In Review: The Q Timex GMT

Q Timex GMT 38mm Stainless Steel Watch – $181.59 ($229)

PRICE UPDATE: Amazon finally got some stock of the Q GMT and they’ve been putting them on sale regularly. Can’t say that about through Timex direct, as they’re often excluded from sales and promos.

Move aside, MoonSwatch. The real Quartz King of 2022 is here.

Forget the bleepin’ moon. After the last few years, people just want to get on a plane and see some bit of the world that looks significantly different from the four walls they’ve been staring at since March of 2020. And while travel isn’t as glamourous as it was when quartz watches disrupted the entire watch-making industry, the new Q Timex GMT looks and acts like the golden-age of travel. All while carrying with it a coach-class price tag. It’s an affordable scratch to an itch that’s been building since before anyone knew what “social distancing” meant. And from a business standpoint, it’s very, very smart.

GMT hand + classic red and blue 24-hour dial. 
Red = sun’s up in your 2nd time zone. Blue = Evening. 

Thanks to an extra “GMT” hand and corresponding 24-hour bezel, GMT watches are basically two watches in one. Originally used by aviators to keep track of the time at home-base as they jetted across the globe/multiple time-zones, that 24 hr GMT hand + bezel makes for a pretty nifty horological complication. And there are multiple ways to use it. One way is as follows… Say you’re headed on a trip far, far away. You can set the GMT hand to what time it is at home before you leave. When you touch down, simply set the watch’s main hand(s) to display local time. When you want to know what time it is back at the ranch (so you don’t call and wake anyone up), just look at where the big GMT hand is pointing at the 24 hour bezel. That’ll tell you what time it is in Military/24-hour time. Also, red = sun’s up. Blue = evening time. Or thereabouts.

That, and the extra hand just looks pretty cool.

A smart, 1970’s-influenced, 38mm case.
Also smart? Not carrying a firearm onto your flight,
as Mr. Sad-Faced-Pistol cartoon in the background reminds us.

Overall styling on the Q Timex GMT is very much influenced by the 1970s. Angular case with brushed and polished surfaces, a bubble-style acrylic crystal, an aluminum top ring, and an easy-access battery hatch in the rear. Vintage-y lume gives the applied indices even more depth. Water resistance is a just-fine 50m. It looks terrific. Timex understood the assignment. They nailed it.

Swiss movement is quiet. No Timex “tick” here.

Movement is Swiss, and therefor it does NOT make the loud “TICK” that other, cheaper Timex watches are saddled with. That loud tick can drive some people nuts. Especially when they’re trying to sleep. Can’t imagine what it would do to your head if your brain was jetlagged. So yeah, thankfully this travel-ready watch doesn’t produce that relentless bit of audio torture.

Bubble acrylic crystal. Bracelet inset links have some “bling”
1970’s influence.

The only knock might be the look of the bracelet. It might be a bit divisive, as those smaller inset bits are polished and thus produces a certain level of cheesiness. But again, it’s a 1970s style watch. Flash was very much of the time. And it seems to be that time again (opinion: unfortunately.) For those who abhor “bling,” there are quick release/easy change-out pins on the back. Width is 18mm, so sourcing an alternative shouldn’t be too tough if you so choose.

Time to get back to that other kind of stamp collecting?

The travel industry is rebounding. People are finally able to satiate their wanderlust now that the pandemic is (hopefully) easing. Would it just be easier to use your phone to keep track of multiple time zones as one travels the globe? Of course. But if you were the type to whip out your phone every time you needed to check the time, you probably wouldn’t be wearing a watch.

So go forth. Freely. With said phone in your pocket, and something like this on your wrist.