The cheapest true GMT available?

This arrived for me today, the Zeppelin LZ129 GMT, and I think it might be a competitor for the cheapest true GMT watch. It has its shortcomings, but for £352 (US$448 or €408) for a 'Made in Germany' true GMT watch, with a high-beat (28,800BPH) movement, I don't think anything comes close to this value-wise.

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I bought mine via Iguana Sell (https://www.iguanasell.co.uk/collections/zeppelin/products/zeppelin-lz-129-hindenburg-automatic-watch-blue-42-mm-gmt-7668-3) who I believe also sell a version of the same watch but in more period correct beige (the watches have a distinctly 1930s theme and come with a warranty card dated in the 1930s... whether a German watch brand based on a 30s theme is for you is something for you to decide on 😂). Iguana Sell's customer service was brilliant, save for a slight delay in postage. Postage was free, and duties were covered by Iguana Sell (who are based in Spain, shipping to me in the UK). The watch contains a Miyota 9075 'True GMT' movement, which is based on the Miyota 9015 and features simple but attractive Geneva (or Tokyo) striping.

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A true (or travellers) GMT allows the local hour hand to be set independently of the GMT hand, allowing for easier switching between time zones, the GMT hand set to your home timezone (or GMT/UTC), and the local hands changing to show the time in your current timezone, vs a callers or office GMT, more common in cheap GMT movements like the Seiko NH34, has the GMT hand slaved to the hour hand, so changing the local time also changes the second (home or GMT) timezone.

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Zeppelin calls the blue croc-print strap included with the watch "fine calfskin", but the strap to me felt poor quality, and requires a lot of breaking in, if you're a strap-a-holic I'd perhaps look to replace this one ASAP.

The dial has an attractive blue sunburst effect, that is quite subtle unless in direct light. Unfortunately, the lack of anti-reflective undercoating also makes the watch significantly harder to read in direct light.

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The watch features domed mineral crystal and 50m of water resistance, and is quite thick at 14mm, with a 42mm dial making it unsuitable for small wrists.

All in all, this to me seems like an absolute bargain of a find, and while yes some compromises are made, all in all, this seems like a bit of a spec monster for the price, and a brilliant-looking watch too.

Reply
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Thanks for sharing! It’s a very nice watch with very retro vibes

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Handsome watch!

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I like the look of it, but I wish that the crystal were sapphire instead of mineral glass.