I don’t get many review watches in that immediately make me think, “man… I should probably just ask if I can buy this thing.” That was pretty much my reaction after unboxing the latest Raven Trekker in Gloss Grey. I’ve owned an earlier Trekker before and it’s one of those watches I still occasionally think about tracking back down. Raven was also one of the brands that really shaped my early interest in smaller, affordable watchmaking when I first started moving beyond the usual entry-level dive watches and into the broader enthusiast space.
After spending a few weeks with this new version, I came away thinking it’s the most refined Trekker Raven has made so far. The proportions feel more resolved, the slimmer case makes a noticeable difference on the wrist, and the gloss grey dial and bezel give the watch a different personality than I expected going in. Here’s how it all shook out.
Back to Earlier Ideas
If you’ve followed Raven for a while, then you already know the Trekker has gone through a handful of identity shifts over the years. Earlier versions leaned harder into chunkier dive watch territory, and the 2021 redesign especially moved the watch into a more familiar Black Bay-adjacent direction with the case and crown design. This newest version feels different to me. In some ways, it actually feels closer in spirit to the older Vintage 40 era than the more recent Trekkers.
The first thing I noticed once I had the watch sized was the thickness, or really the lack of it. At 12.5mm thick including the boxed sapphire crystal, this is the slimmest Trekker Raven has made so far, and it changes the entire wearing experience. Older versions always wore well enough, but this one feels more settled on the wrist. The flat case back helps quite a bit here too, especially paired with the compact 39mm case and 48mm lug-to-lug measurement. I ended up wearing it more because of that.
This is also where I stopped caring about the reduction from 300m to 200m of water resistance. I know some collectors get hung up on those numbers, but realistically, most dive watches spend more time near coffee shops, neck-beardy collectors, and keyboards than decompression chambers. The oversized screw-down crown still feels substantial, the case construction still feels robust, and nothing about the watch came across fragile or compromised during my time with it.
The Grey Dial Makes the Watch
I already knew I liked the Trekker platform going into this review. What surprised me was how much this gloss grey execution changed the overall personality of the watch.
Grey bezel and dial combinations are still oddly uncommon, especially when brands resist the urge to make them overly tactical or faux-industrial looking. Raven kept things restrained here. The ceramic bezel insert has a glossy finish that plays nicely against the polished surrounds on the applied markers, while the dial itself shifts constantly depending on the lighting. Most of the time, it actually appears much darker than the product photos suggest. Between the glossy surface and the aggressive blue AR coating on the crystal, the dial can drift into charcoal or almost blue-black territory indoors.
The watch feels more dynamic in person because of it, even though the overall layout stays very clean and familiar. The polished hands and indices keep things legible, and the small orange accents on the seconds hand and dial text break up the monochromatic look without turning the watch into a color experiment.
That said, the AR coating can occasionally throw a pretty noticeable blue glare across the crystal in certain light. It never became distracting enough to bother me, but it’s there, and some people are probably going to notice it immediately. The bezel itself is excellent. The coin-edge grip gives you plenty to hold onto, and the 120-click action feels firm and deliberate without becoming overly stiff. It’s one of those details that just feels sorted out.
A Better Everyday Wearer
The finishing on the case deserves some attention too because Raven made a few choices here that help separate the Trekker from a lot of similarly priced divers. The case is primarily brushed, but instead of placing the polished chamfer along the top edge of the case, Raven tucked it lower along the underside. It changes how the watch catches light and keeps the overall appearance more restrained on the wrist. Little details like drilled lugs also matter to me on watches like this. I still swap straps constantly, and I appreciate when a brand remembers there are people out there that want this.
The bracelet is straightforward in the best way possible. Oyster-style layouts are everywhere for a reason, and Raven’s version feels solid without becoming overbuilt or unnecessarily thick. The links are secured with single-sided screws, the taper from 20mm down to 16mm works well visually, and the bracelet balances the case nicely once sized.
The Nodex clasp system is probably the one area where my feelings are a bit mixed. Functionally, it works well. The on-the-fly adjustment makes it easy to fine-tune the fit throughout the day, and given how comfortably this watch already wears, that extra adjustability only helps. Still, I’m not completely sold on how the extension section looks once opened, and the review sample I had showed a little side-to-side looseness in the mechanism. That may simply come from this particular watch making the rounds as a review piece, but it stood out enough that it’s worth mentioning.
Living With the Trekker
Inside the watch is the Miyota 9015, and I’ve always had a soft spot for this series of movements. Maybe that’s because I’ve spent enough years around microbrands to stop obsessing over spec-sheet tribalism, but movements like this make a lot of sense to me in real-world ownership. The Trekker wound smoothly, kept excellent time during my review, and stayed mechanically unobtrusive the entire time I wore it. No loud rotor noise. No weird quirks. It just worked.
After the novelty wears off, the latest Trekker succeeds because everything feels more refined than before without losing the straightforward appeal that made earlier versions interesting in the first place. The dimensions are better. The case design feels more cohesive. The watch sits flatter and wears easier. Even the visual balance between the glossy dial, ceramic bezel, and polished accents feels more mature than some of the earlier Ravens I remember.
This would absolutely be the version of the Trekker I’d buy over the older ones now, which is probably the clearest compliment I can give it considering how much nostalgia I still have for those earlier watches. At $690, I think you’re getting a great deal here.
Unfortunately for me, this one has to go back. That’s probably for the best. I already own more dive watches than I realistically need, and part of collecting responsibly is knowing when admiration doesn’t necessarily need to turn into another purchase. Still, I’m glad Raven sent this particular configuration over because the gloss grey version ended up becoming my favorite of the current lineup pretty quickly. I can also understand why this one sold out. It’s great to see folks picking these up.
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.