We here at WWR have long been fans of what Schofield Watches have been making. We’ve written about a number of their pieces, and even went hands-on with a set of their straps (seen here), as well as their Telemark (review). Earlier this year we wrote about their latest (and most-affordable) model, and now we’re back with a hands-on review of the Schofield Light GMT.
What the Schofield Light GMT is all about
Schofield has been all about general-purposes watches. For 15 years, they’ve had basically the same case shape and dimensions. That’s a long stretch for anyone, so it just makes sense that it was time to keep things fresh, and get a new design down.
So, while the basic shape is reminiscent of what came before, it’s noticeably smaller, at 40mm. It’s all got a much thinner profile, as there’s less steel. To “make up” for that, you’ve got something else Schofield hasn’t done before – put a boxed sapphire crystal on things. Put this all together with a price tag we’ve not seen from them before, and well, we don’t see how this watch couldn’t sell like gangbusters.
The GMT
Then again, I’ve always been partial to a GMT watch. But, you say, the Schofield Light GMT has no GMT bezel! Or even a GMT scale on the dial! To that, we say, welcome to how Schofield designs things.
Don’t get me wrong – I like my tools to make sense, and GMT bezels and scales do just that. However, when you’ve got the basics down, but still like the function, if you have a second one, why not make it different?
For me, the Schofield Light GMT was unlike any GMT watch I had in before. For someone like me who’s not traveling as much any more, and uses the GMT hand to track what time our servers (in my day job) are running at, this is an implementation I can get behind. The GMT hand is subtle without those additional scales, but it’s there when you need it.
This is driven by the Seiko NH34A, which is a caller GMT. And that’s perfectly fine for this implementation, because a quick-set main hour hand doesn’t make much sense for how this design is laid out. I think of this design as the GMT take on a desk diver, giving us a helpful (for my use case) office timekeeper.
Wearing the Schofield Light GMT
As you might expect, the Schofield Light GMT is eminently wearable given the specs (40mm by 13.5mm tall). Also helping that along is an superb leather strap. Schofield has had great straps all along, but they’ve always been for 24mm lugs. These new “Sugar Free” straps are for everything else, including the 22mm lugs we have here.
With that 22mm width, you do get an unexpected premium surprise – the buckle that comes from the Schofield Obscura. That’s because those 24mm straps taper to 22mm, while here it’s a straight 22mm. Of note, you’ll also get a 22mm rubber strap as well, so you’ve got versatility right out of the box.
Wrapping things up
If you couldn’t tell, I was positively enamored with my time with the Schofield Light GMT. We applaud them for breaking into a new design, as well as breaking new ground on the pricepoint, keeping things more affordable for each of us. That affordability is despite the fact that they’re only making 150 of each variant of the Schofield Light GMT.
Want to get in the Schofield club with this lovely entry-level model? You can for just £2,190 (approx. $2,900) which includesVAT, in either the white dial/silver case (aka “The Light One“), or in the darker dial and case finish that we reviewed here, “The Dark One“. These, and the rest of the watches, can be found over at schofieldwatchcompany.com
Schofield Light GMT Tech Specs
- General purpose Field watches. The Dark One
- Movement – Seiko NH34A
- Movement – GMT, hours, mins and hacking sweep secs
- Power reserve – 44 hours
- Diameter – 27.4mm
- Height – 5.32mm
- Jewels – 24
- Frequency – 21,600 VPH 4Hz
- Case – Stainless steel (The Dark One PVD)
- Case – Anti-fingerprint coating
- Diameter – 40mm
- Crystal diameter – 32mm
- Bezel – Brushed 12 – 6, 36mm diameter
- Height including lugs – 13.5mm
- Width between lugs – 22mm
- Lug length – 48mm
- Weight with strap and buckle – 96 grammes
- Crystal – Box sapphire, multiple AR coatings
- Case Back – Printed mineral crystal. Flush fit
- Case Back – Artwork orientated 12-6
- Case Back – Screw in with no opening holes
- Crown – Double o-ring screw in type with nail groove
- Crown – Engraved with Beam of Light logo
- Dials – Split-level, painted, lacquered
- Date – None
- Luminescence – Super-LumiNova C3 green emission
- Hands – Lacquered greys
- Straps – 2x 22mm straight cut with QR spring bars
- Straps – Made by SUGAR FREE (sister website)
- Buckle – Obscura type, thumbnail
- Box – Machined cork and Valchromat
- Serial – Limited to 150 watches in each colour
- Water resistance – 200m
- Warranty – 2 years
