Long-time readers of WWR know that I’ve got a soft spot for watches that come from Shinola. They’ve got a number of nice designs, and their automatic movement Monster line have been very competent divers, and nicely sorted. What if you’re like me, and really enjoy a GMT complication? Well, Shinola has heard us, and just announced the Shinola Monster GMT.
The fact that the Shinola Monster GMT comes with a blue dial and a blue bezel is certainly a bonus in my book. You know what else is a bonus? The fact that they’ve shrunk the case a bit here as well. While prior Monster models came in at 43mm (and 13mm thick), this latest GMT version comes in a 40mm and 12mm thick.
As with the prior models, the Shinola Monster GMT have applied indices layered up with luminous paint, leading to great visibility in the dark (or under the waters). While the ceramic bezel itself is no longer a timing bezel (it’s to track GMT time, you know) the indicator at the 24-hour mark is lumed, keeping things oriented. Wanting to read that second timezone (or third, if you’re getting spicy with the bezel) in the dark, you’re going to need to do some mental arithmetic, as none of the numerals are lumed.
All of this is enabled by the Sellita SW330-2 automatic movement. This is a GMT, but not what those would call a “true” GMT. So, what is a true GMT? For those, the GMT-hand is tied to the minute hand, while the hour hand is freely adjusted around (and used to advance the date). Those are less common that what you might think. With the SW330, you’ll set your hours and minutes just as on any other watch, and then you can adjust the GMT hand by rotating the crown in the opposite direction that you’d use for setting the date.
For someone who’s mostly stationary, and just tracking another time zone (say, UTC time), this setup is just fine. For those who travel a good deal, though, you’d run into problems. With a true GMT, you can land in a new city and easily adjust the hour hand to local time, leaving the GMT hand set to your home time (or whatever zone you’re tracking). Here, adjusting the hour hand would also move the GMT hand, which won’t be desirable. So, you should consider your use case for the GMT, and then pay attention to what movement is in there.
For me, being mostly stationary (in terms of time zones), the SW330 in the Shinola Monster GMT is not a problem at all. I view this latest version to be a nice upgrade to the line, giving us both an additional complication and a smaller steel case. Want to pick one up? It’s running $1,995 on the bracelet (with a second nylon strap) at your local Shinola store or of course online. shinola.com
Tech Specs from Shinola
