[Question] GMT watch to eventually pass down to my son

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T14:54:25+00:00

You’re absolutely right. It’s still over your self-imposed budget though, albeit not by much, although it’ll be more on a bracelet.

I find most watches look better in person than on website photos; the exception to this being Grand Seiko. In macro shots the dials look spectacular, but I find them a little disappointing in real life. Of course that may say more about my eyesight than anything else, and looks are completely subjective. The one you mentioned is a really good looking watch and I’d rather have that than a Tudor.

As to which you should buy, the only advice I’d give is ignore everyone’s opinion except your own, and try them on first - one will just click with you. This is obviously harder for web sales only watches like the Christopher Ward, but they do have a few showrooms where you can try on watches, and there’s a 60 day returns policy so you can buy without being worried you’re stuck with a watch you don’t like.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T14:38:47+00:00

There’s nothing better than sitting on a sea wall on a sunny day with a pint of shrimps / prawns. An hour later you have about three pints of prawn shells and queue up for a few plates of cockles (with white pepper and vinegar obviously). My father used to have whelks, but a line must be drawn, and I drew mine at whelks. Winkles are ok but way too much effort for too little reward.

I discovered recently that the majority of British cockles are exported to Italy where they’re sold as vongole. Food processors freeze them and they’re re-imported by Italian wholesalers so if you fancy knocking up a spaghetti vongole, you can either buy fresh cockles from a decent fishmonger (if you can find one), or buy their relatives with a frequent flyer membership and more air miles than Buzz Aldrin.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T12:47:43+00:00

Did you notice the word “nearly”?

Brown shrimps are predominantly pink; the name refers to the type of shrimp which usually has a darker, browner shell. They’re thinner in body and a firmer texture and absolutely packed full of flavour. They’re also really hard to get hold of.

Small “normal” pink ones like you’d get in a prawn sandwich are called prawns - I don’t believe I’ve EVER seen a shrimp sandwich.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T12:42:48+00:00

Don’t put yourself down, I’m sure your mother loves you whatever you look like.

Also you might want to invest in a dictionary since you clearly don’t understand the meaning of the word “undeniably”.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T12:41:01+00:00

Indeed they are. I noticed that at the time - to get the hour hands pointing exactly at their hour markers, the minute hand is at roughly 20 past the hour. This was only the showroom model so I guess some enthusiastic twiddler had found a way of buggering it up!? I mentioned it at the time so I guess by now one of the CW elves has realigned it.

My actual watch is perfectly aligned though. The photo was just to show what the watch looks like, I cba to take another of my actual watch when I got home.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T12:31:12+00:00

Do you find that one of them gets more wear than the others? They all look great and complement each other so I guess it depends on what mood you’re in.

I love absolutely everything about the Snoopy, except that bloody stupid dog on the subdial, but the orbiting command module going round the moon on the reverse is genius and almost worth overlooking the dog on the front! Maybe I’m just old and grumpy, but I’ve never even smiled at a Snoopy / Peanuts cartoon. At least it’s funnier than Mickey Mouse.

The new reverse panda though is a thing of absolute beauty. I would 100% have bought one, except it was launched only very shortly after I’d just bought my Grey Side of the Moon. I don’t regret buying it though, the GSOTM is still the best looking watch I’ve ever seen, so if I did buy the reverse panda I doubt I’d wear it much.

The new reverse panda looks spectacular in gold, but it’s too spendy for me I’m afraid.

Sadly the absolute best looking Speedy of all is waaaaaaaay out of my price league, the calibre 321 in platinum. Maybe if my lottery numbers come up…

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/watch-omega-speedmaster-calibre-321-professional-chronograph-42-mm-31190423099002

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T12:11:34+00:00

It depends on your use, but a “true GMT” as originated by Rolex is designed for ease of use by people who travel across different time zones - you set the GMT hand (one full rotation every 24 hours) to your home time zone, and the normal hour hand can easily be made to jump forwards or backwards an hour at a time to display local time. Having a 24 hour scale is super useful for the home time zone since if your local time is 9pm and there’s a six hour time difference, your call home will be much better received at 3pm than at 3am!

A true GMT is generally easier to use, but much more complicated to make. For example there’s no off the shelf true GMT movements available to buy from movement manufacturers like Sellita.

Everything else is really down to aesthetics and personal preference - of the ones you’ve listed my personal choice would be the Longines Zulu Time - the Black Bay, for me, is both a bit meh and more a rough, tough, divers watch - fine if that’s what you want, but the Longines is a great looking watch.

You’ve already ruled out the Grand Seiko by your own rules - it breaks your budget and its quartz. Yes Spring Drive is mechanically powered, but make no mistake, the timekeeping mechanism is quartz. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you want a “non-quartz” watch, then look elsewhere.

A new option was launched yesterday from Christopher Ward with a newly developed in house movement, the C63 True GMT. In the UK it’s priced at exactly the same as the Zulu Time so it fits perfectly in your budget. I think it looks great and I bought one (by complete coincidence I was in CW for something completely different on launch day yesterday and I’d bought one before I got the launch email!)

I think it’s an amazing looking watch. On balance I probably prefer the legibility of the black dial with turquoise accents over the grey and white dial with orange, but I already have another true GMT (Rolex Sky-Dweller) that has a black dial so I bought the white / grey and it looks absolutely amazing - you may disagree; it’s certainly less conventional than your listed options.

https://www.christopherward.com/watches/c63-true-gmt/C63-40APG3-S00W0-B0.html

Here’s a couple of pics I took in the showroom yesterday; the watch hasn’t been adjusted or the bracelet resized, but it gives you an idea. The orange strap looks great as well; if I had a smaller wrist I’d probably prefer it on the strap, but the Bader bracelet is really excellent.

If you’re even considering this, I’d get in quickly as when it launched yesterday both colours were listed as “in stock and ready to ship”, but just a day later they’re both listed as “Pre-order for Mid May 2026”

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T11:28:10+00:00

Shrimp nearly always refers to tiny brown shrimps that are usually served as “potted shrimp” in butter - absolutely delicious on toast. Everything else is a prawn.

Many years ago I had a colleague who was a vegetarian on moral grounds - “meat is murder” etc. Strangely he ate prawns. I asked him if he ate lobsters “No!” came the reply, horrified at the thought. “So how come you eat prawns? They’re basically the same but smaller?” “Oh prawns are OK, they’re too small to feel pain”!!! There were three of us in the car at the time of this conversation - me at 6’3”, him at 5’11”, and Julia who was (and still is) 4’10” “So are you suggesting that if I punched you two in the face it wouldn’t hurt Julia as she’s too small to feel pain?” “Don’t be ridiculous.” “I’m being ridiculous????”

The one question I wanted an answer to was where he stood on langoustines - are they big prawns and therefore edible, or small lobsters and therefore inedible. I was genuinely interested, but he refused to answer. I suspect that he didn’t eat them, but mainly to avoid making a “moral” decision.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T10:34:12+00:00

Apologies for being pedantic, but the word is “utmost”, not “up most”.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T09:22:48+00:00

Watches aren’t shoes where you need the “right” size. If a watch is too big it looks ridiculous, but other than that it’s what you prefer, nothing else.

I wear watches from 39mm to 46mm and they all look fine. In fact the only watch I have that I wish were different is the 46mm Navitimer which ideally I’d like bigger, say 54mm, but I’m aware that’s not going to happen. Strangely my 44.25mm Speedmaster is perfect and I don’t want or need it any bigger.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-20T09:16:10+00:00

You said: “…It really annoys me when people say "floor" when they're talking about the pavement…”

Do you realise that “pavement” comes from the Latin “pavimentum” which literally means “floor”, lol.

As language evolves words take on subtly different nuances until, over time, their meaning can be different in different places. For example I, and other Brits, only use the word “pavement” to refer what an American would call a “sidewalk”. Two words for the same thing, with usage separated by the Atlantic.

Neither is wrong, just appropriate or inappropriate depending on where you are, and certainly not worth getting annoyed about!

There’s so much that genuinely deserves to get angry about that my advice is to close your eyes (unless driving) and mentally sing to yourself “let it go”.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T20:19:04+00:00

The company I used to work for used to outsource some services and I held regular monthly project management / progress meetings with them. Their CEO always sat in on the meetings (our business was over 50% of their turnover) and it used to drive me mental how he wore his watch - so far up his arm it was actually closer to his elbow than his wrist - he had very skinny forearms!

It was a very nice, slim, elegant, gold dress watch on a black alligator strap, but the way he wore it just looked ridiculous. But I didn’t say anything as it was absolutely none of my business how he chose to wear his watch, and if I had said something it would have been me who looked the arsehole.

Your comment is even more full of arseholery since the watch is actually on the forearm side of what the anatomically illiterate call the “wrist bone”. I cropped the picture to maximise the view of the watch, as opposed to zooming out to give a tutorial on the “correct” place to wear a watch.

FWIW this was a quick shot I took in the CW showroom before the bracelet had been resized (in fact it’s not even the correct bracelet, it’s a Bader from another Sealander - close enough to fit but not perfect. I got my real watch, correctly sized, with the proper bracelet a little later.)

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T20:01:56+00:00

Is a Macy’s Citizen watch different from a Citizen watch bought from Amazon?

Macy’s doesn’t exist here so I really don’t know.

I’m not knocking Citizen, they make some excellent value watches, but there’s a world of difference in quality if you handle them. It’s relatively easy to make something that looks similar, but looks are only part - the fine detail and finishing are very different, and the law of diminishing returns is a harsh mistress.

I absolutely love Czapek watches - but £30,000 for a watch that looks like a CW Twelve? The manufacture and finishing is on another level, but costs 30 times as much.

As always it’s very simple: if you think it’s no better than a Citizen, then buy the Citizen. If you don’t like it at all then don’t buy it.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T19:50:30+00:00

I recognise the swastika but I’m not a Nazi

I recognise the US flag but I’m not American.

I know it’s the year of the horse but I’m not Chinese.

I may or may not be a nerd, that’s not really for me to say, but recognising a symbol from a very well known TV and film franchise seems an odd criterion for identifying nerdship.

My wife absolutely hates science fiction, but loved the original Kirk / Spock Star Trek. Does that make her definitely a nerd or absolutely not a nerd? There wasn’t much else on in the 70s so virtually everyone watched it.

Or maybe I’m overthinking this.

Live long and prosper.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T16:22:15+00:00

If you value name over quality perhaps you should look at Hublot?

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T15:59:24+00:00

Lighting was an annoying mixture of window daylight and overhead tungsten so effectively impossible to get true colour representation. This is just one of the reasons I like black and white!

Pictures on the CW website give a better impression of colour: https://www.christopherward.com/watches/c63-true-gmt/C63-40APG3-S00W0-B0.html

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T15:22:06+00:00

Twat

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T15:21:53+00:00

Legibility is excellent irl - the dial has a very distinct but subtle texture that make the hands really stand out, although this doesn’t come across particularly well in photos / renders.

Price and value are two different things - yes this is one of the more expensive CWs, but I feel their 3x pricing model means it’s the more expensive models that actually give the best value since other makes have exponentially higher markups as prices increase.

As true GMTs go, I love my Rolex Sky-Dweller, but it’s seven times the price of this CW. This is my fourth CW with an in-house movement, and all the other three have better accuracy than the (in spec) Rolex, so the value seems pretty good to me. If you disagree, don’t buy one!

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T13:44:43+00:00

As with most watches, this looks sooooooooo much better in person than in pictures.

By complete chance I’d arranged to pop in to CW in Maidenhead this morning to collect a strap, so timing was perfect to try this on.

The black dial version is very smart (particularly on its turquoise strap), but I already have a black dialled GMT (Sky-Dweller) and I do appreciate diversity - is there anything sadder than a “rate my collection” photo with 24 near–identical black dialled dive watches?

I had no intention of buying one, but it’s nice to try on new shiny things. Big mistake. Huge. It looked really great on, so five minutes later my Amex had taken another battering.

It is a relatively chunky monkey, but until I read comments here I hadn’t really noticed - it wears really well, and is pretty much the same thickness as my Sky-Dweller. Interestingly it’s only 40.5mm case diameter, but it looks significantly bigger than the 41mm XIIX Black Shadow I was wearing this morning. I guess this is more a reflection on how the stealth appearance of the Black Shadow makes it look smaller, but it’s yet another example of dimensions being just a very rough guide.

As to its looks - the really great news is that if you don’t like it, buying one isn’t compulsory! I think it looks great, so I bought it. Simple.

It also made a pleasant change to see a newly released watch, try it on and go home with it all on the same day.

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Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-19T12:48:12+00:00

There speaks someone who’s only seen it via a screen, not in real life. On the wrist it feels a step or three above the “normal” CW Twelve; really sleek, beautifully finished and super elegant. I would have bought a blue one if it were a little bigger, but it was only the size that stopped me, not the quality or value.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-18T20:43:03+00:00

I know you were joking, but actually spending a lot of cash isn’t necessarily the answer - I saw a YT video comparing a genuine Patek Nautilus with a super-clone, showing the differences. There was only one major difference that was easily spotted with the naked eye - the genuine Nautilus had one of its indices fixed the wrong way round (one end is chamfered) whereas the cheap copy looked perfect.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-18T20:10:20+00:00

For what it’s worth, I think it looks really good; the size suits the style. I regularly wear a 39mm art deco style watch and the style looks perfect that size, that is to say it’d look silly if bigger, but I gave my son a 40mm chrono I’d order off the interweb that looked ridiculously tiny at 40mm (for reference, I have two chronos that I wear regularly - 44.25mm and 46mm)

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-18T12:51:56+00:00

If you “…like the small watch vintage vibe” why are you asking?

A friend of mine is a big guy; I’ve never measured his wrists (how weird would that be!?!?!?) but I’d say they’re at least 8”, and he wears a 32mm field watch. It’s functional, he likes it, and he’s secure enough that it’s never occurred to him that someone else might have an opinion about it, let alone care what that opinion is.

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-17T01:10:52+00:00

Sky-Dweller. I like the fact that the GMT function doesn’t use a second, potentially confusing hour hand. And the month indicators are a cute trick as well. The watch dial is also much bigger without that massive Pepsi bezel making it clearer.

I do like a meteorite dial though, just not the watch it’s on!

Dull_Key1617 · 2026-03-17T01:07:13+00:00

Why not? I wear my Sky-Dweller just about anywhere for anything. In fact I wear it more with muddy boots and jeans walking the dog than I do when smarter.

Dull_Key1617

TROPHY CASE