A GMT is a traveler’s watch with a 24-hour hand that can measure time in more than one time zone. Since its arrival in the '50s (via Rolex ), the GMT watch has been widely emulated by other watch companies—ranging in price from a few hundred bucks to many thousands. Brands like Breitling , Seiko , TAG Heuer , and Omega all make great GMTs. So, in selecting our best GMT watch picks from a range of companies, we focused on a few different criteria: Does it have a connection to that original GMT, or is it totally its own vibe? Is it especially affordable while still being undeniably great? Finally, does it stand on its own as a unique masterpiece worthy of any collection?
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Aside from telling the time in at least two time zones, each of these standout GMT watches has something unique to offer. Our pick for the best overall GMT watch is the Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT . The brand is owned by Rolex, so you’re getting that level of quality at a fraction of the cost with the new Black Bay. At $4,600, it's still an investment—but it's a do-anything, wear-anywhere, keep-for-life GMT watch. If you're interested in other great watches and our best overall picks in multiple categories, check out our annual Watch Guide .
Tudor’s new Black Bay 58 GMT is definitely an investment, but it’s a do-anything, wear-anywhere, keep-for-life kind of watch. The boldness of the black dial is softened by the gold-tripped vintage cream hands and hour markers—and the black and red rotating bezel is even more striking in person than in pictures. The riveted bracelet is tapered in a way that makes the watch feel very light, and with the 39mm width, this works for all wrists and genders. The clasp is easily micro-adjustable without any tools, and high precision. The movement is a certified chronometer with a 65-hour power reserve, and water resistant to 200 meters. Tudor is owned by Rolex, and you’re getting that level of quality at a fraction of the cost of a Rolex GMT.
STRAP: Satin stainless steel bracelet, black rubber strap
Best Budget GMT Watch: Seiko 5 Sports Field GMT SSK023
Seiko 5 Sports Field GMT SSK023 Watch
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Believe it or not, this rugged steel beauty is the first 5 Sports watch Seiko has ever made with a GMT function. To a classic 5 Sports field watch dial, Seiko added a bright orange 5-sided GMT hand and a fixed steel bezel. The self-winding Seiko movement has an option to manually wind it, and it’s visible through the see-through caseback. With 100 meters water resistance, its rugged looks aren’t just for show, and the luminous hands, markers, and numerals make it very legible in the dark. It comes on an excellent steel bracelet, but we also recommend trying it on a NATO strap. If bang-for-buck value is your priority, you can stop reading now and just buy this watch, as it even edges the excellent Timex below on price.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Self-winding Seiko automatic movement
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 39.4mm
STRAP: Stainless steel bracelet
Best Manual Wind GMT Watch: Grand Seiko Spring Drive SPGE295 GMT
Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT SPGE295 Watch
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This manual-wind spring drive Grand Seiko is a mechanical work of art. When fully winded, it will run for a full 72 hours—and a power indicator hand on the dial lets you know when it’s time to give it another few twists. The dial itself is a rich, textured green color inspired by the Hotaka Mountains, which the Grand Seiko watchmakers look out over as they work. It beats a typical GMT by keeping time in three time zones: one on the rotating outer 24 hour bezel (like a GMT); a second time zone on the fixed inner 24-hour ring at the outermost edge of the dial; and a third with the standard hands and 12-hour markers. At 44mm wide, it's a substantial watch—but you'll need it to be large and legible to actually use the Triple Time functions.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Manual-wind spring drive
DIAL: Textured green
SIZE: 44mm
STRAP: Stainless steel bracelet
The Best Gold-Tone GMT Watch: Bulova Oceanographer GMT
Bulova Oceanographer GMT Watch
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A gold-tone GMT is a bold choice, but the Rolex GMT in gold costs as much as a sedan. The Bulova Oceanographer GMT in rose gold-tone stainless steel is a makeover of a classic automatic GMT that Bulova first introduced in 1969. The black and brown “Root Beer” bezel hue veers the gold tone into late-'60s, early-'70s cool—as does the dome sapphire crystal. It’s a statement timepiece, but it’s also a truly collectible one. The self-winding automatic movement has a 42-hour power reserve, and the screw-down crown allows for a surprisingly robust 200 meters of water resistance.
CASE: Rose gold-tone stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Automatic self-winding movement
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 41mm
STRAP: Rose gold-tone stainless steel bracelet
Best GMT Watch for Adventure: Timex Expedition North GMT Titanium Automatic
Timex Expedition North GMT Titanium Automatic Watch
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With a light but ultra-tough shock resistant titanium case and a waterproof silicone strap, Timex’s brand-new titanium GMT is built for down-to-earth adventures. Under the anti-reflective and scratch resistant sapphire crystal, the bright white hour and minute hands and the yellow GMT hand are easy to read against the matte black dial, even in darkness, thanks to their bright luminescence. The Japanese automatic self-winding movement is visible through the exhibition caseback and water resistant up to 200 meters. The strap comes with a quick release, should you want to easily dress it up with leather.
CASE: Bead-blasted titanium
MOVEMENT: Japanese self-winding automatic
DIAL: Matte black
SIZE: 41mm
STRAP: Silicone
Best Vintage-Styled GMT Watch: Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956 GMT
Echo/Neutra Cortina 1956 GMT Watch
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Designed in Italy, this Swiss-made, ’50s-inspired GMT looks like it came from the same zeitgeist as a 1950s Ferrari. Against the ocean blue dial, the bright orange-red GMT hand keeps home time on a 24-hour fixed bezel made of sapphire glass layered over Arabic numerals, and the domed Sapphire crystal has the flair of a sports car windscreen. Far from just a pretty face, it’s water resistant to 100 meters, and it comes with a rubber tropic strap you can use to actually take it diving. At just 12mm thick (thin for an automatic watch), this Cortina 1956 GMT is comfy on the wrist and won’t snag on your sport coat sleeves while you’re riding your vintage Vespa.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Swiss self-winding automatic
DIAL: Blue
SIZE: 40mm
STRAP: Leather and rubber
Best Modern GMT Watch: Bell & Ross BR-V2 93 GMT
Bell & Ross BR-V2 93 GMT Watch
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This is a classic GMT with clean modern lines from Bell & Ross, whose watches are inspired by aircraft cockpits. The simple black dial has numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9, achieving a minimalist look inspired by flight instrumentation—with the bright orange GMT hand providing a color accent against the inky black dial surrounded by a bi-directional rotating black bezel. You can buy it on a stainless steel bracelet or on a “tropic” rubber strap for $300 less—or better yet, get both. Simple and elegant, this is a Swiss-made GMT that will never go out of style.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Swiss self-winding automatic
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 41mm
STRAP: Polished stainless steel bracelet, rubber
What Is a GMT Watch?
By its simplest definition, a GMT is a traveler's watch with a 24-hour hand that can measure time in more than one time zone. Sean Connery’s James Bond made the Rolex Submariner famous in popular culture, while the GMT had Magnum P.I. with his blue-and-red bezel Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi,” and Hunter S. Thompson with his red-and-black “Coke” Rolex GMT-Master II. If a GMT says anything, it’s that your world is large and your range is wide.
Dual-time watches have existed since the 19 th century, becoming more necessary tools with the advent of 20th-century air travel—while migrating from pockets to wrists. Until the early 1950’s, if you were a pilot your best option for keeping tabs on two time zones was to wear a world timer watch that had a 24-hour index for one time zone and rotating bezels that could track another. It worked, but wasn’t as easy to instantly check as a GMT—where local time is measured by standard hands on a normal 12-hour dial, and a fourth hand tracks a second time zone (usually the wearer’s home time) on the 24-hour bezel.
This changed in 1954, when Pan Am Airlines asked Rolex to help them create a watch that would help their pilots easily keep track of their home and local time. Rolex responded with the GMT-Master, a title they coined in reference to Greenwich Mean Time. The original Rolex GMT, reference 6542, was 38mm wide with a red-and-blue 24-hour bezel (indicating day (red) and night (blue) respectively)—a coloring that came to be called “Pepsi” by collectors. These original GMTs cost $240, now selling vintage for $12k and up.
What to Look for in a GMT Watch
Something to take notice of when you’re shopping for a GMT is that some have fixed 24-hour bezels while others have rotating bezels. The benefit of a fixed bezel is that, once you set the 24-hour hand, it will always be accurate no matter how much you jostle it. The benefit of a rotating bezel is that after setting the 24-hour hand with the bezel in the home position at zero, you can then rotate it in either direction to get an accurate time in a different time zone without ever having to reset the 24-hour hand. In short, a rotating bezel offers more flexibility while a fixed bezel offers more simplicity and stability.
Why You Should Trust Me
In addition to writing for Men’s Journal, I have been covering gear and style for outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Maxim, Gear Patrol, Playboy, and Fatherly for over a decade. I first started writing about watches because I was intimated by them. So, I used watch writing as a way to learn about the world of watchmaking and collecting.
Over the years, I've interviewed the best vintage watch dealers in the world, founders of watch magazines steeped in the world of collecting, and the designers and entrepreneurs behind many watch brands themselves—from the smallest micro brands to Swiss conglomerates. My biggest takeaway from these different voices of the watch world, is that anyone can be a watch collector. Because no matter your budget, the most important thing is knowing what you like and what makes you happy.
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