It doesn’t matter whether you’re hopping on a short-haul business flight or packing for a month’s retreat on a tropical island, everyone needs a solid travel companion. I don’t mean whoever you’re going with, I mean what really matters: what’s on your wrist. Traveller’s watches come in two distinct flavours. On the one hand you have your GMTs and dual timezone watches, perfect for hopping across timezones or keeping track of when to call home without waking the entire family. On the other, worldtimers, which instead mark out every one of the major 24 timezones on a single dial. They both have their pros and cons, GMTs being more streamlined but worldtimers showing more information.
But whichever side you choose, there are plenty – some might say too many – fantastic options across the horological spectrum. Want a pro spec diver for a scuba holiday, or a tourbillon for the hotel bar? The easy usefulness of a true GMT, or the prestige of a carbon guilloché worldtimer? Either way, here are the best traveller’s watches of the year so far.
Héron Mirabel GMT Cigar Club, $690 (approx. £540)
Once upon a time full lume dials were the stuff of breathy headlines; now they’re available at pretty much every level of watchmaking. That’s certainly no bad thing as it means even accessible specialists like Héron are able to leverage the look – here rather handsomely done in salmon-coloured enamel. Dubbed the Cigar Club, it really does look like the horological equivalent of a private members club, the kind with old leather armchairs and secret handshakes. Fortunately, it’s nowhere near the same cost, offering enamel, full lume and a true GMT for under £600.
Model: Héron Mirabel GMT Cigar Club
Case/dial: 37.5mm diameter x 10.6mm thickness, stainless steel case, salmon-coloured enamel dial with full lume C3 layer
Water resistance: 50m (5 bar)
Movement: Miyota calibre 9075, automatic, 42h power reserve
Strap: Delugs Baranil calfskin leather strap
Price: $690 (approx. £540)
More details at Héron.
Lum-Tec Combat Field X6 GMT, £740
Big, bold and built like a beater, Lum-Tec’s uncompromising mil-spec outlook extends to the quintessential traveller’s complication, too. With its coin-edge bezel and oversized onion crown, there are overtones of vintage military pocket watches here, but between Lum-Tec’s custom lume, a titanium carbine PVD coating over a titanium case and anti-shock credentials, it’s a lot more survivable. On a cool NATO-style strap in black and grey, it’s also one of the brand’s best-looking pieces, which feels like a steal for under £750. That’s a lot of value for a lot of watch.
Model: Lum-Tec Combat Field X6 GMT
Case/dial: 44mm diameter x 14.5mm thickness, grade 2 titanium (titanium carbide PVD), charcoal grey and black dial
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Miyota calibre 9075, automatic, 42h power reserve
Strap: Charcoal grey and black stripe nylon military strap
Price: £740, limited to 300 pieces
More details at Lum-Tec.
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80, £1,070
A quintessential diver GMT, Certina’s DS Action remains a rugged adrenaline junkie of a watch, even if it is swapping its diving scale for a cool black and green 24-hour version. Matching green GMT hand aside, that means the same solid build quality and more than respectable 80-hour power reserve we’ve come to take as a given from the brand. And that’s really it: solid, reliable and great value. It’s not going to send your fellow collectors into fits of jealousy, but it’s hard not to respect.
Model: Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80
Case/dial: 41mm diameter x 13.8mm thickness, stainless steel case, black and green dial
Water resistance: 200m (20 bar)
Movement: ETA Powermatic 80 calibre 80.661, automatic, 80h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel 3-link bracelet
Price: £1,070
More details at Certina.
Venezianico Nereide GMT Ceratung, €1,450 (approx. £1,265)
What’s more hardwearing than a classic ceramic bezel? Tungsten. So, throw some of that insanely dense metal into the mix and you get this, Venezianico’s handsome, Venice-flavoured diver, now with a Ceratung (half ceramic, half tungsten) bezel. In understated black and grey with a few blue highlights, it’s a good-looking diver GMT – though at 200m rather than the professional level 300 and replacing the proper diving bezel with a 24-hour scale, it’s more of a holiday watch than an undersea tool. Think of this, next time you find yourself lounging off the coast of Puglia.
Model: Venezianico Nereide GMT Ceratung
Case/dial: 42mm diameter x 12.25mm thickness, stainless steel case, black and grey dial with blue highlights
Water resistance: 200m (20 bar)
Movement: Venezianico calibre V3290, automatic, 42h power reserve
Strap: Canova stainless steel bracelet
Price: €1,450 (approx. £1,265)
More details at Venezianico.
Herbelin Cap Camarat GMT, £1,350
With all the 1970s industrial vibes of Gerald Genta taking a well-deserved holiday on the cote d’Azur, Herbelin’s flagship Cap Camarat is a perfect holiday home for a GMT function. Or even, despite the name, a worldtimer. Horizontally striped central dial, bright blue and white 24-hour ring and a darker blue worldtimer add plenty of globe-trotting utility to the slim, sporty case. Set on a broad-linked bracelet, it draws from the usual well of integrated bracelet sports watches but does so in its own accessible style.
Model: Herbelin Cap Camarat GMT
Case/dial: 42mm diameter x 10.35mm thickness, stainless steel case, horizontally striped dial with blue and white 24-hour ring
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Sellita calibre SW330-2, automatic, 56h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Price: £1,350, limited to 500 pieces
More details at Herbelin.
Christopher Ward C63 Sealander Extreme GMT, £1,450
While not Christopher Ward’s latest GMT – that’s the purview of the fantastic Clipper we’ve reviewed later in this issue – the Sealander Extreme GMT is the most practical. Extreme by name, extreme by nature, it’s the mil-spec arm of the C63 collection, with a rubberised movement mount for added durability and ceramic bezel, all in a substantial 41mm lightcatcher case. If the Sealander is the everyman watch, this is the everyman when he’s been hitting the gym.
Model: Christopher Ward C63 Sealander Extreme GMT
Case/dial: 41mm diameter x 11.65mm thickness, stainless steel case, ceramic bezel
Water resistance: 150m (15 bar)
Movement: Sellita calibre SW330-2, automatic, 56h power reserve
Strap: Cordura V-Strap or Bader stainless steel bracelet
Price: £1,450
More details at Christopher Ward.
Farer Worldtimer, £1,575
Less everyday business traveller, more cigars and cocktails in the sky, Farer’s latest edition of their kitchen sink traveller’s watch heaps on the old-world glamour. Mixing burgundy, red and gold with a central atlas, 24-hour ring, lashings of guilloche and a new gold-plated case, there’s a lot going on. But as that plating has a hard base coat of titanium nitride and the Sellita movement has a solid 56-hour power reserve, it’s a good deal more practical than it looks, all wrapped in a surprisingly svelte 39mm case.
Model: Farer Worldtimer
Case/dial: 39mm diameter x 11mm thickness, stainless steel case (gold PVD), burgundy and gold guilloche dial
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Sellita calibre SW331-2, automatic, 56h power reserve
Strap: St. Venere leather strap
Price: £1,575
More details at Farer.
Ardra Labs Delta Type, $2,450 (approx. £1,800)
Fun fact: most traveller’s watches can’t actually track every timezone. That’s because there are 10 ‘rogue’ timezones out there that are in half-hour or 45-minute offsets that your usual hour-jumping GMT hand can’t account for. Ardra Lab’s patented dual time function can. The central hour hand pairs with the white minute triangle for local time, while the long, straight hand is the GMT hours. The trick comes with the other two triangles, which are spaced 15 minutes and 30 minutes behind the GMT hand – allowing for the timing of those 30- and 45-minute timezones. Yes, at first glance it all looks a bit like a test of navigation skill, but once you know how it works it’s wonderfully straightforward.
Model: Ardra Labs Delta Type
Case/dial: 39mm diameter x 11mm thickness, stainless steel case, dual-time display dial
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Sellita calibre SW330-2, automatic, 56h power reserve
Strap: Italian rubber strap
Price: $2,450 (approx. £1,800), limited to 300 pieces
More details at Ardra Labs.
Serica Ref. 8315-2 GMT, £1,854
With the Ref. 8315-2, Serica have taken the fundamentals of the classic 24-hour bezel GMT and perfected them. First, that bezel has actually been split into two sets of 12 hours because unless you’re in the military, 17:00 hours is just five o’clock. Second is their ultra-adjustable Expedition bracelet, which looks a little out-there but wears immaculately. Finally – and this is just personal taste – is the combination of brown and white, distinctly modern with a vintage feel. Honestly, that last sentiment could describe most of Serica’s watches.
Model: Serica Ref. 8315-2 GMT
Case/dial: 39mm diameter x 12.3mm thickness, stainless steel case, brown and white dial
Water resistance: 200m (20 bar)
Movement: SOPROD calibre C125 COSC, automatic, 40h power reserve
Strap: Expedition stainless steel bracelet
Price: £1,854
More details at Serica.
Doxa SUB 250T GMT, £2,390
Many a collector has gone to Doxa for their first proper dive watch, so it makes sense that the brand also makes a great entry-level Diver GMT – though with the emphasis on the first part of that. Doxa have added a 24-hour hand, true, but the bezel keeps its usual diving scale for underwater practicality, with the GMT scale on the inner bezel instead. That makes this one of the very few dual timezone watches that is actually a professional level diving instrument. The fact that the orange and blue Caribbean colourway smacks of sun, sea and sand is just the icing on the rum cake.
Model: Doxa SUB 250T GMT
Case/dial: 40mm diameter x 10.85mm thickness, stainless steel case, orange and blue Caribbean dial
Water resistance: 250m (25 bar)
Movement: Sellita calibre SW330-2, automatic, 50h power reserve
Strap: FKM rubber strap
Price: £2,390
More details at Doxa.
SpaceOne Worldtimer Blue, €2,700 (approx. £2,350)
More like out-of-this-worldtimer, am I right? SpaceOne might have the look of a space-age MB&F, but despite the insane, asymmetrical case and various separated dials, they’re almost worryingly accessible across the board – even when it comes to their globe-trotting worldtimer. You have GMT and the worldtimer on the left, local time on the other two dials and a blue titanium case to tie it all together. It’s not one for the faint-wristed, but if you’re after a watch that yearns for the stratosphere, look no further.
Model: SpaceOne Worldtimer Blue
Case/dial: 52.7mm x 41.9mm x 15.88mm thickness, grade 5 titanium (blue PVD), disc-based triple display
Water resistance: 30m (3 bar)
Movement: SOPROD calibre P024 with in-house worldtimer module, automatic, 38h power reserve
Strap: Black fabric strap with titanium buckle
Price: €2,700 (approx. £2,350), limited to 200 pieces
More details at SpaceOne.
Rado Captain Cook Over Pole, £2,650
Why this isn’t just a mainline Rado collection by now I’ll never know, but the perfect vintage vibes of the Over Pole, based off a ’60s archival design, make it arguably the brand’s most collector-centric watch. It actually offers the simplest approach to global timekeeping, using a rotating bezel to switch timezones instead of faffing with a GMT hand, 24-hour scale or any of the other fluff. That means that while it is technically a worldtimer (and a handsome one at that) it remains relatively accessible. Some ideas remain inspired even six decades later.
Model: Rado Captain Cook Over Pole
Case/dial: 39mm diameter x 10.9mm thickness, stainless steel case (yellow gold PVD), silver sunray dial
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Rado calibre R862, manual-wind, 80h power reserve
Strap: Brown leather strap and beads-of-rice bracelet included
Price: £2,650, limited to 1,962 pieces
More details at Rado.
Nomos Glashütte Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer Blue, £3,940
Nomos made waves mid last year with their funky, colourful worldtimers and since then it’s been a must-have for many a traveller. But while those bright hues have faded away in the collection, much more wearable options have cropped up. Case in point, this handsome blue edition. With a two-tone blue GMT subdial and a novel little indicator of which timezone you’re currently in, it’s arguably the smartest worldtimer out there – even more so in a sunray blue that goes with every business suit you own.
Model: Nomos Glashütte Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer Blue
Case/dial: 40mm diameter x 9.9mm thickness, stainless steel case, blue sunray dial with worldtimer disc
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Nomos calibre DUW 3202, automatic, 42h power reserve
Strap: Club Sport stainless steel bracelet
Price: £3,940
More details at Nomos Glashütte.
Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture, £3,995
Frederique Constant is defined by a fine balance of accessibility and traditional watchmaking chops, something which their ever-popular Highlife collection doubles down on. While I’m not normally a fan of globes or atlas dials (I personally find them a bit too much), here the brown dial engraved with lines of latitude and longitude is just minimal enough to get a pass. In a host of browns like a sepia photograph and finished nicely across both the guilloche embellished subdial and cotes de Geneve movement, it’s refined, respectable and very Frederique Constant.
Model: Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture
Case/dial: 41mm diameter x 12.9mm thickness, stainless steel case, brown dial with engraved latitude and longitude lines
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Frederique Constant calibre FC-718, automatic, 38h power reserve
Strap: Brown alligator leather strap
Price: £3,995
More details at Frederique Constant.
Tag Heuer Carrera Twin Time, £4,350
Despite its overt racing heritage, the Carrera’s a bit of a chameleon, here swapping its pitside specs for a more streamlined take on the GMT. Opting for a day/night inner bezel rather than a rotating outer one means you can track two timezones as opposed to three, but who uses that function anyway? It also means the Twin Time stays on the more refined side of GMT watches which, with one of Tag Heuer’s loveliest dial colours, makes for a great flight companion.
Model: Tag Heuer Carrera Twin Time
Case/dial: 41mm diameter x 12.57mm thickness, stainless steel case, blue dial with day/night inner bezel
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Tag Heuer calibre TH31-03, automatic, 80h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel H-link bracelet
Price: £4,350
More details at Tag Heuer.
Bulgari Octo Roma Worldtimer, £9,400
While the Finissimo often sucks up all the oxygen in Bulgari’s Italian marble room, the Octo Roma remains a bit of a Roman icon. More rounded and curvaceous than its ultra-thin cousins, the worldtime edition is very handsome, streamlined take on the complication. Even the day/night split on the rotating inner bezel is very subtle, and the clous de Paris adds some artisan flair to the mix. The case isn’t a record breaker, but it still has the same Genta DNA (via Bulgari’s own Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani) as the original Octo.
Model: Bulgari Octo Roma Worldtimer
Case/dial: 41mm diameter, stainless steel case, clous de Paris dial with worldtimer
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Bulgari calibre BVL 257, automatic, 42h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Price: £9,400
More details at Bulgari.
Panerai Luminor GMT Ceramica, £13,400
If I didn’t tell you this was a dual time watch, you probably wouldn’t assume it from the look of the thing. Between Panerai’s signature cushion-shaped case and the Luminor’s crown protector, its silhouette is that of the quintessential Italian diver. But the central arrow hand isn’t seconds. Seconds are on the minimalist nine o’clock subdial. Instead, it’s a 12-hour GMT hand. It’s a very streamlined approach and one that won’t upset any of the Paneristi that favour a big, ceramic-cased watch (which I gather is a lot of them), laden with everything that has given Panerai their cult following.
Model: Panerai Luminor GMT Ceramica
Case/dial: 40mm diameter, ceramic case, black dial with 9 o'clock seconds subdial
Water resistance: 300m (30 bar)
Movement: Panerai calibre P.900, automatic, 72h power reserve
Strap: Black rubber strap
Price: £13,400, limited to 80 pieces
More details at Panerai.
Horage Autark Tourbillon GMT, from CHF 17,990 (approx. £17,130)
The GMT here feels like a bit of an afterthought. A practical, genuinely useful one, but when that functionality is playing second fiddle to both a sleek meteorite dial and an ultra-light tourbillon, it’s certainly not the main feature. Nevertheless, Horage’s specs-heavy, value-heavier Autark Tourbillon GMT is a first-class flier. Powered by a heavyweight microrotor (your choice of tungsten or platinum) and dressed in a lightweight grade 5 titanium case, it’s not your everyday GMT. It’s a lot, lot more impressive.
Model: Horage Autark Tourbillon GMT
Case/dial: 39.5mm diameter, grade 5 titanium case, meteorite dial
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Horage calibre K-TMR, automatic, 72h power reserve
Strap: Titanium bracelet or rubber strap
Price: From CHF 17,990 (approx. £17,130)
More details at Horage.
Rolex GMT-Master II, £43,550
The GMT to end all GMTs (or perhaps start them, since Rolex coined the name), the most recent edition of the legendary GMT-Master II is a little contentious. That’s not because the green dial with green and black bezel isn’t cool. In fact, it’s in huge demand. The downside is that it’s only available with a left-hand crown. Still, if you can deal with a misplaced crown or are one of those lefty freaks yourself, the so-called Destro is a supremely cool entry into Rolex canon. We’ll see if we get the right-handed version this year or maybe, just maybe, in steel? I’m not holding my breath.
Model: Rolex GMT-Master II
Case/dial: 40mm diameter, white gold case, green dial with green and black ceramic bezel
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Rolex calibre 3285, automatic, 70h power reserve
Strap: Oyster bracelet
Price: £43,550
More details at Rolex.
Patek Philippe World Time, £69,940
If you need a watch to pair with your own private jet, it’s going to be this one. Patek have as much of a heritage in worldtimers as they do every other facet of watchmaking and the 5330G-001 is the finest expression of that heritage. The big, roomy dial has plenty of space for a peripheral date, nicely spaced out – and therefore actually readable – worldtime scale and a ‘carbon’ patterned guilloche. Sure, a lot of hay was made over its denim strap when it initially came out – and I’m still not personally sold on it – but there’s no arguing that this isn’t one of the finest travellers’ watches in the world, inside and out. For a price like this, it should be.
Model: Patek Philippe World Time
Case/dial: 40mm diameter, white gold case, 'carbon' patterned guilloche dial with peripheral worldtimer and date
Water resistance: 30m (3 bar)
Movement: Patek Philippe calibre 240 HU, automatic, 38h power reserve
Strap: Denim textile strap
Price: £69,940
More details at Patek Philippe.
The Miyota 9075 is opening a lot of opportunities for flyer gmts at the more affordable end of the market.
I will cringe whenever an office/caller complication (SW330-2) is referred to as a “travel watch”. They have their benefits for sure (eg. quickset date, tracking other timezones), but actually travelling with an office/caller movement is objectively worse than simply adjuting a regular 3 hander. Suddenly you’ve got not 3 but 4 hands to sync when you touch down.