periodically restock them. Plus, with five collections and multiple versions of each model to choose from, you will certainly find an available model that you like. I promise! 

This is not a partnership/sponsored post.