While we have a strong affection for many complications — think chronographs, moon-phase indicators, and minute repeaters — it’s one of the most rudimentary complications that proves the most practical for regular use: the GMT. A GMT watch offers the added functionality of a second time zone, and whether you're a pilot, jet-setting international playboy, or simply want to keep track of the time in another part of the country world for business reasons, the GMT proves to be a useful tool for any day of the year. Traveling as much as we do, you'll often find us with GMT watches strapped to our wrists. And if you were to ask our colleagues in the watch industry what they most often wear, you'd be surprised to hear how many will answer the same way. These are quite simply the most practical timepieces for the world of international commerce...and they generally come with killer looks, to boot. One of our all-time favorite GMT watches is the Reference 6117-8000 by Seiko. Produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it brings together a great case design, a robust, Japanese-made movement, and a stunning dial/bezel layout for a bargain price. Supremely useful yet well proportioned, it’s the type of watch that no sane collector could possibly turn down. This particular Reference 6117-8000 is housed in a 38.5mm stainless steel tonneau case with a domed acrylic crystal, an unsigned 4 o’clock crown, and a rotating, bidirectional bezel with a 24-hour insert. Its dark grey sunray 'Proof' dial is a picture of legibility, with an outer minute track with lumed hour indices, an inner hour track with applied indices, a lumed ‘baton’ handset, a red 24-hour hand, and a date window at 3 o’clock. Using the 24-hour hand in conjunction with the 24-hour bezel, one can quickly and easily track a second time zone. Powered by the Seiko Calibre 6117A automatic movement with 17 jewels and paired to an Analog:Shift leather strap, the Reference 6117-8000 is the perfect traveling companion for the discerning collector. Don’t let this well-sized gem slip through your fingers — or off your wrist!
