Seiko 5 SSK GMTs: I'm not a GMT guy, but for under £400 they're all great
Bonanza Life, bros
I hope you like GMTs, because if you don't, you can sling your hook. Look at what Seiko Steve has sent me: a box of GMTs, and he's bought them all. Do I like GMTs? I don't really like them. But Steve does. If you're after a fully in-house GMT from a heritage brand for under £400, here they are. A budget-friendly GMT for non-travellers who want to track a second time zone and clutter up the dial with a pointless hand they'll never pay any attention to.
Retail is £420, but these things are selling new for between £260 and about £350. You're not going to get a mechanical GMT from a proper watch brand anywhere close to that price. I'm telling you that for a fact.
Wears like a 40, not a 44
They wear very, very well. They wear like a 40, I would say. Not like a 44. Every one comes on the upgraded Jubilee, which is nothing like the Jubilee that came with the SKX. It's a different level of quality. Much improved. And my wrist, 19.5 cm or 7.5 in, is exactly the same size as Steve's, so we don't have to faff when we swap twerps.
The numbers: 42.5 mm across, and quite thick at 13.5 mm, because the GMT movement makes them thicker, doesn't it? 22 mm lugs, 100 metres of water resistance, push-pull crown, no screw-down. Hardlex crystal, Hardlex inlay in the bezel, exhibition back, and little spring bars like a dress watch because it's not a diver.
The bits I hate
The friction-fit bezels. Every one has a different level of friction to the fit, which is quite interesting. Just winding the watch, you start moving the bezel around. I'm just not really enjoying these bezels, bros. And the cyclops. Idiotic cyclops. Get rid of it immediately.
The clasp is a stamped-out piece of junk with four micro-adjustments and no dive extension, because it's not a diver. The 4R34 is 21,600 vph, 3 Hz, 24 jewels and a 41-hour power reserve, which is quite modest by today's standards but more than adequate for anyone. The GMT hand jumps by the hour. Great if you stay in one place and want a second time zone; if you want to travel with a GMT, you'll be paying a bit more money.
The loom, and Steve's two pennies
Quick loom shot with the light off. It's adequate. Not as good as a Marinemaster, not as good as an SPB, not as good as anything more expensive, clearly. But it's perfectly good. Very good. Better than a lot of other brands, and better than any of my Doxas that cost multiples of the price.
Seiko Steve wanted a few words read out, so here they are, and they're his, not mine: the current Fives are a step up from the SKX, more accurate, with hacking and hand-winding, nicer indices, better bracelets, and 100 m is plenty for anyone buying these. Not me, he says.
Verdict
I'm not a GMT guy, but I'm not knocking them. For less than £400? Unbelievable. They're all great. I'll stick to my behemoths and my true ISO divers, but I'd quite gladly wear one of these to the beach. If you made me pick, I'd go for the bi-colour Sprite and the Sky Blue Silver Cloud. They're not bad at all. Never give up, bros.
