{"id":32658,"date":"2026-03-25T00:01:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T07:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=32658"},"modified":"2026-03-28T09:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:23:43","slug":"seiko-5-field-series-gmt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/03\/25\/seiko-5-field-series-gmt\/","title":{"rendered":"Seiko 5 Field Series GMT"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Joe Berk<\/h6>\n

Greenwich Mean Time.\u00a0 In case you were wondering, that’s what GMT means, and I thought I would introduce this blog with a simple definition of what Greenwich Mean Time actually means, only it’s not that simple.\u00a0 Here’s the first part of a long explanation from Wikipedia:<\/p>\n

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the local mean time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a consequence, it cannot be used to specify a particular time unless a context is given. The term “GMT” is also used as one of the names for the time zone UTC+00:00 and, in UK law, is the basis for civil time in the United Kingdom.<\/em><\/p>\n

It gets more complicated from there, with considerations given for the historical differences between the day starting at noon (versus midnight), variations in the time at which the sun crosses directly over London’s Greenwich Observatory (it can vary by 16 minutes either way), and other factors I’m not going to go into here.\u00a0 After reading through the Wikipedia definition, I’m going to settle on GMT standing for Greenwich Mean Time and leave it at that.<\/p>\n

In my watch-centric context, GMT means a watch that can be used for showing the time in two time zones simultaneously.\u00a0 There’s a lot of ways to do this and the watchmaking world has numerous different approaches.\u00a0 It’s perhaps easiest with a digital watch that can switch between cities (Casio has a number of watches that can do this and we’ve blogged about them before).\u00a0 Within the analog world, there are also different approaches, and we’ve also written about those before (see our blogs on the Citizen Blue Angels<\/a> and the Citizen Night Hawk<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The more conventional GMT approach in the analog watch world is to add a fourth hand and a separate 24-hour set of markings, with the fourth GMT hand or the hour hand used to designate the second time zone.\u00a0 \u00a0Last year, I bought a two-tone Seiko GMT watch because I thought it was cool and it compared favorably to my Rolex GMT Master II (and that blog is here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

So where’s this story going?<\/p>\n

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Several watches needed new batteries. The one at the top is a Seiko military-styled chrono in blue. The one at lower left is Sue’s Citizen. The one in the middle is a Timex flyback day-date I bought several years ago. I hardly ever wear that one, but I like it. The one in the lower right is a Fossil I admired when moto-buddy Joseph Lee wore it one day. To my surprise, he took it off and gave it to me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few days ago, I noticed several of my quartz watches had stopped running.\u00a0 One of Sue’s quartz watches had, too.\u00a0 Dead batteries.\u00a0 It happens on an irregular basis.\u00a0 But that’s okay, because it gives me an excuse to swing by my favorite watch shop, Golden Times Jewelry, in nearby Pomona.\u00a0 They’re nice people and they only charge $3.25 to install a new battery.\u00a0 And while I’m waiting, I can peruse their selection of new Citizen and Seiko watches.<\/p>\n

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My new Seiko Field Series 5 GMT. This is a good-looking and accurate watch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was doing that when I noticed a Seiko I had not seen previously.\u00a0 It was the Seiko 5 Field Series GMT<\/a>.\u00a0 It had all the features that appealed to me, including big numbers (my eyes aren’t what they used to be), a black face, strong contrast between the hands and the face, a stainless steel case and bracelet, it was not hideously huge (why do watchmakers make watches so unnecessarily big these days?), and an overall appearance that, to me, looked good.\u00a0 I asked to see it, and Stephanie (the nice lady who manages the shop) lopped 35% off Seiko’s suggested list price.\u00a0 That was a superb deal.<\/p>\n

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The Seiko 5 Field Series GMT<\/a> and the Rolex Explorer II. The Rolex’s street price is around $11,000. The Seiko’s MSRP is about $450, but you can get it for less. I think the Seiko is better looking than the Rolex.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new Seiko reminds me of Rolex’s Explorer II GMT.\u00a0 I tried it on and asked Stephanie if it made me look fat.\u00a0 She smiled.\u00a0\u00a0I pulled the trigger and I’m glad I did.<\/p>\n

When I got home, I navigated to the official US time site (www.time.gov<\/a>) and set the new Seiko to the exact time on it.\u00a0 I’ve been wearing the new Seiko for several days now and the watch is tracking to the official government time exactly.\u00a0 That’s awesome from a mechanical automatic (i.e., self-winding) watch.\u00a0 A new Rolex (or one that’s been appropriately serviced) is accurate to about 5 seconds per day.\u00a0 The Seiko is keeping better time.<\/p>\n

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The new Seiko sits lower on the wrist than my other Seiko Series 5 watches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Seiko 5 Field Series GMT<\/a> window. I like it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are several things I like about this new Seiko.\u00a0 It sits lower on my wrist than most of my watches.\u00a0 That’s good.\u00a0 Like the other Seiko 5 watches, the watch has a window that allows you to see the movement and the self-winder.\u00a0 That’s a feature I like.\u00a0 The Seiko has a 41-hour reserve (if you take it off when it is fully wound, it will keep running for another 41 hours).\u00a0 That’s less than a Rolex’s 70-hour reserve, but in the real world, it’s kind of a pointless advantage (in my opinion).\u00a0 If I take the watch off, it’s only going to be for an hour or so.\u00a0 If I’m going to wear a different watch, it will usually be for a week or more (so neither a 41-hour reserve or a 70-hour reserve will keep it going).<\/p>\n

The Seiko 5 Field Series GMT<\/a> is an awesome watch.\u00a0 I like it a lot.<\/p>\n

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More watch reviews?\u00a0 They’re right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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More gun stuff? You bet<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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