Need is too strong a word for my interest in a watch with a GMT complication. Want, yes. I mean, with all my traveling between time zones it would be nice to track two zones at once. And I’d watched, with a lot of interest, the proliferation of the Miyota 9075 movement among watch brands. The 9075 is a mechanical movement with a “flyer” (or true) GMT function. The local hour hand moves forward and backward in one hour increments, while a third hand tracks home time in a 24-hour format. Moreover, it’s the first flyer mechanical GMT movement to show up in sub-$1,000 watches.
There are a lot of cool watches that use the 9075, and the one that spoke most strongly to me was the Bulova Oceanographer GMT. Cushion case? Check. Full lume dial? Check. The nickname “Devil Diver” for its 666 foot waterproof rating? Check. Bulova gets a bad rap as a mall watch brand, but they have some interesting pieces that are only available from specialty retailers and online.
I found one from a retailer on eBay for half of retail. Right out of the box, I loved the look but didn’t love the gray FKM rubber strap. After playing around with a variety of straps, I tried a Milanese mesh bracelet I’d taken off a Yema chronograph. Perfect.
I’ve lived with that combination all summer. It’s been on my wrist almost every day, and here’s the good and the just okay:
The Good
- It’s comfortable and wears a little smaller than its case size (41mm) suggests.
- The neo-vintage looks, particularly when paired with the mesh bracelet. And I love the cylinders that mark even hours on the sector dial.
- That lume, which is oh-so bright.
- It’s robust and inexpensive enough that I wear it everywhere. It’s been underwater a lot, though I’ve come nowhere near testing its waterproof rating.
- The unidirectional bezel is precise and has positive detents.
- The price. It’s a hell of a deal for a flyer GMT.
The Just Okay
- The rubber strap. Maybe some people like it, but I’m not a fan.
- I’d love a slightly wider home time hand. In low visibility situations, it can be challenging to read.
A few months with the Oceanographer has validated that I don’t need a GMT watch. But I sure do enjoy wearing it.