Matt’s SPB383

[Ryeguy]

Just began my time with Matt’s SPB383 and am very impressed.

The watch came on one of Art’s canvas straps, but I swapped in an Isofrane to make certain everything stayed clean and pristine while I wore the watch.

First, I think the size is nearly perfect. It is a hair smaller and thinner than the MM300. I think it it also a bit thinner than my Doxa 300T.

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Sorry for the glare, but I tried to level all three watches so there wasn’t any perspective issues.

I think this wears very well on my 7 inch wrist.

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I’ll pass it along to the next DWC’er in line by the end of the week, but I can definitely see one of these in my collection in the future.

My only quibble is the GMT scale on the rehaut is tiny and gets obscured a bit by the beveled edge of the sapphire crystal.

I don’t think this is a meaningful issue however as I tend to use the GMT hand to track “home” time when I travel. I’m just looking for the approximate time at home at a glance, such as “can I call to say good morning yet, or will I be waking up the house?”

You might want a more prominent GMT hand and scale if you were constantly documenting events using ZULU time, but for my use, this design works well.

[mattcantwin]

Thanks for posting these pics, Chris.

I was curious how it looked alongside the MM300; I think it compares well.

Enjoy the test drive.

[Panerai7]

Definitely looks good next to MM300. I think thinner is a welcome difference.

[Wario406]

Wow. That looks really nice!

[BacoNoir]

Nice! I’ve never had a Seiko GMT. When you use the crown to adjust time zones when traveling, is the 1 hour jump in time with the hour hand like Rolex does, or is it the GMT hand that jumps in one hour increments?

[hoppyjr]

Nice! I’ve never had a Seiko GMT. When you use the crown to adjust time zones when traveling, is the 1 hour jump in time with the hour hand like Rolex does, or is it the GMT hand that jumps in one hour increments?

The GMT hand moves, not the hour hand like Rolex. I believe this Seiko is what is referred to as a “caller gmt” version the Rolex type which is a “travelers gmt”.

[Ryeguy]

The Hopster is correct. This movement operates similar to the ETA 2893-2, where in the second crown position the GMT hand jumps in the one hour increments (the date advances when the crown is rotated in the opposite direction). The crown's third position sets the local hour and minute hands.

I haven't checked, but I think the date wheel is slaved to the hour hand on this Seiko movement, so the displayed date will reflect what it is locally to you, not necessarily the date at home.

The Rolex movement has the benefit of being able to adjust the local time (jumping the hour hand) without hacking the watch. I could definitely see this as an advantage if you were constantly documenting in "Zulu" or GMT time (for example, as a pilot) and did not want your time notations to be off just because you reset your watch to the local time zone.

SWATCH now makes an affordable GMT movement which operates in the same fashion as the Rolex GMT movement. I think Mido, Certina, and Alpina all use variants of this movement in their GMT watches.

If you are just a business or vacation traveler (like me), I've found the "caller" type movements adequate. You simply reset the watch once the plane lands and leave it for the duration of your visit.

[Ryeguy]

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Just to add, here is an example of one of those SWATCH GMT movements in my Certina.

On this watch, with the crown in the second position, you can adjust the hour hand forward or backward. The GMT hand, minute hand, and seconds hand stays moving while you adjust the hour hand.

The watch only hacks when the crown is pulled to the third position.

[Ryeguy]

Definitely looks good next to MM300. I think thinner is a welcome difference.

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I tried taking a side profile comparison photo with the MM300 (mine is the SBDX001 - not sure if newer versions are any different in case profile). The case thickness difference is definitely noticeable on the wrist.

I’ve always felt the MM300 *could* be a daily wear watch for someone, but you’d definitely know you were wearing it.

This SPB383 absolutely could be a daily with no reservation. The flat case back and downturned lugs allow it to sit perfectly flat on my wrist with no wobble at all.

[toxicavenger]

The GMT is a definite wrist hugger. I think more so than the 62mas re-editions. The GMT movement has some killer reserve.

The only quibbles for me was the shiny bezel insert, and I was thinking it had lume better than my SKX. But that was not the case imo.

This watch had me thinking about picking one up in the future. It would make a excellent DD.

Thanks Matt for let us all check it out!

[hoppyjr]

Very nice of Matt to share the experience with the gang.

[BacoNoir]

Thanks for the info on the GMT function guys. Both styles work, but I’m so use to the Rolex style jump hour hand that when I see the GMT hand jump, it always throws me a bit.

[Ryeguy]

Thanks for the info on the GMT function guys. Both styles work, but I’m so use to the Rolex style jump hour hand that when I see the GMT hand jump, it always throws me a bit.

Yes, I agree, although I started with the “jumping” GMT hand ETA2893-2 and only recently experienced the the jump hour style movement now available from Swatch.

I think the real advantage of the Rolex / Swatch movement is the ability to set the local time without hacking the movement and losing track of your constant (whether that be GMT or “home time”).

It you are a military or commercial pilot who is constantly bouncing between time zones and documenting events in GMT / Zulu, I can absolutely see the advantages of the jump hour movement. The Rolex design is perfect for this function. The bezel with the 24 hour scale even allows the pilot to track “local time”, “destination time”, and “GMT time”. Form follows function in every respect.

Where I see this Seiko having an advantage is it is a dive watch first, with the GMT function being truly a “background” feature. I see the same “form follows function” design commitment.

There are dozens of brands who produce versions of the Rolex design with the 24 hour bezel. There are only a handful of dive watches with a GMT function (and fewer still who produce a GMT dive watch where the GMT function isn’t a distraction - I’m looking at you, Doxa 750t GMT)

[rockmastermike]

On a side note......Interesting architecture on my (and many) vintage Heuer and Rolex GMT's is that the GMT hand is / synched / slaved / matched to the hour hand so there is no independent movement of either the GMT or the hour hands.....with the older ones, you just slide the bezel around to the GMT hand to track a 2nd time zone.

I like that because you don't have to unscrew or pull out the crown for any adjusting and that's one less thing to worry about.

Anyway - I want to echo that this is/was one of the comfortable Seiko's I've worn and probably one of the most comfortable watch regardless of brand I have worn.

Also, thanks again to Matt for making this happen

[Ryeguy]

On a side note......Interesting architecture on my (and many) vintage Heuer and Rolex GMT's is that the GMT hand is / synched / slaved / matched to the hour hand so there is no independent movement of either the GMT or the hour hands.....with the older ones, you just slide the bezel around to the GMT hand to track a 2nd time zone.

I like that because you don't have to unscrew or pull out the crown for any adjusting and that's one less thing to worry about.

Anyway - I want to echo that this is/was one of the comfortable Seiko's I've worn and probably one of the most comfortable watch regardless of brand I have worn.

Also, thanks again to Matt for making this happen

That is interesting. So, in those vintage movements, the GMT hand is more of a "day / night" indicator than a second time zone tracker.

I think I read about that being the case in the original Rolex Explorer, with the explanation being "if you are exploring a cave, you might need to have a day / night reference". I wasn't aware that was the case in the GMT-master 6542.

I use the rotating 12 hour bezel in my Benrus Type 1 homage as a kind of "poor man's GMT", but I have definitely come to appreciate the enhancement of an independent hour and GMT hand movement (regardless of which one "jumps" )

[rockmastermike]

On a side note......Interesting architecture on my (and many) vintage Heuer and Rolex GMT's is that the GMT hand is / synched / slaved / matched to the hour hand so there is no independent movement of either the GMT or the hour hands.....with the older ones, you just slide the bezel around to the GMT hand to track a 2nd time zone.

I like that because you don't have to unscrew or pull out the crown for any adjusting and that's one less thing to worry about.

Anyway - I want to echo that this is/was one of the comfortable Seiko's I've worn and probably one of the most comfortable watch regardless of brand I have worn.

Also, thanks again to Matt for making this happen

That is interesting. So, in those vintage movements, the GMT hand is more of a "day / night" indicator than a second time zone tracker.

I think I read about that being the case in the original Rolex Explorer, with the explanation being "if you are exploring a cave, you might need to have a day / night reference". I wasn't aware that was the case in the GMT-master 6542.

I use the rotating 12 hour bezel in my Benrus Type 1 homage as a kind of "poor man's GMT", but I have definitely come to appreciate the enhancement of an independent hour and GMT hand movement (regardless of which one "jumps" )

If I keep the 12:00 triangle at 12:00 it functions as a day/night however the OG explorers bezels are fixed so that is their only functionality whereas the GMT I have I can rotate the bezel and set a "home time" pretty quickly