# Glycine No 1 Purist or GMT



## chenpofu (Feb 21, 2015)

Greetings,

I will spare you the story but I ended up with both the Glycine no 1 purist and GMT versions, both in the off-white color dial.

Really too many watches to wear already so will likely part with one of them, which one would you keep and why?

Thank you,

Albert


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## Krogerfoot (Oct 23, 2016)

I am a militant 24-hour dial guy, so there you go. I've got a handful of 24-hour watches and the Airman really stands out for readability and just plain old pleasingness of design. The GMT version seems to me to defeat the point. There are plenty of debates on this forum about how easy it is to get into 24-hour dials, but in my opinionatedness I'd say that if you're inclined to wearing a 24-hour watch, an Airman No. 1 is near impossible to beat.


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## Tonhao (Dec 23, 2017)

I usually only need two time zones for my job, and the Airman dial is crowded enough, so my vote goes to original. But then if you need three time zones or have friends & family all over the globe, a GMT would make sense.


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## datou (Aug 2, 2017)

I own one of the purist versions for the fact that their first version of the duo time zone reading is achieved using the bezel. I'm still trying to get used to looking at the second time zone in this manner though.

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## chenpofu (Feb 21, 2015)

Thanks Krogerfoot, very nice pair of Airman you got there. My first inclination is to try using the 24 hour dial (purist) and if I can get used to it while switching back and forth with the 12 hour dial watches I got, then that is the one I would keep.

Also agree with DYL that the Airman dial is already sort of busy without the 4th hand. And on the light dial - GMT version of this watch, the markers for the 12 hours aren't as legible.


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## jarlleif (Jan 22, 2018)

My choice was a purist and that’s the one I’d recommend. It didn’t take me long to pick up reading the 24 hour time. I feel like it is a special model and is a good conversation piece for people not into watches. 


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## IronHorseWar (Jul 26, 2017)

leather strap is kller on that white


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## mcx (May 9, 2013)

Had a purist once and didn’t like it, so always GMT for me. 


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## DeepBlue1 (Jan 3, 2018)

i really cannot see a difference in both watches in the OP? aren't they exactly the same?


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## jarlleif (Jan 22, 2018)

DeepBlue1 said:


> i really cannot see a difference in both watches in the OP? aren't they exactly the same?


The one on the left has an extra thin black GMT hand so it has 3 time zones. The one on the right is the purist model which only has 2 time zones and the hour hand only goes around once per day.

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## ttommywatches (Jan 23, 2010)

GMT hands down. Mostly because it's my favorite practical complication. Can't go wrong with a GMT.


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## AardyArr (Nov 15, 2017)

I had both a GMT and Purist and sold the GMT. I found it too hard to read 12-hour time on a dial with only 24-hour numeric markers.


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## mngdew (Feb 19, 2018)

AardyArr said:


> I had both a GMT and Purist and sold the GMT. I found it too hard to read 12-hour time on a dial with only 24-hour numeric markers.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I agree. It's more confusing and difficult to read 12-hour time on the dial with 24-hour markers than to learn to read the Zulu time on the Purist watch.


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## jkingrph (Feb 6, 2018)

I just received an Airman DC-4 GMT. The dial is printed with larger 12 hour numerals, so it is easy to read traditional 12 hour time. Alternate 24 hour numerals are much smaller and are read by the long thin GMT hand, which honestly is a little confusing at first, having read a traditional 24 hour dial on other GMT watches, but it is easier to look at quickly for current time. The rotating external bezel gives the third time zone. All in all I like this configuration, it seems to give the best of both worlds.


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## chenpofu (Feb 21, 2015)

I think the dial design on the DC-4 GMT is really good, its bigger size also makes it a bit more legible for a 4 hand watch.


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## TgeekB (Nov 1, 2015)

mngdew said:


> I agree. It's more confusing and difficult to read 12-hour time on the dial with 24-hour markers than to learn to read the Zulu time on the Purist watch.


I see it differently.
When I look at my watch right now my brain easily says it's 3:15 because it has seen it millions of times. No thought required. I don't need any markers to tell me that because it's from memory. The GMT hand tells me, with a little thought, it's 21:15 GMT.

I guess we all perceive things differently so I'm glad they have 2 versions to fit everyone's needs.

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## mngdew (Feb 19, 2018)

TgeekB said:


> I see it differently.
> When I look at my watch right now my brain easily says it's 3:15 because it has seen it millions of times. No thought required. I don't need any markers to tell me that because it's from memory. The GMT hand tells me, with a little thought, it's 21:15 GMT.
> 
> I guess we all perceive things differently so I'm glad they have 2 versions to fit everyone's needs.
> ...


Correct, it's all personal preference. The OP should make his own decision. If he can hold on to both watches, he should wear them in rotation.


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## mike0023 (Oct 13, 2015)

My no.1 is a purist and I love it, but it did take some getting used to.


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## chenpofu (Feb 21, 2015)

I have been wearing the purist pretty regularly for the last 3 months in rotation with a couple of 12 hour watches, really liked it and got used to it.

Just started to give the GMT a shot this week, have to say it felt strange to look at the same hour hand on the same dial but the number it points to isn't the correct hour ...

As a side note while the stock leather strap is really soft and comfortable, I just didn't like that dark red contrast stitching. I do like it on this Staib mesh, a thinner mesh might be even better.


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## leadingTone1 (Jun 5, 2017)

Purist all the way, I've owned both and I felt like it got too confusing reading the time on a GMT. I've owned both and have recently sold the GMT version


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