Sponsored post presented on aBlogtoWatch for advertiser
Launched in 2015, Jack Mason prides itself on providing in-house-designed watches for timepiece enthusiasts of all levels. Whether you’re new to watches or an avid collector, Jack Mason keeps the wearer in mind to offer a product that fits your needs. New for 2022, Jack Mason’s Strat-O-Timer GMT gives enthusiasts an opportunity to own a handsome, capable GMT with a jumping hour hand and an automatic movement for under $1,000. Let’s take a closer look.
Billed as a turning point for the Texas-based brand, the Strat-O-Timer GMT features an iconic design language, yet still feels novel enough to stand out from the crowd. It sports a two-tone 48-click GMT style bezel (available in either “Pepsi” or “Root Beer” colorways) with a 24-hour scale, a radiant blue or matte-black dial, and a pop of red on the GMT hand. The branding on the dial is both minimal and interesting, with the brand’s “star” logo adorning the space below the 12 o’clock marker and the word “Strat-O-Timer” printed in vintage-inspired italic print below the center pinion. The wide, legible indices feature ample Swiss Super-LumiNova luminescent material, allowing for impressive low-light legibility.
The 40 mm 316L stainless steel case boasts a relatively short lug-to-lug distance of 47 mm and will fit comfortably on most wrist types. Its somewhat restrained 40 mm diameter gives the piece a classic appeal, while its wide lug profile, large indices, and bold bezel profile allow it to maintain a contemporary vibe overall. At a svelte 13mm-thick, the piece also has a handsome profile on the wrist, thanks in part to a boxed sapphire that adds some more vintage flavor and warps the markers slightly when the watch is viewed from the side. Completing the aesthetic is a seven-link jubilee-style bracelet with polished center links, adding some nice contrast while also wearing quite comfortably. The bracelet tapers from 20 mm at the lug to 16 mm at the clasp.
The sapphire exhibition caseback offers owners a glimpse at the Miyota 9705 automatic movement, which has a power reserve of 42 hours and beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour. The Miyota 9705 powering the Stat-o-timer has been regulated to an impressive +/-5 seconds per day, which is quite an improvement over the movement’s stock accuracy of +30/-10 seconds per day.
Perhaps most impressively, the Miyota 9705 is a “true GMT” (AKA “Traveler’s GMT”), as opposed to an “Office GMT.” Generally regarded by enthusiasts as the more sought-after option, a true GMT is a watch in which the half-pulled position adjusts the hour hand in one-hour increments, while the GMT remains stationary on the wearer’s home time. An Office GMT refers to a watch that often uses a generic movement where the hand-pulled position adjusts the GMT hand in one direction and the date wheel in the other direction. This means that every time one moves to a different time zone, one must pull the crown out (thus stopping the watch) and then adjust the main hour hand of the watch to the new time zone. Then one must reset the watch using a different reference time, as the piece is no longer accurate. When setting a true GMT, one simply pulls the crown to change the hour hand to the new local time, leaving the GMT on home or reference time. No other adjustments are necessary.
Long story short, a true GMT is more practical and functional than an officer’s GMT, and it’s rare to find one at the sub-$1,000 price point. This is an impressive feat in and of itself, but Jack Mason didn’t stop there. As the brand has a vision of becoming a legacy brand in its home state of Texas, the Strat-O-Timer will be the brand’s very first watch (of many to come) that will be fully assembled and regulated in the United States.
Featuring a bold, iconic aesthetic and impressive technical specifications, the Jack Mason Strat-O-Timer is now available for pre-order (with deliveries starting in March 2023) on the Jack Mason website for just $999. Moreover, the first 500 units sold come with additional perks, including limited-edition straps, luggage tags, a digital print of the original watch sketch, an exclusive 20% off strap club, and exclusive access to new Jack Mason products.
