Best GMT watches in 2025 for frequent flyers | Stuff

If you travel frequently you may want to consider getting a GMT watch. What exactly is a GMT watch? Quite simply, it’s a watch that can show two or even three different time zones at once. It does this in a remarkably simple way, with no sub-dials and just a single extra hand.

How does it work exactly? The extra hour hand completes one lap of the dial every 24 hours, instead of every 12, and points to a 24-hour scale on the bezel. With a glance, you can see the position of the hour and minute hand, plus the GMT hand which works with the minute hand and the bezel to tell the second time zone.

Traditionally the GMT hand is set to point to London’s Greenwich Mean Time (also known as UTC 0 when using the more contemporary Coordinated Universal Time). But it can also be used to tell the time anywhere you like – such as a company office in another country, or the time at home while you’re away.

On some GMT watches, a third-time zone can be calculated by first setting the GMT hand to GMT (or UTC 0), then rotating the bezel through however many hours the third zone is ahead or behind UTC 0. For example, Paris is UTC+1, so if you rotate the bezel so that one (on the bezel) is at the 12 o’clock position, the GMT hand will point at the time in the French capital. Return the bezel to its default position (zero at 12 o’clock) and your watch is back to telling local and GMT (UTC 0) time, without you ever touching the crown or stopping the movement.

Here we have gathered up 10 of our favourite GMT watches. Despite them all offering the same basic functionality, some go about it in quite different ways – and they also do so across a broad range of prices.

Quick list: what’s the best GMT watch?

The best GMT watches you can buy today:

1. Rolex GMT-Master II

You could argue that this is the quintessential GMT watch. Rolex was among the first companies to put a second hour hand on their watches, helping pilots and other frequent flyers keep an eye on two time zones at once.

The second-generation GMT-Master has a 40 mm case made from Rolex’s proprietary Oystersteel metal, with a bidirectional rotating 24-hour bezel made from ceramic, a guarded screw-down crown and a sapphire crystal protecting the dial. Waterproof to 100 metres, the GMT-Master II has approximately 70 hours of power reserve, so you can take it off on a Friday evening and it’ll still be keeping the correct time by Monday morning.

Highly configurable, the GMT-Master II comes in Pystersteel by default, but can also be bought in a mix of steel and gold, or even solid yellow, white or rose gold. The bezel is then available in black and blue, red and blue (giving it the iconic Rolex ‘Pepsi’ look), grey and black, or green and black. Configurable the latter bezel and Rolex switches things up by installing the crown on the left and the date window at nine o’clock instead of the conventional three. Finally, you can pick between Rolex’s Oyster and Jubilee bracelet styles, with their sporty and more formal looks, respectively.

2. Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT

British watchmaker Christopher Ward has built a strong reputation for offering high-quality watches at affordable prices – and its GMT is no exception. Called the C63 Sealander GMT, the watch borrows some design cues from other members of the Christopher Ward family, but augments them with a bright orange GMT hand and a 24-hour scale around the fixed bezel.

Strictly speaking, this is a dual-time watch, since the bezel does not rotate and so cannot be used to calculate a third time zone. We’ll gloss over that detail though, because you can still set that orange hand to GMT (or whatever time zone you like) and instantly see two times at once. The watch is powered by the Swiss-made Sellita SW330-2 GMT automatic movement with 25 jewels, and there’s a date window at the six o’clock position.

Water resistant to 150 metres and with a power reserve of up to 56 hours, the C63 Sealander GMT has a 39 mm stainless steel case that adopts the same ‘Light-catcher’ design as other Christopher Ward watches.

All variants of C63 Sealander GMT have the same steel case, but there are several dial options, including black, white, green and a colour the company calls Dragonfly Blue. There are also several strap options, including the simpler Bader bracelet and dressier Consort bracelet.

3. Tudor Black Bay GMT

Here’s another GMT watch that initially looks like a diver. Made by Tudor, the Black Bay GMT shares plenty of its design with the rest of the Black Bay family, but stands out thanks to its blue and red bezel with 24-hour markings, and a distinctive red GMT hand set against a black dial.

Other colour options are available, including a white dial option and a stunning bi-metal model (pictured at the very top of this article), but it’s hard not to go for the classic blue-and-red. Water-resistant to 200 metres, the Tudor GMT has a domed sapphire crystal and an unguarded screw-down crown, like other Black Bay models, and the bidirectional rotating bezel (made from anodised aluminium) can be used to calculate a third time zone on the fly.

The watch is powered by Tudor’s own Calibre MT5652 automatic movement with up to 70 hours of power reserve. There’s a date window at the three o’clock position (unlike other models of Black Bay, like the 58), and the watch is offered on either a steel bracelet or a range of fabric straps.

4. Longines HydroConquest GMT

Something of a heavy-duty GMT watch, the Longines HydroConquest is available in two case sizes (41 and 42 mm) and packs an impressive 300 metres of water resistance. The watch has a discreet GMT hand and a rotating ceramic dial. There’s also a date window at the three o’clock position, and of course, the dial is protected by a sapphire crystal.

The automatic mechanical movement has a lengthy power reserve of up to 72 hours, meaning it can be left unworn for three full days without losing time.

Pick a blue dial and bezel for a subtle, dive watch look, or shake things up a bit and go for the green or brown versions; both work well with the standard steel bracelet, but also lend themselves nicely to a fabric nato strap or colour-matched rubber strap. Longines also offers a black version, with pops of colours thanks to an orange GMT hand tip and 24-hour scale around the dial.

We think this is a great option for fans of brown and green watches, but also if you want a watch with the functionality of a GMT, but which looks more like a traditional diver.

5. Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M GMT Worldtimer

Here’s something a bit different. This watch by Omega is described as a Worldtimer GMT, because it offers much more than simply an additional hour hand.

The Seamaster Aqua Terra by Omega has a 24-hour scale on its inner dial for working out GMT, along with 24 cities surrounding the dial, and a map of the Earth (or rather, the brother hemisphere as viewed from the North Pole) at its centre. With this complication, the watch is actually showing the time in all of those 24 cities, not just GMT, with no need to know the time difference between any two locations.

What’s more, you can then use the map to calculate the time in a city not listed on the dial. You’ll need to know where that city is (and it’ll have to be in the northern hemisphere), but it’s a clever way of adding a load of functionality to a watch that also looks unlike most others. You might also notice how London, home of GMT is highlighted in red, and Geneva has been swapped for Omega’s home Swiss city of Bienne.

Water resistant to 150 metres, the watch has a 43 mm stainless steel case with an exhibition case back for viewing the Calibre 8938 automatic movement, which has 60 hours of power reserve. The watch is available in green, blue, black and rose gold, with a range of matching rubber straps and stainless steel bracelets.

6. Seiko 5 Sports GMT SKX Re-Interpretation

Now for something simpler and much more affordable. The Seiko 5 Sports GMT SKX Re-Interpretation offers fantastic value at £420, yet blends a vintage dive watch aesthetic with the utility of a traditional GMT. It’s a re-release of a re-release, since it’s based on the SKX Seiko 5 Sports collection, which arrived in the 1990s and was itself a modernised version of watches from the 1960s

There’s a no-nonsense approach here that we like, with the red GMT hand standing out smartly against the black dial and rotating bezel. There’s also a magnified date window at the three o’clock position (yes, just like Rolex…) and the slight quirkiness of Seiko fitting the guarded, screw-down crown at the four o’clock position instead of three.

This is a fairly large watch, with a case diameter of 42.5 mm and a thickness of 13.6 mm. Water resistance is 100 metres and the automatic Calibre 4R34 movement has 41 hours of power reserve. As well as the black-on-black version mentioned, Seiko makes this GMT watch with a blue dial (with blue and black bezel) and a bright orange dial (with black bezel), so there’s something for everyone.

7. Baltic Aquascaphe GMT

Another relatively young watchmaker, Baltic was founded in 2016. It’s a French company with a name derived from founder Etienne Malec’s father’s roots on the northern coast of Poland. The Aquascaphe GMT is a wonderfully simple timepiece that majors on legibility, thanks to its fuss-free dial and clear markings.

We particularly like the version with a blue and orange bezel, reminding us of the altimeter of an aircraft, and how orange is also used on the GMT hand and ‘Aquascaphe’ branding. The bidirectional rotating bezel is usually made from sapphire, which gives it a glossy finish, while the stainless steel case is relatively compact at 39 mm.

It’s fronted by a double-domed sapphire crystal, plus there’s a date window at the six o‘clock position and water resistance is 100 metres. The watch is powered by a SOPROD C125 GMT automatic mechanical movement, and the case back features an intricate engraving of the world’s time zones.

8. Farer Lander IV

Launched only in 2015, Farer is a young, independent watchmaker from the UK. The company’s GMT is called the Lander IV, and with a 39.5 mm case diameter, it’s fairly compact for a steel GMT.

It serves up a fantastic pop of colour, thanks to the bright orange and red hands used for seconds and GMT hours, set against a gorgeous, triple-stepped dial in sea-green with large, vintage Arabic numerals. Go for the matching orange strap and it’s a real feast for the eyes, or town things down with a matching green strap in suede leather.

Made from stainless steel, the Lander IV has 100 metres of water resistance and its automatic movement has 56 hours of power reserve when fully wound. There’s no bezel on this watch, so instead the 24-hour scale is found on the dial itself. This setup means you can’t track a third time zone, but it also makes the watch seem more compact and less technical than other GMTs.

Other features include a sapphire exhibition case back for viewing the movement within, and how Farer has applied Super-LumiNova to the entirety of the hour and minute hands, as well as the tip of the GMT hand and the hour indices, all of which glow blue at night.

9. Tissot Seastar 1000 Quartz GMT

This quartz-powered Tissot shows how a smart, dive-friendly GMT watch doesn’t have to cost a fortune. At well under US$500 / £500, we think the Seastar 1000 offers great value for money, thanks to its 300 metres of water resistance and classic dive-watch aesthetic.

It’s a true GMT, thanks to the second hour hand and a rotating bezel with a 24-hour scale. There’s also a date window at the six o’clock position, a guarded screw-down crown and an end-of-life indicator for the battery.

The 40 mm stainless steel case features a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and a screw-down steel case back. The watch comes with a steel bracelet with quick-release lug bars that makes it easy to swap in a different strap without needing any tools. We especially like the green and black colour of this watch, with green used to indicate the daylight half of the bezel’s 24-scale, and black used for nighttime. 

10. Q Timex GMT 38mm

Finally, a watch that shows you can buy a GMT with almost any budget. This 38 mm watch from Timex is just US$220 / £200 at the time of writing (with a further 25% for Christmas), yet looks like something far more valuable.

A modern take on a 1970s watch, it has the classic red and blue bezel of a GMT, plus the mandatory additional hour hand, and a date window. Water resistance is 50 metres, so while it’s safe to shower with, we’d suggest not taking it swimming to any depth.

Regardless, this is still a wonderful watch for the money. And while it misses out on premium durability features like a sapphire crystal (it’s domed acrylic instead) and an automatic movement, it still looks the part and performs as a GMT. We also like the compact dimensions of the stainless steel case, which has a diameter of just 38 mm, further leaning into the vintage vibe.

What to consider when buying a GMT watch

As we have hopefully proved, GMT watches are available at almost every price point. And, while they all offer the same core functionality – being able to show the time in two places at once – how they go about this can differ quite significantly. Just look at the Omega’s use of a world map as an example.

Once you have decided you want a GMT watch, our buying advice would be to simply buy the watch you like the look of, but make sure you’re aware of its limitations. Not all GMT watches have a rotating bezel, so can’t help you calculate a third time zone, for example. Also be aware of waterproofing, as a rating of just 50 metres means the watch shouldn’t really be taken to any depth, or exposed to high-pressure water. This might be a consideration if you want a GMT to take on holiday and swim or do watersports with.

Ultimately, the GMT complication is one of the most discrete in watchmaking, but also one of the most useful. Even if you don’t use the watch to keep an eye on GMT (or UTC 0), you can instead adjust it to whichever time zone you like.

For frequent travellers, or employees who work with colleagues and clients in a different timezone, knowing the time of day (or night) anywhere in the world, with just a glance, can be hugely satisfying – and probably quicker than checking on your phone, too.

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