This, the end of our Poor Man’s GMT round-up, is fraught with horror. The Aeromatic 1912 GMT is a quartz watch. It’s nice, it has a big face, but the ticking hand makes me slightly nauseous. Can I put off my horror long enough to write about it? Sure.
A quick story before we begin: when I lived in Poland, they had bikers. These bikers were not like my neighbor, who is a biker. These bikers looked for a “look,” they wanted the biker style and biker cool. But they didn’t have the history. They rode Harley’s, sure, but they’d get their asses kicked at a Brooklyn biker bar. It’s just too hard to pull off. When I look at the Aeromatic I think of those bikers. It tries so hard, wants to be so great, yet it falls flat.
The Aeromatic is not unattractive. Huge hands, nice GMT hand, an attractively polished case. But everything vies for your attention. The crown is too big. The numerals are too Breitling-esque. The hands are huge by half and the GMT hand looks like an orphan in a wading pool. Nothing comes together here, and nothing seems to work.
That is not to say that the finish isn’t excellent and, for the money, it is a great way to play in the second-time-zone world. But a similarly apportioned Glycine or Rolex does a much better job and is nicely understated, eschewing the massive logo for form and function. Look at the little globe at the top of this piece? It seems as if someone really liked that globe. It doesn’t seem as if the globe branded or named this watch.
The presentation is meticulous, if bland. The watch comes in a padded metal box with warranty information. Setting is simple. Change the GMT and the date at the first pull-out position and change the time at the second position. That’s to be expected. This watch is apparently waterproof to 5ATM, but the leather strap and signed buckle would say otherwise. Overall, at the price, a nicer GMT can be found.
Quality: 3/5
Style: 1/5
Overall: 2/5
–John Biggs
Looking for an aviator? Consider…
Tissot T-Navigator 3000 Men Black Leather T96.1.428.52
Size: GENT. Case Material: STAINLESS STEEL. Water Resistance: 50 METERS Glass: TACTILE SAPPHIRE. Dial: BLACK. Hour indicators: ARABIC NUMBER. Bracelet: BLACK LEATHER. Movement Caliber: E45.301 QUARTZ (TACTILE). Function(s): MULTIFUNCTION. Battery Life: 36 months.
