TOP 5 Vintage GMT Watches
Most watch complications are related to our actual whereabouts. Take the chronograph, power reserve, and alarm or minute repeaters as examples. I always found it fascinating that the GMT presented a complication that referred to the events or reality related to you, just happening in any far corner of the world. Today we look at my favorite vintage GMT watches.
I like simple solutions. That’s why I prefer Rolex ref. 1675 from 1959 to the ref. 16750 introduced in 1983. Pointing to its primary feature, which was an extra GMT hand, the later GMT Master II ref.16710 allowed it to be set independently. That resulted in the possibility to read not two, but three time zones.
Rolex GMT-Master 1675
#1 Rolex GMT Master ref. 1675
This watch is as manly as Thomas Magnum. Tom Selleck, the actor who brought everyone’s favorite Hawaii-based PI to life in the ’80s, has kept his GMT Master ever since it found fame on the wrist of his most famous creation. “I’ve had my fair share of sports watches but never one as tough as the Rolex. It’s been underwater, buried in the sand, taken I don’t know how many knocks, and never a problem,“ says Selleck in an interview for FHH Journal.
That’s why I like it so much too. It’s like a steel fortress that protects a very special movement that comes alive with the slightest move of the watch. Sometimes it gives me the feeling that it wouldn’t even let watchmaker in. I already mentioned the charm of the fixed GMT-hand and the same applies to the friction fit bi-directional bezel. If you ever end up with a Rolex ref. 1675 vs 16750 dilemma, I see a really big difference. So think twice! With the Rolex GMT Master 1675, there is no quickset date or 120 clicks that help you in aligning the bezel precisely. You have to do it yourself. That’s what a proper vintage GMT feels like to me.
Image source: calibre11.com
#2 Heuer Twin-Time from the 1950s
I bet you expected the Heuer Autavia GMT to be featured here and you are now getting ready to let me know it in your comments. Well, you are fully right, it deserves to be here. Yet as we recently featured it in our TOP 5 Pepsi Bezel Watches list, I decided to dig deeper into my vintage watch wish list. And here we are. I found a serious small-sized grail for Heuer collectors that prefer petite timepieces.
Image source: calibre11.com
True to its name
I guess it’s thanks to the Autavia madness, motorsport icons, and all the well-known Heuer chronographs that this little beauty shines so bright. It’s a straight-talking watch. A simple three-hander with another shorter hand to show the second time zone. If you think other Heuer watches are hard to come by, try tracking down one of these! There were two different models. The Heuer Twin-Time like the one shown above is also in Eric Wind’s personal collection and he got it from Jeff Stein’s personal collection. One needn’t say any more about the rarity of this watch…
Image source: Catawiki.com
#3 Seiko World Timer 6217-7000
Let’s move to Japan to look at one of my favorite vintage Seiko designs. I like how individualistic and far from your typical Seiko this World Timer 6217-7000 is. Notice the super clean, almost German-like strict design fitted into a 37mm steel case. I feel like I have to put my glasses on to read the small lettering on the 24 hours track. As we are all used to the big numerals running around the dial on spacious bezels, this Seiko is really different.
The World Timer was released to commemorate the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and it bore an Olympic flame motif on its case back. I say “bore“ on purpose, because the unique case back bearing the Olympic flame is highly susceptible to wearing down. In the early 1960s, Seiko embossed their case backs rather than stamping them. Finding a NOS piece is not easy, but the effort — if successful — is worth it!
Image courtesy: bulangandsons.com
#4 Gallet Navigator GMT
It’s hard to believe this watch dates back to 1943. It‘s also hard to look at the price tags associated with this watch. Well, that’s if you can find one for sale at all. That’s because the Gallet Navigator GMT is off-shelf stock (not so many of these found their way into civilian hands). It was designed to fill the many timekeeping and time recording requirements of pilots, navigators, and explorers. The Navigator was the world’s first wrist chronograph that simultaneously displayed both the 12 and 24 hour time.
The additional 24-hour or “North” hand made it possible to also calculate compass directions. An additional winding crown located at 9 o’clock stopped and adjusted the continuous second hand. This way it could be perfectly synchronized with a radio time signal. The official Gallet website says that due to the higher cost of this complicated specialty timepiece, the sales of the MultiChron Navigator were very limited. I apologize in advance for lengthening your vintage GMT wishlist with this one…
#5 Bulova Accutron Astronaut
This one might be the biggest surprise on this list for you. It was October 1960 when the Bulova Accutron with 214 caliber was introduced as the first electronic watch in the world. It was actually the most accurate watch available until quartz became the new ruler. The reduction of watch parts in the Bulova Accutron dramatically reduced to 27, of which only 12 were moving parts. That was really something. The 2.4mm ratchet wheel counting 300 teeth was an outstanding technical achievement.
True to its name
You might also remember the special Astronaut model that includes a GMT hand and 24h bezel. Very early Astronauts with spade hands-only featured “Accutron” on the dial. The later 1963 and 1964 models feature the Astronaut name above 6 o’clock and stick hands. The dial simplicity, the lume contrasts on the dial, and playful rectangular, triangular, and round indexes make it pleasantly odd, yet clean.
I am afraid that other shortlisted watches such as the Zodiac Aerospace or Enicar Sherpa have to wait until the next round. Please, feel free to share your ideas on which watch(es) should feature in the next vintage GMT list.
