Dual Time/ WT / GMT - 1 of 3

Neither of these 3 should be my fist option but, limiting the choices to these 3, I would choose the GS. Here are the reasons what should I eliminate the other 2:

Bulgari:

PVD is a problem in "Adventure Watches". I am not sure about the specific PVD coating that Bulgari uses but in general Black PVD are very easy to scratch and bellow the coating are just a silver/steel case. The results of the scratches are very-visible-very-ugly. And considering that you are looking for an "adventure watch", some scratches are expected, at least on the silver dial they will look good.

Here are a simple article about it:

https://millenarywatches.com/pvd-coating-watches/

JLC:

It is one of my favorite watches but, it is to dressy for the purpose of a GMT/dual timer. I am imagining using a watch with this feature while I am traveling and it looks out of place.

So, the winner is GS!

Of course all that is my humble opinion.

My favorite (of your choices and of my watches) is the JLC. But of all the watches I have, that's the watch I wear the most (and I don't have the other two watches in your picks). Aside from that, time zone watches are my favorite watches (I have currently 3 of those), and I use them regularly. I travel about once a month for work/pleasure to different time zones. 

The JLC is so easy to change the time zone, etc. (though it only goes one way), and the reverse dial serves me as a totally different watch, which I started doing nearly after 1 year of owning it and wearing it. 

Other than that... I've had many people try my JLC and feel they can't wear the rectangular watch. I really enjoy the GMT watches with outer bezels for their ease of use (24 or 12 hours, fixed or bidirectional). I have not tried something like the GS above with the 24-hr marker inside. I do find that I prefer to look at the dial and have the local time be the most obvious time rather than following the GMT hand or looking at the bezel. I haven't tried those dual time watches with two hour hands, but I am planning on getting one to try, hopefully sooner than later. I also find the Louis Cottier style worldtimers hard to read the time without a subdial or another complication helping me. The Bulgari's black and white dial may make it better, though. Still, I want them all.

So, functionally, all three do the job of giving you two time zone tracking. Functionally, any of them.

Aesthetically, those are three VERY different looks. What I don't know is the kind of travel/lifestyle/brand/image you're trying to hit, to know which of these three will fit;

• The murdered-out Bulgari is the most casual of the three, feeling a little trendier or modern/hip. Great with jeans and business casual, not sure I'd put it with a tux. Great if you're hiking into the great unknown or something more rugged, less so for bubbles by the bay.
• The JLC is the opposite end of the spectrum; refined and dressiest, isn't too old to hang with the business casual crowd, but not something I'd wear on a cycling trip.
• The GS sits between the two, can dress up and (mostly) dress down, has some of the refined elegance in the case and hands but more of the adventure feel in the minute track and busy-ness of the dial.

So, really, to answer this question, we need you do do a whole GQ fashion and outfit pictorial. ;)

Omega Seamaster Worldtimer. Most underrated Omega. 

That's a challenging question....

I would probably get rid of the bulgari because the design doesn't tickles me, between grand seiko and JLC it is a difficult choice.

If I have to choose maybe JLC reverso is the one, high horology,the watch maker of watchmakers and it is two watches for the price of one, you can't beat that! But still the grand seiko is still a gourgeus watches.

I would consider the reverso, especially this version, especially with not gator strap, to be at most a business casual option. I say at most because you could wear it with almost anything except maybe to go running or play sports, but then you probably won’t with the other watches either. 

I have a coworker who is afraid of forgetting to take of his watch before showering so that’s a real concern among some and if that’s you, I would not do the reverso. 
 

I also find GS watches, especially the heritage style cases, a tweener. It’s super nice and shiny to be a rugged “sports” watch but then it’s angular and athletic looking to be more versatile. The GMT versions are also on the thicker side but they do sit nicely on my wrist from my experience. I keep wanting one but I can’t find one I want. 
 

I have zero clue on the Bulgari. It does look nice, though. 

I would, and have done a GS. Accuracy is great for travel and although I love the look of the JLC, I think it is too dressy for this use. The Bulgari doesn’t speak to me. 

Thanks for the suggestion onlinemails.

I have indeed considered and tried the watch, and didn't like it.

On the bracelet it's 100% not for me. On the rubber it is decent.

Also didn't like the "feel" of the watch. For some reason it just did not click.

Do you own it? Do you have the rubber or bracelet?

How do you like the size?

Cheers,

Daniel

Hey coffeemike, indeed these are three very different watches.

I'm also somewhat torn between the rout I would want to go down, more sporty or more serious. I tend to not wear suits very much though.

However, I am a believer that the Reverso can do both; serious and casual (B&J has a great video about it). Black vs brown strap. 🤯

Same goes for the GS (see FRATELLO) especially on the strap it becomes more serious.

So I guess one could say I tend towards the versatile.

Thanks for the food for thought coffeemike.

Cheers,

Daniel

Hey Robocollects, what GS to you have and how do you like the crown "operation" of it?

The Bulgari wasn't on my mind either until I tried it on. The looks in metal is uber cool. On the back, the movement doesn't quite fit the blackness of the rest of the watch though, too bright and flashy. Small grape though.

Cheers,

Daniel

Hi thiago, I put some thoughts on the GS and JLC versatility in another comment: https://www.watchcrunch.com/danie1/posts/dual-time-wt-gmt-1-of-3-8057#comment-64372

The Bulgari certainly is the outlier here. Not so much concerned about the PVD coating though. I have  seen PVD age nicely. Check out this Royal Oak 😎

Have you tried any of the three? For me the tactile feel and operation of the watch is always a very important factor. Any thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Daniel

Hey ovid924, thanks for the feedback. I have tried the JLC and it works nicely on me and my wrist.

What other timezone watches do you have and maybe can recommend? 

Just curious.

Cheers,

Daniel

I have it on the bracelet, and I do not have the rubber strap. I am still looking for a aftermarket strap for this watch. I do not like the Omega strap coz it looks like my lawn chair TBH. 

Yes fit is personal, I don't try any of the watches I buy and I have been lucky so far. I have watches from 45mm to 37mm, and this watch is 43mm and fits me well. I love the dial on this watch, the image of the globe in the center is a piece of art, when you look at it under a loop its spectacular. The lume on this is really good. The inner 24hr ring can be hard to read if you have poor eyes. 

One more thing to consider before buying a world timer or GMT is that, there are some proposals world wide to remove daylight savings. World timers use different colors to mark timezones that follow/not follow daylight savings. In the US there was a bill to remove daylight savings which recently passed. If you want an updated representation of world time you might want to wait till these laws take effect. 

Other watches I would seriously consider (because I have... and it seems to fit what you are looking at):

JLC Master Geographic (Sector Dial version - more versatile in looks, I think). Tourneau's had a new one on their website forever, even though the watch is now a few years old. https://www.tourneau.com/watches/jaeger-lecoultre/master-geographic-q1428530-JLC0133324.html

JLC Master Compressor Geographic (100m WR). I'd pick up a rubber strap for it.

I had a Todor GMT. It is a handsome watch, but for whatever reason it just didn't sit on my wrist well in terms of ergonomics. I think it was the weight and height combo, but if you can do it, they are fantastic watches.

Currently, I have the Reverso Duo Face as mentioned. I also have a Rolex Explorer 2 (16750, tritium polar) and a Farer Markham.

If you are like me, I bet the watch that wears best and looks the best to you is the watch you will wear the most.

Functionally, except for watches with another time zone as a very readable subdial (such as the JLC Geographic or, dare I say, Franck Muller Master Banker--don't shoot me), and maybe even then, you'd have to figure out what you prefer to see and set more easily the local time or the home time. If you prefer to see the local time clearly, you are more likely to want to be able to adjust the main hour dial easier without disturbing all other complications in your watch. On the other hand if you prefer to see the home time (or whatever designated time) more clearly, I think a lot more watches become acceptable, though not the dual time watches where the top hour hand jumps while the bottom hour hand is a less visible color or shape.

A "true" GMT watch with a rotating bezel sort of allows you to do both easily, albeit in a compromise, because you can choose to leave your hour hand alone and use the bezel to change the GMT hand time, or you can choose to jump your main hour hand to local time while leaving the GMT hand fixed to home time. The Duo Face takes a different compromise and gives you two watches and the ability to jump the hours on the "second" watch.

Seems like JLC has quite a few offerings in this department. A friend of mine, in fact, has the JLC Master Geographic (non sector dial). Great watch, but a bit too conservative for me.

Great collection you have 👍 Since when do you own the Reverso and what made you get it?

And I feel the same about the Tudor GMT. For me the BB58 is perfect when it comes to proportions and wirst presence. Unluckily they don't make a GMT version, yet..

Whats your take on the JLC Polaris WT Chrono?

Functionally I'm not too concerned with the ease of use. I'm good spending 5 minutes to adjust it during flights. Actually for me this is part of the joy of owning a watch; interacting with it. And let's be honest, most of the time it's just there to track a second time zone anyways.

In terms of deciding factors for me it is good design, look on me and fit. However, the workings of the watch are super critical to me as well. Unfortunately this seems to be a bit of an overlooked topic.

Pulling the crown on a H. Moser & Cie and setting/winding the watch with this uber engaged, buttery smooth, yet tactile mechanism.. 🤤 I digress.

The whole rubber strap thing, I find it  intriguing. It gives you a whole new experience with your watch. Light, comfortable, different look. But, I would also never get the watch not on the bracelet.

However, with the aftermarket straps it's always a bit of a struggle. I rarely find ones that  integrate into the case as nicely as the manufacturers strap offering does.

Did you come across a source that makes integrating Omega aftermarket straps?

My current limit is 42mm on the upper and 36mm on the lower end. Recently feeling more drawn to the smaller sizes.

Thanks for the hint for the upcoming change. Haven't really considered that at all. Do you think the manufacturers will change their current offerings?

These guys make the ultimate rubber straps https://rubberb.com apparently. Although I don't see Omega on their list of supported brands, they do have universal straps as well. I do not have their straps, although this is what I leaning towards getting for the world timer. Probably the rubberB strap that looks like leather. 

Regarding daylight saving changes, I don't know when the law will go into effect, or it will ever because that means a lot of travel, finance, scheduling software, TV station programing etc etc  and apple/google/msft calendars and other productivity software will need to make those changes. It might turn into a Y2K like situation here.  But the move is gaining momentum world wide. If the change is going to happen in, it might be wise to pick a watch that does not color code timezones based on daylight savings, like many of the GMT watches. Worldtimers will need to modify their offering to reflect the change. 

Hahaha. I am a Moser convert. I also have a pioneer and am really really thinking about the heritage dual time and their steel bracelet watch. I absolutely love their perpetual calendar, too, but that might be a bridge too far at the moment. 
 

I had been eyeing a reverso for a bit. I tried on some older ones and the standard sized moon phase but I thought maybe it was too small. I went for the reverso last year when I finally realized I’ve always had a fairly buttoned up watch, and the two dials thing was an amazing idea. Before that I always thought the Cartier tank might be the right answer, but really I enjoy the larger size of the reverso. And the second dial. And the second time zone. That’s it. 
 

As to the JLC WT, I tried on at the store. It’s fantastic. But I dislike the movement in comparison to the geographic. That’s a fantastic fantastic watch. I just never pulled the trigger. I really had a hard time getting out of the shop last week when I saw the master compressor Geographic. 

Congratulations on your Moser 👌. I love what they are doing. Never knew they have a dual time watch in their offering. Definitely need to go check it out.

On the Reverso vs. Tank, I had put them in the same category before. Only to learn that they are very different watches after all. Did so just because of their rectangular appearance.

For me the Reverso medium size works well, luckily. While I find the large version to be out of proportion and just not right. With the tank, everything other than large version is, unfortunately,  too small for me. Again, the large just never looks right in my eyes. And I hate the date on it. A Date just does not belong on a Tank!

Thanks for your thoughts. Will try to have a look at the JLC Compressor Geographic.

What is your experience with the Grand Seiko side of things?

Wow, their straps look great! Thanks for sharing.

Any other GMT, travel time or WT watches you have experience with that you can share?

Not a lot in terms of GS. I’ve tried on a bunch and so far I tend to like the  time only watches the most, especially in the elegance line. I’ll have to see if I can find a worn example of their sporty lines because the shines they get on their polished surfaces make me uncomfortable to wear their sporty lines. 

I have 3 GS watches - SGBN005, the blue dial GMT quartz, the Winter and the Skyflake, both Spring Drives. The crown feel for the three are different.  The quartz has a screw down crown, easy to engage screw, first position has a nice ratchet feel aligned with setting hour hand. The Winter has a screw down crown Skyflake does not. Both have nice ratcheting with date, slight resistance with a file like feel in the second position, which helps with accurate time setting. In the winding position there’s also a fine, file like feeling. Clear stop when fully wound. I don’t have a GS hi-beat. Hope this helps. 

How do you like their power reserve indicators?

Throws me off most their watches.

Sounds great, need to check all of them out more closely!

Congrats to some nice watches :-D

The GS spring drive power reserve? I don't like it at all. I think for the most part, it ruined the dial. It just looks unplanned. definitely throws me off as well. 

Since Grand Seiko is on the list... Have you looked at the new GMT? 

That bulguri is sweet! 

Looks interesting. Definitely need to check it out when I get the chance to visit another GS store.