The Gamboa Family

ABOUT: THE GAMBOA BACKSTORY

David Gamboa was born in Peru and moved to Guatemala when he was seven years old. His father was in the Peruvian Air Force, served as a flight instructor for the US Army, and founded a business selling medical supply products sourced from Peru. His mother was born in Switzerland, which influences David's taste in watches to this day.

Extensive travel and growing up with stints in the United States when his father worked there gave David his English. He also inherited his father's business acumen, studying in Guatemala and earning a Master's degree in Business Management.

 

 

"LIV is all about family. The brand has grown as our own family has grown. We truly view our fans as part of our extended family."

- Esti Chazanow

Co-Founder at LIV Watches

 

TIMELESS MOMENT: TAKING TIME FOR FAMILY

David's family is driven by hard work. Not only does he work in his small business, but his wife is also a professional dietician who puts in just as much time. She is so booked, and her next available appointments are weeks away.

But, they also realize life is what happens when you're busy making other plans, so be present. There's beauty in the mundane. The little moments in between the bigger ones, they're brief, but last a lifetime. The fleeting smiles, the warm embraces, time that is spent and not wasted. LIV for the moment. Only after we disconnect can we reconnect with what matters most, family.

Their twin sons were born at 31 weeks. As David points out, "When they were born, they were in the ICU, and my wife was also. My whole family was in the ICU. It was very stressful. Sometimes we can forget about that, and we need to enjoy each moment."

"They are 2.5 years old now, and there's something new every day. At the end of the day, I go to sleep and am so excited to see them the next morning, seeing them smiling."

"We do value the time we have with our family. We try to spend as much time together as possible. Weekends are family time from the end of Friday to the beginning of Monday, and we always try to spend time together, even if it's something small, like having lunch outside or bike riding; I think it's important to leave work at work."

"It's so complicated now with so many of us having to work from home, but it's important to differentiate. The challenge for us working from home, the confinement we've experienced through covid, and getting the children used to wearing masks, have all been challenging. We cherish our family time together and try to spend as much of it as we can."

 

A PASSIONATE AND FULFILLING LIFE

"I am passionate about cars and motorcycles, and always have been," says David. "And, I love speed. For example, let me give you a funny anecdote. I had just gotten my driver's license, right around when I was 16. I was able to drive a BMW a friend of my father owned. I got it up to 90 km/hour. I was thrilled and didn't hesitate to tell my Dad." When he heard my exploit, he said, "Just remember, I have been at supersonic speeds." He had flown the F-15, an achievement that put my BMW adventure to shame.

"Driving motorcycles give me true happiness," he continues. "Guatemala has beautiful, gorgeous scenery, and whenever we can, we speed around on the motorcycle. We just got a new car, and I am already thinking about tuning it up to see how fast I can get it to go."

 

"I share David's obsession with speed, as do so many of our fans. There's a natural affinity between such an obsession and an obsession with timekeeping and watches. In fact, the LIV Rebel-AR, our racing-inspired collection, beautifully celebrates that obsession!"

- Chaz Chazanow
Co-Founder at LIV Watches

 

CONNECTING: LIV AS INSPIRATION

David is nothing if not precise and focused. He had made up his mind to purchase a mechanical automatic timepiece that had the following attributes:

• Swiss-made, to honor his mother's country of birth
• Use sapphire crystal, for durability, learned first-hand
• Exhibition case back to show off the intricate mechanics of the watch
• Equally at appropriate in casual and formal settings

 

The GX1-A was the perfect solution, ticking all his requirement boxes and doing it with style and value.

What does he think of his LIV investment? "I love the watch and wear it every day. What drew me to the LIV brand, their entrepreneurial spirit." As he says, "My wife and I both work so hard at what we do, in our small companies, we still have that entrepreneurship spirit. Almost everyone is an entrepreneur these days, but when you can truly be an entrepreneur, you start to understand the struggles and how hard it can be."

THE WATCH: LIV GX1-A FULL LUME

Movement
Sellita SW200 Swiss Automatic 26 jewel Élaboré grade movement with date, 40-hour power reserve

Case
High-grade 316L stainless steel

Dial and hands

 

 

Multi-layer sandwich dial with applied indexes and stenciled numbers, steel sword-shaped hands with BGW9 luminescence

Crystal
Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, sapphire crystal also on skeleton case back

Crown
Screw down with LIV logo enamel inlay

Water resistance
100 meters (330 feet)

Dimensions
Case diameter: 42 mm
Case height: 11.6 mm
Lug width: 22.0 mm
Height with Lug: 50 mm