Timex Q GMT 38mm

I really, really like the vintage GMT Master from Rolex. I’m not sure what it is that completely captures me about that watch, but it is right up my alley, that is for sure. I’m especially in love with the proper vintage Bakelite bezel version with the smaller case. I saw one recently on Chrono24 for 150 grand EUR. I laughed hysterically.

For those of us who can’t cough up that kind of money for a dainty watch with a jingly-jangly bracelet, a pressed clasp, and a friction bezel, and just general poor quality, the Timex Q GMT is here to offer a shoulder to cry on.

Now, I own this watch and I really like it, but before I start glazing it I must get a couple of things off my chest.
Firstly, price. It is not as bad as 150 grand for a vintage Rolex, but it is almost as audacious. 250 euros can get you some pretty sweet deals elsewhere, ones that include sapphire, a quality bracelet, and worthwhile water resistance in the package, usually powered by a mechanical movement, so I would take the self-proclaimed authority and say this watch for this kind of price is not a good deal, not at all. I bought mine for 50% off, that is where its value truly lies.

I would like to note that the negatives listed above (lack of sapphire, lack of safe water resistance, jingly-jangly bracelet, and a friction bezel) are only issues when we take the asking price into consideration, but they are otherwise features rather than disadvantages.

The acrylic crystal is really good-looking, it’s warm and cozy, offers nice distortion, and you will definitely scratch it up, and scratch it up badly. That is what I did at least in the very first couple of days of ownership without even noticing it, and I am generally very careful with my watches.

The bracelet looks awesome, kinda like a Jubilee but not really, as it is more similar to an integrated style bracelet. Very nice. Only issue is the 18mm lug width, which you only notice when you take off the bracelet and replace it with a vintage-style brown leather strap (you know, the one with the white threads on the top for decoration, because that kind of strap was specifically made for watches with Pepsi-colored bezels), and it is an issue because the 18mm strap attached to an already small, 38x44x12.5mm sized watch makes the whole package wear very small, too small to be honest.

Wearing it on the integrated bracelet, however, is great (if you don’t mind complete lack of micro-adjustment, therefore probably wearing the watch loose) as the visible width of the bracelet starts from 21mm tapering down to 18mm, which makes the watch feel perfectly sized, and the pressed clasp, jingly construction, and general light weight all can be accepted and even loved a little bit as they enhance the vintage feel of this watch, which is the whole point really.

The movement is great. It is quartz, which may be an issue for some of you more uptight folks with an internalized, everlasting trauma caused by those evil Japanese during the quartz crisis, but for the rest, it’s great as it will be a lot more accurate than the 150 grand GMT Master, and servicing it through the small hatch on the caseback will only require a neglected, overgrown fingernail and a couple of bucks for a decade worth of batteries.
Now it must be said, because there are enthusiasts out there that really care, which is beyond me but anyway, this GMT is a “caller” or “office” GMT. So there you go.

The Timex Q GMT is the type of watch you just love to look at. It almost feels like a dear friend or rarely seen but loved even more relative. You look at the dial and get lost in the reminiscence for some nostalgic romanticism that stuck with you for some reason, you admire the domed, warm acrilyc, the polished indices, you chuckle a bit when you see the half-finished Mercedes hour hand, you look at the GMT hand and have no idea what time it is there, wherever it is pointing, you twist the vibrantly colored red and blue bezel while you dream about flying a commercial airplane over the Atlantic Ocean (even though you barely even passed your driver’s exam and you regularly forget to shift down from 4th to 2nd when a corner is coming up), and you just have a really great time, with a really well-designed watch, that just screams fun.