You (Probably) Don't Need A GMT

   

  ...And On The 7th Day, Seiko Created The NH34

    I don't know why GMT complications got so popular. These days the watch market is so saturated with GMT watches you can't swing a stick without hitting one, and I find that odd considering how few people actually need to be able to keep track of multiple time zones, which really brings me to the point of this post; you most likely don't actually need a GMT. If you remember my hammer analogy from an earlier post, the GMT movement is one of those "special hammers" which only a few people actually have a use for so it doesn't make a lot of sense why everyone and their brother suddenly wanted one...maybe it was for novelty's sake. That said, I don't know why I have three watches with GMT movement, but I do have a pretty good idea what the genesis was for their seemingly exponential growth in popularity. 

    Seiko, in true Seiko fashion, shook up the watch world in 2022 when they released their NH34/4R34 GMT movement, more specifically when they released their line of GMT watches powered by the 4R34 priced at-or-below $500. Historically GMT movements and the watches using them have been fairly pricey, but now for the small price of $85 (probably less when bought in wholesale quantities), the everyman watch collector can now own a pretty solid GMT movement without breaking the bank. Watch manufactures have gone gangbusters in rolling out their own GMT offerings, almost all using the NH34 movement. In the span of two years or so, the watch market was inundated with budget conscious GMT offerings to satiate the consumer demand. An interesting ripple effect from this is that many of the luxury brands also began fielding either new or revised (even revived) GMT options, just not using the NH34. You can't find many watch brands whose website home page doesn't call attention to their GMT. 

Why I have GMT Watches

    I appreciate the irony of my telling you that you probably don't need a GMT while also acknowledging that I own three. So give me a little grace and I'll explain myself. The first two, the Tsao Balt-Pilot Recon Worldtimer (say that five times fast) and the Seiko 5 Sports SSK001, I bought just because I wanted them. What can I say, I got caught up in the GMT craze. I, like most of you, didn't have any reason at all to be tracking multiple timezones. However, in what I would say was an absolute fluke, I ended up starting a job that does have a requirement to track multiple time zones. Boom, ex post facto justification...not that I (nor you) need to have one. My third GMT, a Breitling Avenger Ref. 32397, I bought after starting this new job because 1.) I still needed to track two (sometimes three) time zones and 2.) I wanted a nicer, more luxurious watch to do it with (because I'm bougie). I think I just discovered a tax write off! The point I'm trying to make is that it's been by complete happenstance and not conscious consumption that I ended up being able to use any of my GMT watches for their intended purpose. 

Why You Might Want To Skip The GMT

    I've made my sentiments known that you should buy watches just cause you want to and that's still true here. With that said, the cost of watches with GMT movements, not including the NH34/4R34, are usually a bit more costly...and most GMT watches these days look like divers anyway. Unless you have a burning desire and/or an actual need for a GMT watch, I'd say maybe save a little bit of your hard earned money and look for a good diver from the same brand you're interested in. Maybe Longines' Hydroconquest doesn't look exactly like a Longines' Hydroconquest GMT but it's pretty close...and it's also about $1000 cheaper. That's pretty much my only real argument against getting one; they tend to cost a good bit more just for some functionality you probably won't end up using. To be fair, if you end up deciding to get a GMT and not needing the GMT function, it's not going to get in your way. It's a pretty passive complication in the grand scheme of complications; you don't even need to set the GMT hand properly to still have a functional watch...I'm talking about caller GMTs, though. Traveler GMTs are a whole different kettle of fish and they're a watch movement I don't think anyone should get unless they actually travel enough to justify having one. Monochrome has a good write up on the history of GMTs, as well as a good high level overview between the two GMT types here. If you're interested, I highly recommend checking it out. And to paraphrase Monochrome, traveler GMTs don't make sense for an office setting as they're harder to set (and less passive than caller GMTs) and they're also significantly more expensive as you only see traveler GMT (or true GMT) movements coming from high end brands likes Rolex, Omega, Grand Seiko, etc. Considering that most of us don't even need a caller GMT to begin with, it really  doesn't make sense to shell out the $5000-$20000 for a traveler GMT when you don't even need a GMT to begin with. 

Final Thoughts

    As always buy what you want because you want it, because you love it, and because you can comfortably afford it. If after everything I've said you decide that you still need that Rolex GMT Master 2, regardless if you actually need it then get it. Watch collecting should be enjoyable, and it's not enjoyable when you skip out on the pieces you truly want just because you can't come up with a good enough reason to buy it. Like I've said before and I'll keep saying, you should be buying what you want because you want it...because in my mind this hobby is really just wasting money on something you enjoy (which is what hobbies used to be before hustle culture overtook the internet, which is a topic for someone else to dive into). For me, my initial baptism-by-GMT started from that exact premise; I wanted it so I got it. Now that I have an actual reason for using a GMT, I'm pretty content with the one's I have and I probably won't ever consider getting another GMT unless I decide to trade up. I don't see any reason to have multiple luxury caller GMTs...I almost don't see the reason behind having more than one. I almost certainly will never get a traveler GMT unless I somehow miraculously fall into the jetsetter lifestyle. For me, the traveler GMT juice just isn't worth the financial squeeze at this point in my life. 

    The watch market is just as subject to trends as any other market, if not more so. There's nothing wrong with dabbling in the trends when they come...but don't forget that they will also go. The GMT movement trend will run it's course and watch manufactures will pivot to the next shiny thing once this one loses steam...and most of us will be left wondering why we were all so enthralled by GMT movements to begin with. I don't think it's necessarily ridiculous to grab a GMT while the trend is hot, but maybe try being a little more realistic with yourself about how much of a place in your life that watch will occupy. Seiko and all the other brands that chose to roll out the more budget friendly GMT offerings in the last couple years have given consumers the option to add a pretty good caller GMT to their collection without breaking the bank. If you're unsure whether having one makes sense for you, maybe start there. You can always upgrade later on to something from Longines, Breitling, Tudor, Rolex, Omega, etc...cause they all have a GMT offering these days. 

As always, please let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this post or otherwise have any feedback