9 Of The Best GMT Watches Under $1000 That Caught Our Eye

February 14, 20248 Mins read42 Views

Shopping for a GMT watch, but still saving up for that grail Rolex GMT Master II? Want something a bit more budget friendly, yet still sharp and eye-catching?

Lucky for all of us, there are plenty of great GMT watches available nowadays, many of them well under $1000. And that’s the best part: You don’t need a heap of cash to get one.

We’ve found some of the best GMT watches that won’t make your wallet cry, and they’re all under $1000. So whether you love traveling, or just want to feel like a globe-trotter even when you’re on your couch at home, these watches are your ticket.

Let’s dive in and find the perfect one for you!

EG’s Top GMT Watches From This List

If you want the TL;DR on our faves up front, here they are:

Can’t-Miss

Quartz Classic

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11/06/2023 12:56 am GMT

Wait, so what is a GMT, exactly?

A GMT watch can display the time in two places at once. GMT is an acronym for “Greenwich Meridian Time,” a timekeeping baseline against which all other time zones are measured.

Traditionally, these watches were sophisticated and expensive to assemble. Consequently they were seen as timepieces for upscale jet setters, pilots, and traveling business men.

Luckily that’s not the case nowadays, as you can see from our picks for affordable GMT watches in this article.

How would you use a GMT watch?

If you’re a regular traveler crossing time zones, you can track the time at home as well as your current location.

If you have family or friends far away, you can use your GMT’s functionality to keep track of time where they are, in addition to your own local time. So, for practical use or as a fashion choice, a GMT watch is a handy and cool item to have.

First, we have to talk about the Rolex GMT

There is a chance you’ve seen the Rolex GMT Master somewhere, sometime in your watch journey. The piece is famous for its red and blue bezel and its fourth hand on the dial which is used to track a second time zone on the watch.

The origins of the GMT can be traced back to the mid-1950s when Pan Am Airlines reached out to Rolex to ask if they could design a watch for pilots on long-haul flights to track two separate time zones. The Rolex GMT was born soon thereafter.

The watch became famous for being the first watch of its kind as well as its instantly recognizable design features.

The red and blue on the bezel symbolize daylight and nighttime hours. Since then, Rolex and other brands have experimented with different colors to signify day and night.

These days, thanks to some wizardry from Seiko and a handful of independent brands, you no longer have to shell out five figures to get your hands on one.

We’re Biased: Extra Love For The Seiko GMTs

Let’s start this buying guide off with a few of our favorites from the beloved Seiko brand. I know, we’re a bit biased, but Seiko truly excels at providing a solid price-to-value ratio in these GMTs.

Seiko 5 GMT

Ah yes. The Seiko 5 GMT. The Inspiration for this article. What’s not to love?

Seiko 5 GMT

“SEIKO 5 Sports SKX Sports Style GMT Series, Design of the case and bracelet inspired by one of SEIKO’s best-loved sports watches, known to enthusiasts as the SEIKO SKX series”

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A year ago it exploded onto the scene (models SSK001, SSK003, and SSK005) and changed the game. This 42mm watch is the first Seiko within its entry level Seiko 5 line to feature a GMT movement.

It became one of the bigger stories in the watch world last year because in a way, the release democratized the GMT watch.