Introducing Gorilla Watches

Cars and watches. Could you think of a better marriage? The two fit together like a glove to a hand. The epitome of heaven for any alpha male. If that sounds like a bit of you, then Gorilla watches are worth exploring. The brand is fairly young – discovered only in 2016. But things moved pretty fast from there onwards and now the watchmaking company is well-known across the globe for crafting watches from interesting materials and what’s more, these motorsport-inspired wristwatches are not overpriced either.

The brand has a pretty interesting background as well. The brainchild behind the company is Octavio Garcia, who was once a designer for Omega. These inextricable links to expert watchmaking do not end there either. Garcia also worked for Audemars Piguet in 2003 and within another 7 years had become Chief Artistic officer. He was also partnered with one of the industry’s most recognized watchmakers, Lukas Gopp, who has designed timepieces for the likes of IWC Schaffhausen and Ralph Lauren.

Who are Gorilla watches?

Gorilla watches appeal to modern-day watch collectors as well as enthusiasts of retro timepieces. They combine the old with the new with many designs based on major racing icons of the past like the Porsche 917/20 pink livery in Le Man’s, or the Ford GT 40 in Gulf livery. Pretty much all of Gorilla’s watches are manufactured in limited production runs of between 30 and 40 pieces at a time. Some of the limited edition watches by Gorilla are produced in quantities of around 250 pieces worldwide and this alone adds to the desirability of a watch. Some of the limited edition runs have been known to sell out within an hour.

As mentioned, there are two key players in the Gorilla watchmaking game. The first is Octavio Garcia who was greatly influenced by pop culture growing up during the 1970s and 1980s. Having a father who dappled in fixing up muscle cars certainly sparked a passion for mechanics, paired with his interests in urban art, comic books and Marvel characters. His zest for horology, however, began when he studied product design in Switzerland. Having worked his way through the intricate components of an Omega watch, Garcia went on to study and ogle at the manufacture of an Audemars Piguet wristwatch, becoming a design manager followed by a Chief Artistic office not long after. The other founder of Gorilla watches is Austrian, Lukas Gopp who enjoyed cycling in his youth. Gradually Gopp became more and more interested in the materials used for cycling. During the 1990s, when he was spending much of his time cycling through the Alps, materials for cycling were accelerating fast, from the use of steel frames to carbon fibre. Every material required a new way of engineering. A new way of thinking. A new way of designing. These processes would later become the key to the success of Gorilla watches. Having studied Industrial Design at the Istituto Europeo di Design and the Creative Academy in Milan, Gopp graduated in 2003 and landed himself a job at Sector sport-watches. This led to opening further doors and subsequently the opportunity to work with the likes of Ralph Lauren, IWC Schaffhausen and Audemars Piguet.

When you visit our Jura Watches site and click on the Gorilla section to view the products, you’ll see the watches are separated into three sub-categories; the Complications, the Fastback and the Fastback GT. Our collection is growing day by day, so this is by no means an exhausted list of Gorilla watches. If you want to get your hands on a particular model from Gorilla, give us a call on 01335 453453.

The Complications collection of Gorilla watches

Amongst the brand’s Complications collection, you’ll see several unusual designs but you can’t miss models like the Fastback GT Drift Elise with its striking British Racing livery colours in yellow and green. It's an interesting timepiece to own because it’s a “wandering hours” instrument. Many technical attributes of the watch, designed in collaboration with world-leading Swiss movement manufacturer, Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, demonstrate some of the highest standards in watchmaking. Limited to just 350 pieces worldwide, we are now one of the only remaining stockists to still offer the Gorilla GT Drift Elise watch in brand new condition. It features a green sweeping second hand, luminescent hour discs and a surrounding minute track in a matching yellow colour. The design is a contemporary reinterpretation of a 17th-century horologic mechanism and is powered by the proprietary G-5238 movement, surrounded by a woven forged carbon case in black, with titanium elements such as a screw-down crown, and a green ceramic bezel. The Gorilla Complications collection is also home to models such as the Outlaw Drift, the Thunderbolt, and the Drift Mirage.

The Fastback collection of Gorilla watches

The Gorilla Fastback collection comprises many models with layered dials and cases. Layered forged carbon cases and titanium features with aluminium parts create resilient and bold designs that you simply cannot miss in a crowded room. Vibrant and eye-catching, the colours and constructions of these cases are once again inspired by muscle cars, featuring easy-grip screw-down crowns, 100-meter water-resistant capabilities, and colour palettes that include Acid Green, Phantom Black and RS White. These colourways are not for the faint-hearted that’s for sure.

The Stinger Yellow Gorilla Fastback watch is a loud and proud model that is still new to the collection. Gorilla does not add new iterations to its lines all that often, so when it does, these models remains fresh for quite some time. The design of the Gorilla Fastback Stinger Yellow watch belongs to the brand’s titanium sub-collection and features white printed Super-LumiNova-coated numerals around the minute track against a matte dial, a bushed titanium caseback engraved with periodic symbols of the material composition, and a radial brushed, gunmetal-plated centre. Completed on a sporty yellow FKM Rubber & Cordura™ hybrid band with a titanium pin buckle, this resilient strap revives a historical 70s automotive vibe.

The Fastback GT collection of Gorilla watches

Lastly, the Gorilla Fastback GT watch collection is where the Mirage and Bandit models can be found. The Bandit model in particular offers more elegant and understated tones and will appeal to those in search of a dynamic and sporty timepiece but without the vivid colours. The design of the watch is inspired by a childhood poster car – the 1977 Firebird Bandit. Its rose gold-tinted accents sit against aluminium elements, a matching rose gold coloured flange and a forged carbon case. A mirror polished scratch-resistant black ceramic bezel surrounds a matte black dial with vertically brushed numerals galvanically treated in rose gold-tinted metal. Parts of the 90S5 calibre are exposed through the surface of the dial, whilst the caseback opens up a view to more of the movement. This Gorilla Fastback GT watch is completed on a Viton™ Rubber & perforated leather band with a titanium pin buckle fastening.