Caller GMT --> when your family/business associate lives across the pond and don't want to wake them up. You set the 2nd time zone to their time and never need to change it. Unlike Traveler GMT, where you're constantly on the move and need to make frequent time adjustments.
As a pilot who lands in multiple time zones daily. I never touch the crown once set. I set the main hands to my home time, GMT hand to GMT, and only move the BEZEL to the time I travel to. Much less hassle than pulling the crown 3 or 4 times a day.
@@maxpayneau yes. I set the GMT hand to the 24hr indexes on the dial face, then I turn the bezel so that the GMT hand points to the local time on the bezel.
Excellent video, Marc. As a pilot, I cannot tell you how much easier a True (or pilot) GMT watch is for people like me. I have several Office GMT pieces and wore them for years in the flight deck. I recently hit a major career milestone and to commemorate it I purchased a new True GMT that I had wanted for quite a while. The difference is DRAMATIC for an actual traveler. On my office GMT pieces I would actually use the GMT hand as my local hand and the normal hour hand as the GMT hand because the local hour cannot be set independently on an office GMT. Now I can just pop my local hand to where it should be and my GMT hand remains the same. The piece can ACTUALLY tell THREE time zones. Set your local time to where you are, set your GMT to UTC (what pilots actually use) and then rotate your bezel to set whatever third time zone you want. For example. Let’s say I am in NYC at 12 noon. I set my local to show that. Now I set UTC to 1600 (UTC/GMT) is +4 hours off ETC. Now let’s say my wife is in California. Which is -3. I can rotate the bezel to show 0900 (Cali time) via the bezel and GMT hand, UTC via the GMT hand and markers, and my local time via the local hands. That is how the dial was intended to be used when developed for PanAm pilots. It would show their origin time, destination time, and UTC time. And yes the True GMT truly helps do that!
so you use your "normal hands" of where you're going???? That's way more confusing. And then you reset your "normal hands" to hometown when you get back? That's way more work. Just use your GMT hand for where you're going. I keep my watch to my hometown ALWAYS and use my GMT hand for where I'm going. Much easier with an "office" gmt. [my buddy has a "true gmt"... to be honest neither one takes that much more time to set. They just work different. It's not going to save you a whole day off on a saturday LOL... and I actually think the "office" is quicker to set]
Although I find the true GMT more convenient, you can still easily use the office GMT the same way as long as it comes with a bidirectional bezel. You just don't use the crown to change locations. The 24 hour hand stays set at GMT, the 12 hour hand stays set at your home base, and you adjust to your location with the bezel using the GMT +/- for where you are, or are going. You still have three time zone tracking as GMT is always showing with zero hour at the top, your location with the adjusted zero hour and home time on the 12 hour dial display.
Excellent job Marc in explaining the differences and advantages of the True GMT vs Office or Caller GMT. When the new Seiko GMTs were released I watched your older watch & learn on this topic which was invaluable by the way. So then I decided that I had to evaluate samples of both to decide on which one was right for me. So I bought the new Seiko with the 4R34 movement as well as a 200 m Citizen ecodrive with a True GMT movement, the latter coming from the JDM. After playing around with both, I decided I needed one of each...the caller GMT to keep track of times with business associates in other time zones and the true GMT to set set the local time when I travel while keeping track of home time. Keep up the great work Marc because your knowledge and transparency sets you apart from any regular watch dealer!
I want to take the time to thank you for explaining the difference between an office GMT and a travelers GMT watch. I wondered why I’d hear people say the new Seiko GMT was a real GMT, but it is. It just functions differently.
I always remembered these are the caller GMT was like those lines of clocks on office walls in movies showing the time in other cities. My brain understands using the hands like: On the caller GMT you use the regular hands as normal (home time) and the red hand is the time where the other fellow is. Traveller is the opposite - regular hands are the time where you travelled to (local time in a foreign place) and the GMT is the time at home (Or Zulu time if you are a pilot).
First, GMT in aviation is not used anymore, today is called UTC TIME, and is the reference time in all the world, so that time never changes. What really change is your local time if you are traveling…..
A major benefit of the caller GMT which isn't talked about enough is the ability to quick adjust the date. It makes setting the watch properly much less of a pain.
Finally, some love for a Kinetic, and a GMT at that. Too bad Seiko isn’t manufacturing Kinetics anymore. Have 2 of them and maintenance was never an issue.
As a pilot my real problem is to know what day is it. So I found a 12 hours bezel and a day date watch is more useful to me. Sadly can’t find any gmt with date day complication , except ball watch wich is not my cup of tea. Many thanks for the info!
Excellent video Marc, the information is useful. I travel quite a bit between Istanbul and Jakarta to the east and the UK to the west and I actually use my $30 Casio Royale. Lol. It really is the best World Time watch in existence AND, with its plastic construction, rarely have to take it off going through the detector, except for the odd fussy security people, usually in Germany. Lol! I do intend to add a GMT to my collection though in 2023.
Thanks for the video Marc. You mentioned the GMT you will be releasing. Has Seiko made the NH34 available yet? We can't wait to see what you come up with.
Marc, Thanks very much for this Watch and Learn, your timing is perfect. I recently bought the new Longines Zulu Time and am in love with it. Got it just before making two back to back work trips crossing multiple time zones and it worked like a charm. Take care.
As someone who travels between time zones for work the travelers GMT is the only real option. But I replaced it w/ a Casio Oceanus T200. Not traveling internationally anymore and knowing the time anywhere in the US is easy. Land at airport, connect watch to phone and watch in amazement as the watch changes time.
Hi, great overview! I remember years ago (when I was not a watch addicted) travelling to NewDehli in India and there was (is) 4.5 hour difference to my home town. How you set that...
Yeah it won't work on any place with a 30 minute increment from GMT time. Newfoundland for example which is too bad as Gander is last airport before going across the Atlantic...a bigger deal I guess when planes had no choice but to refuel there.
🤔Two (2) questions: 1.) How can you tell whether a GMT is true or a caller? 2.) Should I avoid changing the date when only the GMT hand reads ~2100-0200?
As a pilot I’ve been looking for an entry level Pepsi GMT with true GMT functionality… would you mind recommending a few models? Also where are you based… if you’re at one of my common destinations maybe I could swing by and look at some inventory! Thanks in advance!
Thanks Marc! Had no idea there was a difference! That said, I think I'd have to travel a LOT to not just do the simple math in my head, LOL. But I can see the appeal.
My rule is, I prefer an "office" GMT if the watch has a rotating exterior bezel. If the watch has a fixed bezel, like the Rolex Explorer 2, then I prefer a true "traveler's" GMT. The exception would be my Seiko Alpinist GMT, only because I love the interior rotating bezel. I use the interior rotating bezel to track elapsed time, just like I would with an exterior rotating bezel.
Thank you Marc for the practical educational video. I have mentioned this in different videos about GMT watches. And thought of sharing my opinion on my favorite watch youtube as well. Although, almost all people refer GMTs as true or not without much thought this has some room for thoughts 1. When thinking of the definition of the word, “true” is not the most accurate (rather wrong) to describe the traveler GMT. They both tell multiple zone times without a problem. 2. Considering the first GMT watches released are Glycine Airmen and Rolex GMT master as some might know already. They are the first ‘original’ GMT watches which are entitled to be called “TRUE” more, but did not have jumping hour features of course, yet they are close the concept of “true”. 3. Calling true makes unnecessary misleading perception towards each of them. Such as traveler GMTs are superior than office GMTs yet they both are genuine GMT watches and both tell the multiple times without a problem. Just like quartz and mechanical watch debate. Whoever thought of coming up with this name IMO came from a watch snobbery mindset.
As cool as GMT watches are, the dirty little secret is that MOST people can get by with a simple 24 hour bezel set to a second time zone, (which is available on many watches, and can be mimicked with a timing bezel). Doesn't mean that part of me doesn't WANT a true, or even office, GMT....because like most watch enthusiasts....I just love watch complications. 😆
Also most flyer GMTs are non-hacking when adjusting the timezone. Can't imagine a few seconds off being a big deal but some that care enough about the difference between caller and flyer will care about that also.
I want whichever one lets people on the internet know that I have the good one and then I want to remorselessly mock and belittle the people that have the other one. Which one is that?
I don't travel much, and when I do it's no more than a week. So I normally change the 12H Bezel/GMT hand (I got a Boldr GMT and a Marathon Navigator) to sync with my Destination. I figure it be redundant to change the 12H hands if I'm coming back to change it again.
Thanks Mark for the explanation. Saw some interesting and knowledgeable comments here that help with my understanding on how to use, the benefits of the traveler GMT vs caller/office GMT. From my view (I travel cross different time zones and also observed the different time zones of my customers and colleagues), the ultimate solution is having a watch with 24 hour hand/dial (rotate one full circle after 24-hours), comes with GMT hand and bezel with 24-hour markers. At a glance one can tell actually the different time you are tracking including the day and night hours. Doesn’t matter much is the movement deemed as true GMT or traveler’s GMT as one only need to decide which one (local hour hand, GMT hand, or bezel) is designated to track which time zones, and make changes when one travel across or simply change the different time zone while not traveling, depending how the movement can be set conveniently. I believe the Glycine Airman purist does this?
I have a Seiko Kinetic model 5M85-OAEO and the hour hand moves in two hour increments not one. Maybe this watch has a problem with the gears. If I set the GMT which is 6 hours ahead of my local time, it never stays six hours separation. It's useless. I would like to find a watch where I can set the GMT and local time so that it tracks correctly. I have a use for that function.
But can’t you just keep local time on the GMT hand and home time or Zulu time on the regular hour hand when using the office GMT? Granted, you don’t get the date correction, but it still works without screwing up home time or Zulu time.
Yeah I thought the same, just use the GMT hand as local time if you are changing time zones that often that it's an issue. The other thing is if you don't wear the GMT every day and rotate it in and out of a collection the hour hand needs to be advanced 24 hours to change the date by one. If it'd the first of the month and the watch has the 15th, that is a bit of a pain to change
You can look into watches with the swiss Ronda 515.24H movement; it can track half-hour timezones. One example is the Phoibos Eagle Ray GMT, but there are other brands also using that movement (I have also a Wenger that uses it).
Downside of mechanical GMT mechanisms: if you call or travel to India, Nepal, Newfoundland, or parts of Australia (e.g. Adelaide) then the mechanism is useless because the time difference is not a whole number of hours, so the watch can't display your local time and 2nd time simultaneously. If you frequently visit or live in one of those places I would not even bother with a GMT watch, wear two watches or get a (quartz?) watch that has a dual time or world time feature.
Hi Mark, I have been watching your watch education series and enjoying them very much. I am a long time watch enthusiast. As a professional pilot and flight instructor I have always admired the Rolex GMT Master. Of course, I could never afford one on an instructor’s salary. Currently I have an Apple Watch 7 with a GMT face among several others. Obviously, since I don’t change time zones, an office GMT would work for me. Keep up the good work and good luck with your Island brand watches.
If we meomrize some UTC numbers of the world(Japan +9, Thailand +7, New York -5, EU +1,...) then true GMT watch shows all abroad local times just by rotating bezel to fit the UTC number of there to the 12 O'clock position, not restricted 2 or 3 zones but all.
Thanks Marc for the watch and learn. I've had my SSK003 for about a week....I'm very pleased with it. I use it to keep track of UTC for ham radio....log books for contacts are referenced to UTC. The office GMT works perfect for this application.
This may seem like nitpicking, but although everything said in the video is factually correct, I think it does not give the Office GMT its proper due, and thereby it perpetuates the biased view that the Traveller's GMT is the true GMT. As the video explains at length, the Traveller's GMT is ideal when crossing time zones, as one can change the 12 hour hand without stopping the movement. Time remains accurate, and assuming one uses the 12 hour hand for local time, this is exactly what one wants in this case. What the video failed to emphasize is the different use case of somebody who remains in the same timezone, but wants to keep track of another time zone *and* change from time to time which other timezone to track. This is where the Office GMT shines because one can adjust the 24 hour hand without stopping the movement. Which style is better for an individual depends on which use case arises more often for that individual. The video focused on which hour hand moves when adjusting time, but I think more significant is which hour hand one can adjust without stopping the movement, i.e., while maintaining accurate time.
Unfortunately people who live it Odd timezones can't really use GMT and have to be content with just having watches with two separate times like the nighthawk
I watched this clip twice to make certain I saw what you were doing. About that Seiko 5 GMT: Set the hour hand to your local time. Set the GMT hand to… UTC/Zulu. Leave it there, adjusting the GMT hand only when DST changes at your local time. Use the bezel to set local destination time. You’re now using three time zones, or what I like to think of as Z+2. If you’re traveling for pleasure, you’re probably not using Zulu. Being able to jump the hour hand to reflect local destination time is fine. That is what (I think misleadingly) a ‘true’ gmt is good for. I’d rather adjust the bezel to reflect local destination time than to constantly be pulling the crown to adjust the hour hand to local destination time. I’m not everyone, of course. Side note: Rolex actually only introduced a ‘true’ gmt in.. 1983. My own take: the GMT Master 1 was an actual ‘office’ gmt. You couldn’t adjust the fourth hand independently of the hour hand; until 1983, it was slaved. You had to use the bezel to read Zulu. Basically, a dual timer. There were already ‘true’ gmts before Rolex finally got around to innovating a jumping hour hand. Yet, when you’ve essentially only got a dual timer, or only know to use what you’ve got that way, it’s not a helpful distinction. I hope, if you do make an Islander with this movement, that you include a 24 hr marking on both the dial, as well as the bezel.
To clarify, I don’t begrudge the common usage of office vs. true gmt, but I think it’s misleading and confusing. If you think of an independent hour hand and an independent gmt hand as two types of what constitutes a true gmt, you can readily identify a slaved gmt hand as an office gmt.
Lol...you didn't waste it...think about it, to change time zones is usually at least a 3 or 4 hour flight, the extra minute or so to adjust an office gmt is no big deal. Also the true gmt doesn't have quick set date, the hour hand has to be changed by 24 hours so if you are rotating it out of a collection of watches and its the first of the month but the true GMT has the date at the 15th....bit of a pain to set. In any case you can leave the regular hands at your home time and just adjust the GMT hand to local time if you are constantly changing time zones.
An "office GMT" is a practical dual-timer useful to everyone and a "true GMT" is great for adjusting the hour hand when you're on the go. Office GMT can also be used as a military/standard time complication.
Caller GMT --> when your family/business associate lives across the pond and don't want to wake them up. You set the 2nd time zone to their time and never need to change it. Unlike Traveler GMT, where you're constantly on the move and need to make frequent time adjustments.
Guess I was right! Thanks for the info.
that's what i was thinking. wanting to check their time before you call them.
As a pilot who lands in multiple time zones daily. I never touch the crown once set. I set the main hands to my home time, GMT hand to GMT, and only move the BEZEL to the time I travel to. Much less hassle than pulling the crown 3 or 4 times a day.
Yes! And bonus, both of those movements can do this perfectly so long as they live in a watch with the GMT bezel.
pretty sure you no pilot but ok
@@bonnystarks pretty sure I am.
But your watch has 24 indexes on the dial too?
@@maxpayneau yes. I set the GMT hand to the 24hr indexes on the dial face, then I turn the bezel so that the GMT hand points to the local time on the bezel.
Excellent video, Marc. As a pilot, I cannot tell you how much easier a True (or pilot) GMT watch is for people like me. I have several Office GMT pieces and wore them for years in the flight deck. I recently hit a major career milestone and to commemorate it I purchased a new True GMT that I had wanted for quite a while. The difference is DRAMATIC for an actual traveler. On my office GMT pieces I would actually use the GMT hand as my local hand and the normal hour hand as the GMT hand because the local hour cannot be set independently on an office GMT. Now I can just pop my local hand to where it should be and my GMT hand remains the same.
The piece can ACTUALLY tell THREE time zones. Set your local time to where you are, set your GMT to UTC (what pilots actually use) and then rotate your bezel to set whatever third time zone you want. For example. Let’s say I am in NYC at 12 noon. I set my local to show that. Now I set UTC to 1600 (UTC/GMT) is +4 hours off ETC. Now let’s say my wife is in California. Which is -3. I can rotate the bezel to show 0900 (Cali time) via the bezel and GMT hand, UTC via the GMT hand and markers, and my local time via the local hands. That is how the dial was intended to be used when developed for PanAm pilots. It would show their origin time, destination time, and UTC time. And yes the True GMT truly helps do that!
Cool info, thank you!
Fantastic additional information. Thanks. Had to read it twice though! 😀
so you use your "normal hands" of where you're going???? That's way more confusing. And then you reset your "normal hands" to hometown when you get back? That's way more work. Just use your GMT hand for where you're going. I keep my watch to my hometown ALWAYS and use my GMT hand for where I'm going. Much easier with an "office" gmt. [my buddy has a "true gmt"... to be honest neither one takes that much more time to set. They just work different. It's not going to save you a whole day off on a saturday LOL... and I actually think the "office" is quicker to set]
Although I find the true GMT more convenient, you can still easily use the office GMT the same way as long as it comes with a bidirectional bezel. You just don't use the crown to change locations. The 24 hour hand stays set at GMT, the 12 hour hand stays set at your home base, and you adjust to your location with the bezel using the GMT +/- for where you are, or are going. You still have three time zone tracking as GMT is always showing with zero hour at the top, your location with the adjusted zero hour and home time on the 12 hour dial display.
Excellent job Marc in explaining the differences and advantages of the True GMT vs Office or Caller GMT. When the new Seiko GMTs were released I watched your older watch & learn on this topic which was invaluable by the way. So then I decided that I had to evaluate samples of both to decide on which one was right for me. So I bought the new Seiko with the 4R34 movement as well as a 200 m Citizen ecodrive with a True GMT movement, the latter coming from the JDM. After playing around with both, I decided I needed one of each...the caller GMT to keep track of times with business associates in other time zones and the true GMT to set set the local time when I travel while keeping track of home time. Keep up the great work Marc because your knowledge and transparency sets you apart from any regular watch dealer!
Thanks Jim, glad to hear the videos help.
I want to take the time to thank you for explaining the difference between an office GMT and a travelers GMT watch. I wondered why I’d hear people say the new Seiko GMT was a real GMT, but it is. It just functions differently.
Much love & respect! Youve been a wealth of information and transparency in the watch industry/watch world, for many years! Dont ever quit, Mark!
Thanks Robert.
I always remembered these are the caller GMT was like those lines of clocks on office walls in movies showing the time in other cities. My brain understands using the hands like: On the caller GMT you use the regular hands as normal (home time) and the red hand is the time where the other fellow is. Traveller is the opposite - regular hands are the time where you travelled to (local time in a foreign place) and the GMT is the time at home (Or Zulu time if you are a pilot).
Thanks Alan.
Or, the Mary Tyler Moore newsroom!
First, GMT in aviation is not used anymore, today is called UTC TIME, and is the reference time in all the world, so that time never changes. What really change is your local time if you are traveling…..
Best explanation I’ve seen so far between the two. Thank you!
Thank you. Just bought an SSK-001K1 and thought it wasn’t working. I appreciate your instruction on reading the 24 hour hand.
Why is the red hour hand (GMT hand) so off the mark at the top of the hours after he adjusts it??? Is that normal?......
A major benefit of the caller GMT which isn't talked about enough is the ability to quick adjust the date. It makes setting the watch properly much less of a pain.
Should mention the date adjustment process for the pilot's GMT. Could be PITA depending if you have a dedicated date crown or not.
Don’t know why I didn’t see your video earlier. Arguably the best GMT watch explanation among so many out there! Thanks!!
Finally, some love for a Kinetic, and a GMT at that. Too bad Seiko isn’t manufacturing Kinetics anymore. Have 2 of them and maintenance was never an issue.
As a pilot my real problem is to know what day is it. So I found a 12 hours bezel and a day date watch is more useful to me. Sadly can’t find any gmt with date day complication , except ball watch wich is not my cup of tea. Many thanks for the info!
Excellent video Marc, the information is useful. I travel quite a bit between Istanbul and Jakarta to the east and the UK to the west and I actually use my $30 Casio Royale. Lol. It really is the best World Time watch in existence AND, with its plastic construction, rarely have to take it off going through the detector, except for the odd fussy security people, usually in Germany. Lol! I do intend to add a GMT to my collection though in 2023.
Eagerly awaiting your GMT release that was mentioned.
Same here!
Me too
Same here Marc, which one will you use?
Love the Watch & Learn series
Thank you! Best video on this topic by far!
I just got my ssk005 I ordered from your website today, im shocked at how quickly you got it here and it looks beautiful. Thanks so much
Thanks for the video Marc. You mentioned the GMT you will be releasing. Has Seiko made the NH34 available yet? We can't wait to see what you come up with.
Marc, Thanks very much for this Watch and Learn, your timing is perfect. I recently bought the new Longines Zulu Time and am in love with it. Got it just before making two back to back work trips crossing multiple time zones and it worked like a charm. Take care.
Thanks Steve, glad to hear it!
As someone who travels between time zones for work the travelers GMT is the only real option. But I replaced it w/ a Casio Oceanus T200. Not traveling internationally anymore and knowing the time anywhere in the US is easy. Land at airport, connect watch to phone and watch in amazement as the watch changes time.
Haha, true!
Thanks Marc. I think I’ll stick with the non GMT watches since I rarely travel. Here’s an 🍎 for the teacher! 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸
Thanks for watching.
Great explanation. Thanks. Looking forward to the islander GMT.
You bet!
Super helpful Marc! Thank you.
Hi, great overview! I remember years ago (when I was not a watch addicted) travelling to NewDehli in India and there was (is) 4.5 hour difference to my home town. How you set that...
A G-Shock.
You can't!
For this you need an Astron 🤣
Yeah it won't work on any place with a 30 minute increment from GMT time. Newfoundland for example which is too bad as Gander is last airport before going across the Atlantic...a bigger deal I guess when planes had no choice but to refuel there.
I love both but would rather have the Traveler. I would also love to see these features in one of the Islanders.
Great video. Glad that you made this one. It was hard for my wife to understand the difference, so this video came at the perfect time.
Glad it helped!
🤔Two (2) questions:
1.) How can you tell whether a GMT is true or a caller?
2.) Should I avoid changing the date when only the GMT hand reads ~2100-0200?
Really enjoy your watch and learns.
Do you plan to make gmt islander in the near future?
Always love a good watch and learn!
Me too, LOL
thanks, looking forward to this w&l-video about GMTs.
Great
I have a Steinhart gmt and after watching this I still have no idea how it works, I just don’t care, it’s a gorgeous watch and I love it
As a pilot I’ve been looking for an entry level Pepsi GMT with true GMT functionality… would you mind recommending a few models? Also where are you based… if you’re at one of my common destinations maybe I could swing by and look at some inventory!
Thanks in advance!
Great video, Marc! Best, Rob in Switzerland
Your the best Marc
Have my Glycine Airman 18 purist (non GMT true 24hr) bezel on Zulu time. Some watches can track 3 time zones like the GMT Airman's
Cool, thank you
Thanks Marc! Had no idea there was a difference! That said, I think I'd have to travel a LOT to not just do the simple math in my head, LOL. But I can see the appeal.
Thanks Bill
some time zones have a half-hour difference. do both these watches allow you to track those time zones?
Great video 👍, didn't know this.
Thanks for this.
Mark, do you think you'd ever put the new Miyota 9075 (Travelers/True GMT) movement in those GMT watches you mentioned?
Thank you for that really easy to understand explanation and demonstration, Mark.
Great, thanks!
Gonna go check out that PADI, thank you
It's an oldie
Does the bezel move on the caller watch? You'd be able to set your home time with that.
Thanks for explaining this.
Marc, what watch would you use if you deal with Mumbai. Their time is on the half hour. Both of these look like they are locked to the hour.
Get one that connects to your phone or has radio sync.
You are SOL
I use the bezel too 😅. We used Zulu time at work.
My rule is, I prefer an "office" GMT if the watch has a rotating exterior bezel. If the watch has a fixed bezel, like the Rolex Explorer 2, then I prefer a true "traveler's" GMT. The exception would be my Seiko Alpinist GMT, only because I love the interior rotating bezel. I use the interior rotating bezel to track elapsed time, just like I would with an exterior rotating bezel.
The only thing I would a GMT watch use is for showing time in 24H format, so for me both solutions are suitable..
Thank You, most informative.
Thank you Marc for the practical educational video. I have mentioned this in different videos about GMT watches. And thought of sharing my opinion on my favorite watch youtube as well.
Although, almost all people refer GMTs as true or not without much thought this has some room for thoughts
1. When thinking of the definition of the word, “true” is not the most accurate (rather wrong) to describe the traveler GMT. They both tell multiple zone times without a problem.
2. Considering the first GMT watches released are Glycine Airmen and Rolex GMT master as some might know already. They are the first ‘original’ GMT watches which are entitled to be called “TRUE” more, but did not have jumping hour features of course, yet they are close the concept of “true”.
3. Calling true makes unnecessary misleading perception towards each of them. Such as traveler GMTs are superior than office GMTs yet they both are genuine GMT watches and both tell the multiple times without a problem. Just like quartz and mechanical watch debate. Whoever thought of coming up with this name IMO came from a watch snobbery mindset.
With the office GMT, I could just keep the hour hand as my home time and change the GMT hand as the local time, right?
As cool as GMT watches are, the dirty little secret is that MOST people can get by with a simple 24 hour bezel set to a second time zone, (which is available on many watches, and can be mimicked with a timing bezel). Doesn't mean that part of me doesn't WANT a true, or even office, GMT....because like most watch enthusiasts....I just love watch complications. 😆
True,
Also most flyer GMTs are non-hacking when adjusting the timezone. Can't imagine a few seconds off being a big deal but some that care enough about the difference between caller and flyer will care about that also.
interesting. i like casio digital for travelling to multiple time zone.
I want whichever one lets people on the internet know that I have the good one and then I want to remorselessly mock and belittle the people that have the other one. Which one is that?
That’s a G-Shock.
GMT Master, LOL
I don't travel much, and when I do it's no more than a week. So I normally change the 12H Bezel/GMT hand (I got a Boldr GMT and a Marathon Navigator) to sync with my Destination. I figure it be redundant to change the 12H hands if I'm coming back to change it again.
@LongIslandWatch on Telegram Nice try Impersonator.
Good explanation. It should be mandatory that every GMT watch review must state whether it is a caller or traveler GMT.
Can a travel GMT also be used in any way as office gmt, if needed?
Marc, you get that NH-whatever aftermarket Seiko movement into a GMT Islander and I'll buy one immediately. Seriously!
@LongIslandWatch on Telegram Yeah, fuck off scammer.
Awesome video. Thanks Marc
Thank you
Thanks Mark for the explanation.
Saw some interesting and knowledgeable comments here that help with my understanding on how to use, the benefits of the traveler GMT vs caller/office GMT.
From my view (I travel cross different time zones and also observed the different time zones of my customers and colleagues), the ultimate solution is having a watch with 24 hour hand/dial (rotate one full circle after 24-hours), comes with GMT hand and bezel with 24-hour markers.
At a glance one can tell actually the different time you are tracking including the day and night hours. Doesn’t matter much is the movement deemed as true GMT or traveler’s GMT as one only need to decide which one (local hour hand, GMT hand, or bezel) is designated to track which time zones, and make changes when one travel across or simply change the different time zone while not traveling, depending how the movement can be set conveniently.
I believe the Glycine Airman purist does this?
Thanks for commenting; I'm not familiar with the Glycine, though.
I have a Seiko Kinetic model 5M85-OAEO and the hour hand moves in two hour increments not one. Maybe this watch has a problem with the gears. If I set the GMT which is 6 hours ahead of my local time, it never stays six hours separation. It's useless. I would like to find a watch where I can set the GMT and local time so that it tracks correctly. I have a use for that function.
But can’t you just keep local time on the GMT hand and home time or Zulu time on the regular hour hand when using the office GMT? Granted, you don’t get the date correction, but it still works without screwing up home time or Zulu time.
Yeah I thought the same, just use the GMT hand as local time if you are changing time zones that often that it's an issue. The other thing is if you don't wear the GMT every day and rotate it in and out of a collection the hour hand needs to be advanced 24 hours to change the date by one. If it'd the first of the month and the watch has the 15th, that is a bit of a pain to change
Just get a Casio AE-1200 and you have a true GMT with 4 or 5 timezones :)
Is the Steinhart “GMT” a true GMT or an office GMT, guys? Thank you very much in advance.
Do GMT movements exist that allow for the half-hour timezones (e.g. Pune India)?
You can look into watches with the swiss Ronda 515.24H movement; it can track half-hour timezones. One example is the Phoibos Eagle Ray GMT, but there are other brands also using that movement (I have also a Wenger that uses it).
Not in the affordable sector (mechanical)
For these uneven timezones (India, Nepal, South Australia, Myanmar), I use the Seiko Astron GPS.
Will there be any gmt bezel options to your new brands?
Not planned yet.
Downside of mechanical GMT mechanisms: if you call or travel to India, Nepal, Newfoundland, or parts of Australia (e.g. Adelaide) then the mechanism is useless because the time difference is not a whole number of hours, so the watch can't display your local time and 2nd time simultaneously. If you frequently visit or live in one of those places I would not even bother with a GMT watch, wear two watches or get a (quartz?) watch that has a dual time or world time feature.
You answered the question I was going to ask ... India is GMT + 5:30 ... If one can't adjust the GMT hand in 30min increments, it won't work for me. 😞
Hi Mark, I have been watching your watch education series and enjoying them very much. I am a long time watch enthusiast. As a professional pilot and flight instructor I have always admired the Rolex GMT Master. Of course, I could never afford one on an instructor’s salary. Currently I have an Apple Watch 7 with a GMT face among several others. Obviously, since I don’t change time zones, an office GMT would work for me. Keep up the good work and good luck with your Island brand watches.
If we meomrize some UTC numbers of the world(Japan +9, Thailand +7, New York -5, EU +1,...) then true GMT watch shows all abroad local times just by rotating bezel to fit the UTC number of there to the 12 O'clock position, not restricted 2 or 3 zones but all.
that was very educational.
if i'm traveling constantly, i'll just adjust the bezel, keeping the GMT hand on UTC.
I have the SUN023 since 2016.
What's the reference number for the Kinetic?
SUN065
I can't wait for your GMT😁
Me too, LOL
Thanks Marc for the watch and learn. I've had my SSK003 for about a week....I'm very pleased with it. I use it to keep track of UTC for ham radio....log books for contacts are referenced to UTC. The office GMT works perfect for this application.
Cool, thanks!
Watch and learn, Yeah! my favorite way to pass a saturday
7:11 Seiko jam bagus dan harga ramah di kantong ,itu membuat aku menyukainya
I LOVE changing my watch when the captain gives me the local time whenever we land. For me, it symbolizes that I’m somewhere fun and different.
True GMT is superior in every way, imo, except that the true GMTs don’t usually have a quickset date.
Right!
This may seem like nitpicking, but although everything said in the video is factually correct, I think it does not give the Office GMT its proper due, and thereby it perpetuates the biased view that the Traveller's GMT is the true GMT.
As the video explains at length, the Traveller's GMT is ideal when crossing time zones, as one can change the 12 hour hand without stopping the movement. Time remains accurate, and assuming one uses the 12 hour hand for local time, this is exactly what one wants in this case.
What the video failed to emphasize is the different use case of somebody who remains in the same timezone, but wants to keep track of another time zone *and* change from time to time which other timezone to track. This is where the Office GMT shines because one can adjust the 24 hour hand without stopping the movement.
Which style is better for an individual depends on which use case arises more often for that individual.
The video focused on which hour hand moves when adjusting time, but I think more significant is which hour hand one can adjust without stopping the movement, i.e., while maintaining accurate time.
You nailed it!
Thanks for the feedback! Great explanation.
Thanks Marc. Wondered how to work a gmt. I’ll def be trying to mod one soon
You can't quickset the date on a True GMT?
Correct. Well, not on the few I've played with.
Or just move the bezel 🙃
My first thought was…. Several thousand dollars.🤪
Are those Kinetic GMT's still available?
Nope
Unfortunately people who live it Odd timezones can't really use GMT and have to be content with just having watches with two separate times like the nighthawk
The Seiko watches have a friction bezel with no clicks. This allows you to set the bezel wherever you want. Even at half hours.
@@RichKovars Would you know the model no?
@@KakashiHatake-ou7mp They are the new Seiko 5s - SSK001, SSK003 and SSK005
I watched this clip twice to make certain I saw what you were doing.
About that Seiko 5 GMT:
Set the hour hand to your local time. Set the GMT hand to… UTC/Zulu. Leave it there, adjusting the GMT hand only when DST changes at your local time.
Use the bezel to set local destination time.
You’re now using three time zones, or what I like to think of as Z+2.
If you’re traveling for pleasure, you’re probably not using Zulu. Being able to jump the hour hand to reflect local destination time is fine.
That is what (I think misleadingly) a ‘true’ gmt is good for.
I’d rather adjust the bezel to reflect local destination time than to constantly be pulling the crown to adjust the hour hand to local destination time. I’m not everyone, of course.
Side note: Rolex actually only introduced a ‘true’ gmt in.. 1983.
My own take: the GMT Master 1 was an actual ‘office’ gmt. You couldn’t adjust the fourth hand independently of the hour hand; until 1983, it was slaved. You had to use the bezel to read Zulu. Basically, a dual timer.
There were already ‘true’ gmts before Rolex finally got around to innovating a jumping hour hand. Yet, when you’ve essentially only got a dual timer, or only know to use what you’ve got that way, it’s not a helpful distinction.
I hope, if you do make an Islander with this movement, that you include a 24 hr marking on both the dial, as well as the bezel.
To clarify, I don’t begrudge the common usage of office vs. true gmt, but I think it’s misleading and confusing.
If you think of an independent hour hand and an independent gmt hand as two types of what constitutes a true gmt, you can readily identify a slaved gmt hand as an office gmt.
it’s quite weird to have a true gmt watch with a divers bezel
Alignment on that Kinetic is so bad....
I have exactly the same Astron clock, handed down to me by my grandfather. A nice surprise to see it here.
I forgot quartz existed until I saw the ticking on that Seiko haha. Awesome videos Marc.
Thanks for fully demonstrating the differences and proving to me that I wasted my $$ on a Christopher Ward GMT!
Lol...you didn't waste it...think about it, to change time zones is usually at least a 3 or 4 hour flight, the extra minute or so to adjust an office gmt is no big deal. Also the true gmt doesn't have quick set date, the hour hand has to be changed by 24 hours so if you are rotating it out of a collection of watches and its the first of the month but the true GMT has the date at the 15th....bit of a pain to set. In any case you can leave the regular hands at your home time and just adjust the GMT hand to local time if you are constantly changing time zones.
An "office GMT" is a practical dual-timer useful to everyone and a "true GMT" is great for adjusting the hour hand when you're on the go.
Office GMT can also be used as a military/standard time complication.
GM tease
LOL, nice!
this is a sign
True! Time to buy!