Watches with GMT functions have always been an aesthetic that has captured my attention. I have always leaned towards watches with black or white dials, and the splash of color that a GMT hand can add to such watches is something I yearn for. But watches with GMT functions also come with a hefty price tag above those of an average collector like myself. However, in mid-2022, Seiko did it. Once again breaking ground with their Seiko 5 Sports series, the Japanese brand has made GMT watches affordable.
The affordable GMT watch from Seiko comes from the Seiko 5 Sports GMT references and has three color variations. Those who have owned the highly coveted SKX will find a very familiar offering in this new generation of GMT divers, while those who haven’t will surely be able to find a place in their collection for the new references.
The Seiko 5 Sports GMT promises a good value proposition. GMT function, 100m water resistance, and the comfortable case of the SKX.
The first thing that got my attention was how much the watch sat comfortably on my 15.5cm wrist. On paper, the 42.5mm diameter seems large. Still, paired with the 46mm lug-to-lug, the watch sits comfortably on small wrists, which made the SKX so famous for people of various wrist sizes. The turned-down lugs gripped the side of my wrists, preventing the watch from feeling flat on my wrist. The 13.6mm thickness feels just right, a minor increment from the original SKX due to adding the exhibition case back. The crown is the standard push-pull at the 4 pm position, protected by crown guards. I know many will complain about this, but for Seiko to push out an affordable watch with GMT, Seiko had to make concessions. The drilled lug holes are a welcome feature on the Seiko 5 Sports GMT, especially since I first grabbed my tools, knocked out the bracelet, and put in new spring bars to let my obsession with NATO straps play.
One of the few things that will first catch your eye with the Seiko 5 Sports GMT series will be the dials. Drawing inspiration from the iconic SKX series, the Seiko 5 Sports GMT lineup boasts a range of captivating design elements that seamlessly blend heritage with modernity. While my preference leaned towards the understated elegance of the matte black dial of the SSK001K1, contrasting opinions highlighted the striking allure of the sunburst blue and vibrant orange dials found in the SSK003K1 and SSK005K1 models, respectively.
The Seiko 5 Sports perfectly captures all the different needs with three color variations on the dials. The SSK001K1 is your go-to reference for a formal and mature appearance with its matte black dial framed by a black and grey bezel insert. The SSK003K1 hovers between formal and casual in the middle of the spectrum, allowing you to go both ways with its sunburst blue dial and black and blue bezel when you dress it up with suitable straps. The shades of blue you can achieve by playing in the light at different angles will keep pulling you back to your wrist to admire it. The third reference, the SSK005K1, is the one that goes all out in terms of summer fun with its sunburst orange dial complemented by a black and grey dial with gilt font. The burst of orange on your wrist gets attention.
The dial of the Seiko 5 Sports GMT shares the same visual elements as the Seiko 5 dive watches with the classic Roman sword and arrow handset. Having gone with the more conservative option, the SSK001K1, I discovered that the more I looked at the watch, the more I felt that the subtlety of the design was its most significant win. Against its stablemates, the SSK001K1, with its matte black dial, might look bland. Still, when you combine it with the silver-rimmed hands, raised white markers, and glossy bezel, the SSK001K1 raises itself from being another diver to exuding elegance and class. You could just as quickly wear it with a casual outfit, a semi-formal work outfit, or just straight-on full formal with a coat and look fit in with it.
However, as outstanding as the balance of matte against the glossy bezel may be, the show stealer would be the big red GMT hand. Powering the Seiko 5 Sports GMT is the 4R34 movement, a modified version of the 4R36 in the Seiko 5 Sports catalog. Like the 4R36, you still get the hacking (when pulling out the crown to adjust the time, the seconds hand stops moving so that you can set the time precisely as you sync it with another time source), the hand-winding (the ability to manually wind the watch with the crown in the classic position to charge up the power reserves) and the 41-hour power reserve. Seiko claims the 4R series’ conservative accuracy ratings are also present in the 4R34, with the movement being accurate to +45/-35 seconds per day.
The Seiko 5 Sports GMT uses the caller GMT or office GMT, another concession made for affordability. Again, I’m not complaining about it for this price point. There are two types of GMT watches: traveler or “true” GMT and caller GMT. The traveler GMT allows independent operation of the local hour hand to reflect the timezone you have arrived at, with the GMT hand representing your home timezone, which is more intuitive when you are a frequent traveler. The caller GMT independently operates the GMT hand to reflect the timezone you arrive at instead, with the local hour hand still representing your home timezone. Some extra steps are needed to adjust it when flying around across timezones compared to the true GMT watches. Still, as mentioned earlier, it’s a concession in exchange for affordability. The independent operation of the GMT hand lets you easily track the timezone of your relatives staying abroad or colleagues in offices in another country at different timezones. The GMT hand jumps by the hour as you turn the crown. Sadly, my furthest relative is in Singapore, which shares the same timezone, so I still need to find a proper use for the GMT.
Overall, the dial is generously applied with Seiko’s own Lumibrite on the hands and the markers, enhancing legibility and adding a captivating luminous glow to the dial in low-light conditions, a feature consistently praised across various reviews. Another delicious feature Seiko added to the Seiko 5 Sports GMT is the Cyclops. It’s a feature that creates some divide among Seiko fans, as some think that Seiko might be trying too hard to increase the semblance to a specific Rolex reference. As someone who regularly checks the date on my watch and someone under the age of 40, I find the Cyclops helpful whenever I glance at my watch for a date check. It also helps to have more features that allow the Sport GMT references to stand out from their other Seiko 5 brethren.
While discussing the date, Seiko removed the day window to allow for the GMT hand adjustment on the crown position. With the 4R36 movement, turning the crown clockwise in the first position controlled the day window. However, on the Seiko 5 GMT, it controls the GMT hand, which jumps in hourly increments along the 24-hour scale.
A nice flat piece of glossy Hardlex crystal protects the dial, another proprietary product of Seiko commonly seen on their entry-level watches. Aside from protecting the dial, the Hardlex crystal is used for the display case back and the bezel. Despite its entry-level association, the Hardlex crystal boasts higher shatter-resistance than sapphire crystal, with sapphire crystal winning in the scratch-resistant department.
Following the GMT and the cyclops as standout features for the SSK001K1 and its siblings, the Seiko 5 Sports GMT’s bezel is also worthy of mention. The bezel on the references are bi-directional rotating free-floating bezels, which surprisingly took me by surprise when I realized how much I appreciated the lack of clicks when I was turning it around. The lack of clicks also meant no backplay, ensuring the smooth operation of the bezel to where you need it to be. While some reviewers appreciated the bi-directional rotating bezel’s smooth operation and lack of backplay, others may have preferred a bezel with audible clicks for precise time tracking. But what the bezel excels in is how it catches the eye. As mentioned, all three references have two-toned bezels, split horizontally at the 6 and 18 markers of the 24-hour scale on the bezel to distinguish between day and night. The top half is black, while the bottom half is gray. The Hardlex crystal plays a very significant role here with its glossiness, manipulating the reflection of light at certain angles, where the bezel could be black the whole way around or where the gray half varies between dark and polished.
Bracelet-wise, Seiko has gone with a retro Jubilee steel band with a folding clasp released with dual push buttons and a secure lock. The bracelet has solid links, which could be more groundbreaking, but it gives the bracelet additional support. Feel-wise, it’s jingly and jangly, it feels cheap, and it did nothing to make me appreciate steel bands. When I got my hands on it, I swapped it out and replaced it with Nato straps.
Overall, the Seiko 5 Sports GMT has made a dent in the watch industry with its affordable lineup of GMT watches. Fans of this new iteration of the SKX don’t have to wait long if they want to start a new collection centered around the Sports GMT because there are already 3 US-exclusive and 2 Asia-exclusive colorways at the moment of writing. For anyone looking to get a new dive watch from the Seiko 5 line, I recommend the Sport GMT for its affordability and the features packed into it.