# Do You Prefer the Airman Purist or GMT?



## andyjohnson (Oct 5, 2018)

When I first found the Glycine Airman, the dial seemed too busy for me and I was not interested. Over time, the Airman has grown on me though and I'm seriously contemplating purchasing a Base 22. I'm still contemplating though whether I prefer the purist or the GMT model. It seems that the case for the purist is that it is more historically accurate and a somewhat unique 24 hour watch. The GMT on the other hand gives you the ability to track a third time zone and makes the positioning of the hour hand somewhat easier to see for those who are used to 12 hour dials. I would love to hear about why you preferred and purchased either an Airman purist or GMT model.


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## cuthbert (Dec 6, 2009)

Definitey purist, it also makes more sense if you are tracking two timezones, and in real life you don´t really need a third timezone.


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## tommk (Nov 4, 2016)

As much as I love the simplicity of the purist, I have to admit I buy the GMT versions. I actually need the third timezone (and for me that’s a big plus with Airmen as many other GMT watches don’t have markings for three), and it’s less mental gymnastics for my brain when rotating with regular watches.


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## Thunder1 (Feb 8, 2008)

cuthbert said:


> Definitey purist, it also makes more sense if you are tracking two timezones, and in real life you don´t really need a third timezone.


The Purist gets my vote as well..the simpler dial face is a big plus for me..


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## aabikrman (Apr 17, 2019)

tommk said:


> As much as I love the simplicity of the purist, I have to admit I buy the GMT versions. I actually need the third timezone (and for me that's a big plus with Airmen as many other GMT watches don't have markings for three), and it's less mental gymnastics for my brain when rotating with regular watches.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


I would also purchase the GMT because I too have a need for tracking the third timezone.

I don't have a Glycine but I'm close to pulling the trigger on one. It's the size I'm having problems with deciding on.

Pretty sure it will be the GMT 39mm


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## chenpofu (Feb 21, 2015)

I at one point had both airman no 1 GMT and purist, sold the GMT and have not regretted one bit. I don't need to track 3 time zones. And for tracking two time zone the purist is very easy to use. Don't need to touch the crown when I am traveling, just use the bezel for the local time. 

I get that having the 12 hour format on the GMT is easier to read for some, especially if the glycine is part of a rotation. But if you use it as a travel watch, you will either use the crown to change that 12 hour hand when you get to a new time zone, or if you don't want to touch the crown and just use the bezel, you will have to read the 24 hour hand anyway for local time. 

one more minus for me on that GMT is that when I turn the crown to move that 24 hour hand in one hour increment, at least with the watch I had, the action didn't feel solid at all. Others may have different experiences but that mechanism (adapted from day of the week wheel, to my understanding), just didn't feel reassuring that it will be robust for a lot of use.


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## mconlonx (Sep 21, 2018)

Don't have one, but like the other member above, considering the Airman 18 because of the size, and GMT because 3rd time zone.

I know there's some vintage model out there which can tell, like, 11 time zones, which is overkill and just the picture of the watch gave me a headache trying to figure it out...

3 time zones, because every couple of years, we travel, and it usually includes a layover. So if we're doing Boston - Reykjavik/London - Helsinki, a third time zone is handy.


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## Olyeller68 (May 12, 2011)

My vote is for the Base 22 purist










Just didn't see the need for the third time zone, and truer to the form of the original.

When was it ever a question of need?


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## andyjohnson (Oct 5, 2018)

Olyeller68 said:


> My vote is for the Base 22 purist
> 
> Just didn't see the need for the third time zone, and truer to the form of the original.
> 
> When was it ever a question of need?


I see your point and that is one of the primary appeals for me to, the similarity to the original purpose and design of the watch. I've tried the exact model in your photo and I like how it looks but I have noticed an adjustment when trying to read the time at a glance. It is appealing to wear though as something different than most watches, a true 24 hour watch and bezel.


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## tommk (Nov 4, 2016)

I think it also depends on the model. Below are the Airman watches I currently have, and while I think the Base22 GMT version came our really well and is super easy to read, I think the GMT version of the DC-4 is less legible. That every 2nd marker on the DC-4 is either 12h or 24h makes you have to think when reading the GMT hand (if you read the GMT off the bezel it's fine as it's all 24h of course). I would have preferred having the 24h dial here as well. I guess the SST12 sits somewhere in between on legibility, but here all the numbers are 24h so it doesn't feel butchered like the DC-4 and its legibility has never bothered me.










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## ErzengelG (Jun 17, 2018)

I like my Airman 18 GMT, because the red GMT hand is a beautiful accent. And the legibility is better than other Glycine GMTs, because the hour marks are only for the 12 hour hand.


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## andyjohnson (Oct 5, 2018)

cuthbert said:


> Definitey purist, it also makes more sense if you are tracking two timezones, and in real life you don´t really need a third timezone.


I can see some benefit of tracking three time zones while traveling, local time, UTC and home time.


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## andyjohnson (Oct 5, 2018)

tommk said:


> As much as I love the simplicity of the purist, I have to admit I buy the GMT versions. I actually need the third timezone (and for me that's a big plus with Airmen as many other GMT watches don't have markings for three), and it's less mental gymnastics for my brain when rotating with regular watches.


I agree that three time zones is appealing and that the 12 hour dial seems easier to read. I'm torn though because I kind of like the 24 hour markings actually representing the primary timekeeping and I like that the purist purist approach to the dial is how the watch was designed. I guess it's history vs. functionality.


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## cuthbert (Dec 6, 2009)

Thunder1 said:


> The Purist gets my vote as well..the simpler dial face is a big plus for me..


It is also more rational : both timezones are in 24h format, while GMT watches have one in 12h and the other in 24h, which is very confusing.

If you really are a pilot you receive all instructions and information in 24h format, local and GMT time, and never think in 12h format.



ErzengelG said:


> I like my Airman 18 GMT, because the red GMT hand is a beautiful accent. And the legibility is better than other Glycine GMTs, because the hour marks are only for the 12 hour hand.


So, your arrow hours´ hands shows 18 while in reality is 9 PM? What is the rationale of that? It doesn´t make any sense...actually the numbers of the dial should be in 12h format.



andyjohnson said:


> I can see some benefit of tracking three time zones while traveling, local time, UTC and home time.


While travelling you do not really care about local time, or if you care you set up the watch on Zulu, then you turn the bezel each timezone you are passing through.


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## ErzengelG (Jun 17, 2018)

cuthbert said:


> ErzengelG said:
> 
> 
> > I like my Airman 18 GMT, because the red GMT hand is a beautiful accent. And the legibility is better than other Glycine GMTs, because the hour marks are only for the 12 hour hand.
> ...


I don't look at the numbers when I look at the arrow hand, I just read it against the normal indices. That's the difference to the 22 GMT, where you have sub indices for the 24 hour hand.


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## tommk (Nov 4, 2016)

The Base22’s 12 indices are bigger and square shaped so reading 12h from it is not a hassle at all. I agree the purist is more elegant anf consistent, of course, and I wish I was the type to buy it, but for me, as a tool, the GMT is just more convenient. 

3 time zones are great if you’re living out of two countries or are an expat as it leaves one available when travelling, or if you want to keep track of abroad teams/clients/whatever depending on your job (the more zones available the better). 


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## FL410 (Nov 30, 2017)

cuthbert said:


> It is also more rational : both timezones are in 24h format, while GMT watches have one in 12h and the other in 24h, which is very confusing.
> 
> If you really are a pilot you receive all instructions and information in 24h format, local and GMT time, and never think in 12h format.
> 
> ...


Well, I'll throw my 2 cents in. I am a pilot for a major airline, and my two Glycine Airman watches are what I wear exclusively while at work. And they are both GMT models. I like the purist for its originality, and trueness to the first Airman, but for functionality, the purist doesn't stand up.

Here's how it's used. I keep the GMT hand pointed to UTC time on the inner 24h scale. The regular 12 hr hands are always set to home base time. I then spin the bezel during preflight so the GMT hand is pointing to destination local time on the bezel. This serves two purposes. One, weather forecasts (TAFs) are always in UTC time, while my trip sequence (schedule) is always in local time. So at a glance, when I see that we're arriving at say 1030 local time on the west coast, I can quickly convert that to UTC by finding 1030 on the bezel, and looking at the inner 24h scale adjacent to it. Instant UTC conversions without mental math. Two, when going to the layover, I've got local time right on the bezel, without resetting any hands.

All the while I've got the time at home on the good old regular 12 hr hands so I know what time it is there when calling the family (so I'm not accidentally calling them at 2am), and when driving to and from the airport and wearing at home.

To use the purist like this, I'd have to set the watch itself to UTC, and read everything else off the bezel, which is not nearly as convenient, and I'd never have home time automatically there to look at. This is why the Airman GMT is actually superior in functionality to even the holy grail of pilot watches, the Rolex GMT master. The Rolex has no inner 24hr scale, so it's only good for two time zones, and there's no quick UTC conversion capability. The quick set hour hand on it makes it nice for leisure and business travelers and people who will be spending more time at a destination, but for a pilot spending 24 hours or less in a specific time zone, the Airman is better IMHO. And it's always irritating to hear that the Airman isn't a "true" GMT because it doesn't have a quickset hour hand. Maybe for business and leisure travelers, but as a tool watch for crew members, the Airman GMT is as good as it gets.

All this being said, I would still kind of like to get a Purist Airman No. 1 for my watch collection, I just probably wouldn't wear it flying on a trip for work.


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## andyjohnson (Oct 5, 2018)

FL410 said:


> Here's how it's used. I keep the GMT hand pointed to UTC time on the inner 24h scale. The regular 12 hr hands are always set to home base time. I then spin the bezel during preflight so the GMT hand is pointing to destination local time on the bezel. This serves two purposes. One, weather forecasts (TAFs) are always in UTC time, while my trip sequence (schedule) is always in local time. So at a glance, when I see that we're arriving at say 1030 local time on the west coast, I can quickly convert that to UTC by finding 1030 on the bezel, and looking at the inner 24h scale adjacent to it. Instant UTC conversions without mental math. Two, when going to the layover, I've got local time right on the bezel, without resetting any hands.


I really appreciate your post! This description makes a strong case for why the GMT model is so valuable while traveling. I travel for work and was thinking that having local time, home time and UTC all at a glance would be very convenient. The nostalgic part of me likes the story of the Airman and thus the purist dial. Thanks again for sharing your perspective!


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## andyjohnson (Oct 5, 2018)

tommk said:


> The Base22's 12 indices are bigger and square shaped so reading 12h from it is not a hassle at all. I agree the purist is more elegant anf consistent, of course, and I wish I was the type to buy it, but for me, as a tool, the GMT is just more convenient.


The Base 22 is the only one I've handled in person so I appreciate your point. I have wondered how well the 12 hour reading would be on the Airman and now I think I need to try it for myself before I decide.


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## akierstein (Feb 12, 2019)

FL410 said:


> Well, I'll throw my 2 cents in. I am a pilot for a major airline, and my two Glycine Airman watches are what I wear exclusively while at work. And they are both GMT models. I like the purist for its originality, and trueness to the first Airman, but for functionality, the purist doesn't stand up.
> 
> Here's how it's used. I keep the GMT hand pointed to UTC time on the inner 24h scale. The regular 12 hr hands are always set to home base time. I then spin the bezel during preflight so the GMT hand is pointing to destination local time on the bezel. This serves two purposes. One, weather forecasts (TAFs) are always in UTC time, while my trip sequence (schedule) is always in local time. So at a glance, when I see that we're arriving at say 1030 local time on the west coast, I can quickly convert that to UTC by finding 1030 on the bezel, and looking at the inner 24h scale adjacent to it. Instant UTC conversions without mental math. Two, when going to the layover, I've got local time right on the bezel, without resetting any hands.
> 
> ...


Love hearing a pilot's perspective. Thanks for sharing!

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## cuthbert (Dec 6, 2009)

akierstein said:


> Love hearing a pilot's perspective. Thanks for sharing!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Actually I am a small private pilot myself and the way this more experience "colleague" uses a GMT is...convoluted at best.

I also work on different timezones and I find the purist the easiest way to know the time in the other location at first glance (14:49 and 07:49) , exactly the same as I read it on my G shock or any other digital that offers a second timezone.


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## aabikrman (Apr 17, 2019)

cuthbert said:


> Actually I am a small private pilot myself and the way this more experience "colleague" uses a GMT is...convoluted at best.
> 
> I also work on different timezones and I find the purist the easiest way to know the time in the other location at first glance (14:49 and 07:49) , exactly the same as I read it on my G shock or any other digital that offers a second timezone.


Please forgive me if I'm wrong but that looks like 0649 and 1349 to me. I'm curious, as to how you have your watch set. I'm guessing hour hand is home and bezel is secondary time zone ? I do not have a Glycine or 24 hour watch and I'm not sure as to how people utylize them. The Purist hour hand tail is fixed and aids in 24 hour-time format ?

I too am an international airline pilot and use a GMT watch that works the same way as a GMT Rolex and what FL410 said made sense to me. The classic GMT Rolex inspired watch has it's shortcomings to flight crews in particular.....

I think his simple point was that the GMT version of the Airman is an effective and easy to use watch that addresses the issues that any International flightcrew is intimately familiar with. As a general rule, it's not common that we reset watches (neither the hour or GMT hands) and we have an almost constant need (at least on the job as a pilot) to know what UTC (formerly GMT) time it is any given moment. When you're a day ahead with say a 15 hour time difference between domicile based time and you're sleep deprived, trust me, it can be a little confusing as to what time it is anywhere.....!! Determining UTC, local, crew-base and or home (not always the same !)can be a little problematic to say the least ! Pilot's in particular are hesitant to reset the hour hands of their watches for fear of inducing error but no doubt, some do.

I am thinking about purchasing an Airman GMT for the reasons my colleague, FL410, mentioned. A third timezone watch would simplify my life but I'm fine with my current method. My current GMT "work" watches are effective but they're really two timezone watches in actual practice. Personally, I only change the hour hands of my watches with Daylight Savings related time changes and never change hour hands because I'm laying over (or vacationing), I mentally correct for my location. "GMT" hand ALWAYS points at UTC and is read off of the 24hr bezel. The hour hand points at my personal local time which also coincides with my crew base. I could rotate the 24hr bezel to correct for layover but I don't bother as I think ACCURATE UTC time is a much higher priority since all weather related reports are always UTC. I could also rotate the bezel to be read off of the hour hand vs GMT hand but regardless how I might choose to compensate for a different time zone, it can still be a little confusing and you'll have to remember to re-adjust the bezel when you're primarily concerned with UTC time from a work, weather-related perspective. I therefore, NEVER readjust (only exception is seasonal as mentioned earlier) any of the hour hands of my watch nor bezel while I'm on the job. For layover's, I correct mentally based off of the hour hand so I obviously need to always keep in mind the number of hours ahead or behind my home time-zone for an accurate determination of location time....

Once on the flightdeck, UTC is always readily available because it's customary to set aircraft clocks to UTC (at least airliners and the corporate aircraft I flew in my previous life). Also the FMC's and ACARS is always a UTC reference as well and always has been. It's in the hotel and or operations where determination of UTC becomes an issue for me, but not since I started wearing a watch that has a UTC reference ALWAYS set to UTC.

Clear as mud ? Haha.... Talking about time with a flight crew is typically either very confusing and or very humorous !! Sometimes both....!


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## FL410 (Nov 30, 2017)

aabikrman said:


> .
> 
> Clear as mud ? Haha.... Talking about time with a flight crew is typically either very confusing and or very humorous !! Sometimes both....!


Very true, haha. I got by for years before discovering the GMT Airman, but now that I use one, I can't go on a trip without it, lol.

Nothing wrong with the Purist, it was the first, and thousands of pilots relied on it during the "golden age" of aviation, and even in the military during Vietnam. My only point was that the GMT adds a lot of other utility, that I happen to actually use. I thought I would describe how it can be used to its full potential, as some here may have had no idea, and no real use for it. Of course a guy flying around VFR in a Cessna doesn't really need it for flying, but thankfully Glycine still makes both versions.


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## aabikrman (Apr 17, 2019)

FL410 said:


> Very true, haha. I got by for years before discovering the GMT Airman, but now that I use one, I can't go on a trip without it, lol.
> 
> Nothing wrong with the Purist, it was the first, and thousands of pilots relied on it during the "golden age" of aviation, and even in the military during Vietnam. My only point was that the GMT adds a lot of other utility, that I happen to actually use. I thought I would describe how it can be used to its full potential, as some here may have had no idea, and no real use for it. Of course a guy flying around VFR in a Cessna doesn't really need it for flying, but thankfully Glycine still makes both versions.


I thought you did an excellent job of describing your use of the GMT Airman but I will be the first to admit that any discussion of time and it's determination can be a little difficult to follow and I think (as you already described) that's because few in actuality, have a true need to keep track of up to 4 time zones and do it numerous times a month.

A watch with an easy way of determining 3 time zones and to accomplish that in an "at a glance" fashion has true value especially to pilots and that's exactly who the watch was originally designed for as you know. Your description of how you use your GMT Airman has me sold. Now the decision is what size. I'll probably go with the Airman 18 GMT Black. I think the other's will be a little too large on my 7" wrist...

Blue sky's to ya !


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## FL410 (Nov 30, 2017)

The Airman 18 is a great choice. That one is my favorite. Perfect, more traditional size.


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## r-gordon-7 (Dec 6, 2016)

Figure I'll add my $0.02 to this, though I'm not a pilot. 

I have six Airman watches, three Purists and three GMTs. For daily use I find myself gravitating to the GMTs - probably for reasons that have little to do with the relative utility of two vs three time zones. The reasons... 1. I also have non-Airman non-24hr watches in my rotation, so frequently switching back and forth between 12 and 24 hour watches remains a little confusing/inconvenient - especialy for quickly checking the time at glance (and especially when reasons of politeness necessitate not wanting to be too obvious about it). 2. I just do rather prefer the watchface "look" with (rather than without) an Airman GMT's red fourth hand - in comparison, the three-handed Purists just seem to be missing something that is visuallly appealing to me. (Though, speaking of "just seem to be missing something", the flip-side of this is that the "compulsiveness" in me often wishes the GMTs' dials had a labeled 12 hour index in additon to the 24 hour index - not because I need it to use the 12 hour hand, but just to "be there", as a way of acknowledging the watch does indeed also have a 12 hour hand. 3. The third reason I tend to gravitate to the GMTs also has nothing to do with the Purist vs GMT issue, but rather is simply a matter of the size of my various Airman watches. Of my three Purists, one is my smallest Airman (a No. 1) which is probably a bit too small for me, and one is my largest Airman (a 17) which is probably a bit too big for me - though I do enjoy having each of them in my collection. My four other Airman watches are inbetween those other two in terms of size, so they tend to get the most wrist time.

However, as for the two vs three timezone issue, I do often find three time zones useful (again, despite not being a pilot). The "12 hour" hour hand I keep set to local time wherever I am, because it's the easiest/quickest to read. (And if I don't know whether its AM or PM where I am, I have bigger problems than what watch I happen to be wearing at the moment... ;-) ) The "GMT hand" I usually keep set to Beijing time as that's where my wife's family lives. When we're in Beijing or traveling elsewhere out of my home time zone (Pacific Time), I keep the "GMT hand" set to my home time zone. The bezel setting varies. Before the internet age I used to be an SWL'er (short wave listener), so I often keep the Bezel set to "GMT", as short wave radio programming was always given in GMT/UTC. Sometimes when traveling with a layover in an intermediate time zone I'll set the bezel to the timezone for the layover location. And sometimes I make other special use of the bezel setting.


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## hedd (May 21, 2018)

I only have purists, which I prefer because I don't want to set an extra thing. I switch watches 1 or more times per week.

I think the GMT makes great sense if you wear it for very long periods of time. You never have to change or set it. You set the 12 hour hand to your local time because that is where your heart is and you always need to know what time it is there for communication and family reasons. You set the GMT hand to UTC because you work in a field that needs it sometimes, or even if you don't it is a perfect base to set the bezel. It easy to look up UTC offsets and turn your bezel according to what timezone you are in or need to track.


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## dan360 (Jun 3, 2012)

A dear family friend flies left seat for a major carrier and wears a 3 hand watch. He has said on more than one occasion that the plane's clocks are more accurate for UTC/GMT/home base/destination/departure time than anything he can wear on his wrist. 

Perhaps more than one way to skin a cat?


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## sanik (Apr 7, 2015)

24h


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## pickle puss (Feb 13, 2006)

Purist. I don't need a third TZ and find the GMT confusing.

Airman 18 is my choice. The 39 mm size is perfect and it takes all of 10 seconds to get acclimated to the 24 hour format.


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## aabikrman (Apr 17, 2019)

dan360 said:


> A dear family friend flies left seat for a major carrier and wears a 3 hand watch. He has said on more than one occasion that the plane's clocks are more accurate for UTC/GMT/home base/destination/departure time than anything he can wear on his wrist.
> 
> Perhaps more than one way to skin a cat?


The plane's clocks are indeed extremely accurate since they are slaved to our GPS navigation system. GPS relies on extremely accurate time measurement. The clocks onboard are accurate from a microsecond to a few millieseconds, depending on the protocol of the system.

I rely on the aircraft clocks to set whatever watch I choose to wear on a given trip. Since I hack my watch utylizing the aircraft clock in front of me it's easy to determine how many seconds fast/slow, etc a particular watch is running and I know my baseline is extremly accurate.


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## Chronopolis (Apr 8, 2009)

I myself prefer the Purist, not becz I am one, but becz I have no real need for a third TZ.
Not any more than I need a diver watch for real diving up to 200m.
I'm not a pilot, nor an MI6 spy, so 2 TZ is the most I ever need to handle, if that even.

Beyond a certain point in functionality, it just feels like doing a Keith Emerson-on-7-synthesizers-while-spinning-in-air, kinda thing.


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## FL410 (Nov 30, 2017)

dan360 said:


> A dear family friend flies left seat for a major carrier and wears a 3 hand watch. He has said on more than one occasion that the plane's clocks are more accurate for UTC/GMT/home base/destination/departure time than anything he can wear on his wrist.
> 
> Perhaps more than one way to skin a cat?


In this day and age, a watch is no longer the necessity it once was.. The majority of guys probably just wear a 3 hander, or a smart watch or something. In the cockpit UTC is prominently displayed and accurate to the second. In operations or at the gate looking at weather, or in a hotel room far away, or using the bezel for quick UTC conversions makes a good multi time zone watch still come in handy to me. Plenty of people get by just fine without it though. I wear it because I enjoy it, it harkens back to a time before mine, and I still legitimately get a lot of convenience from it.


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## FL410 (Nov 30, 2017)

aabikrman said:


> Since I hack my watch utylizing the aircraft clock in front of me it's easy to determine how many seconds fast/slow, etc a particular watch is running and I know my baseline is extremly accurate.


Same here, always find myself checking my watches to the aircraft clock, haha.


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## FL410 (Nov 30, 2017)

double post


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## AlejandroIII (Dec 10, 2019)

Hi! That is really my problem, as i am doubting to buy between the DC4 purist ande the Base 22 GMT. 
Knowing the use that pilots make of the GMT hand was very interesting, but for those of us who art not, i think that reading two time zones would be enough.
Cheers!


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## ned-ludd (Apr 8, 2017)

I rarely do things by halves so I have the Purist Airman D24 09.









It shows numerous timezones but I confess that lately I only consult the main hour hand for local time on the inner chapter and UTC on the outer bezel.

If I ever return to needing to know multiple zones I expect I'll make the effort to remember what the other hands and bezels are showing.


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## heb (Feb 24, 2006)

Purist. There is plenty going on with just the Purist model, another hand would just add to the confusion.

heb


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## r-gordon-7 (Dec 6, 2016)

ned-ludd said:


> I rarely do things by halves so I have the Purist Airman D24 09.
> 
> View attachment 14697847
> 
> ...


I love the Purist Airman D24 09 and for some time, a reissue of it or something similar has been my "Grail" watch. In the meantime, here's a suggestion should Glycine ever consider reissuing it or something similar... To help minimize dial confusion and aid in more quickly and easily reading out the time for each hour hand, perhaps each hour hand should be colored in a unique and different color and then each hour ring or its numbers/indices (including on the bezel) should be color coded (i.e.color matched) to its corresponding hour hand's unique color - something they didn't quite do in the Purist Airman D24 09. (Of course though, that won't help in remembering, by name, what city, country, location or zone to which each hour hand is set...)


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## jkingrph (Feb 6, 2018)

I have absolutely no need for a GMT or even a watch that shows two time zones, but for some reason seem to prefer the GMT after finally learning how to read. I have a couple of the SST12 models, one a pumpkin that I keep set to local and UTC , via hands and rotating bezel respectively. One is a white dial I simply have everything set to local. The 24hour markings on the white dial are a light orange and are not that easy for my old eyes to read. I do have an Airman DC4 and find it quite easy to read with the 12 hour dial.


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## AlejandroIII (Dec 10, 2019)

Hello! I am in the same dilemma. For the purist version i like the DC4, and in GMT version the Base 22. I think one of these is going to be my decision.


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## SwissAm (Jul 28, 2019)

I just got my first “purist” GMT watch, a DC-4 3 hand. It is taking me some time to adjust to reading it as I’m so used to the standard 12 hr dial. I don’t even need 2 time zones but am military and do use GMT time. I feel like a 4 hand GMT purist would be too much to deal with. My $.02


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## mdrtoronto (Nov 13, 2016)

I have the SST and a Base 22 in GMT and love them, but if you have a variety of watches there's something to be said for having purist versions. Once you get used to the 24 hour dial it's very nice to use. I got an Airman 1 as purist after having the two GMTs and now find the 24 hour format as my fav for Airmans.

If you have a need like pilots have shared that makes sense for the GMT but for more of us the purist is a cool choice imo.


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## panucorodolfo (May 29, 2015)

Purist

Always.

Anyway, I tend to buy one each, except for the DC 4 and Noon.

Love 24 hour watches.









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## hedd (May 21, 2018)

AlejandroIII said:


> Hello! I am in the same dilemma. For the purist version i like the DC4, and in GMT version the Base 22. I think one of these is going to be my decision.


DC 4 is actually the only GMT that I like because the numerals match the hour hand. The red hand on the Base 22 is pretty cool looking though.


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## Yankchef (Feb 8, 2018)

From a technical standpoint I think the gmt is maybe the better one because it actually uses the whole movement the way it was designed to be used. The "purist" is basically just taking a sw300 or eta and using the gmt hand as the only hour hand and not having a 12 hour hand which is a function that is actually built into it. So in a way it is a gimped sw300/eta

However personally I prefer the purist model with the simplicity of the look and use and don't need the extra hand and like the look and operation being like the original watches

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## jkingrph (Feb 6, 2018)

SwissAm said:


> I just got my first "purist" GMT watch, a DC-4 3 hand. It is taking me some time to adjust to reading it as I'm so used to the standard 12 hr dial. I don't even need 2 time zones but am military and do use GMT time. I feel like a 4 hand GMT purist would be too much to deal with. My $.02
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I wish I had know about GMT watches back in 1991 when I was activated for Desert Storm and deployed overseas. It never was convenient to figure out what the time was back home to call the wife or my parents. Other than that now I absolutely do not need one, and after several day of utter confusion trying to tell time on one it has become second nature. My DC4 GMT with the large numbers in 12 hour format is easiest to read, but The more pure aviator/dive style is not my favorite. I rather like the more modern SST 12 of which I have two, a Pumpkin and a white dial. For a long time I did not like the white because the 24 hour numbers on the dial are small and faint orange, and minute numbers small black, hard for my old eyes to read, hence I leave the larger numbers on the moving bezel set same as fixed dial, so basically i am using it as single time zone watch. My pumpkin, I have the moving bezel set to GMT time, why, just for the fun of it, I doubt that I will never again have a true need.


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## Silvek (Nov 22, 2018)

Yankchef said:


> From a technical standpoint I think the gmt is maybe the better one because it actually uses the whole movement the way it was designed to be used. The "purist" is basically just taking a sw300 or eta and using the gmt hand as the only hour hand and not having a 12 hour hand which is a function that is actually built into it. So in a way it is a gimped sw300/eta
> 
> However personally I prefer the purist model with the simplicity of the look and use and don't need the extra hand and like the look and operation being like the original watches


Interesting perspective. I'm facing the same dilemma and am leaning towards the GMT because it seems to offer a superset of the functionality.

If you set the GMT hand to the same time as the hour/min, you effectively get the best of both worlds: a hand (GMT) that operates the same as the purist (circles once every 24 hours) and a traditional hour hand that goes twice around in the same period.


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## jkingrph (Feb 6, 2018)

panucorodolfo said:


> Purist
> 
> Always.
> 
> ...


I have a Pumpkin and a white dial. The white dial is a bit hard to read, The small orange 24 hour numbers seem do disappear into the white dial unless I make an effort to read that dial, so I tend to leave the moveable bezel set the same , 24 hour marker at top of dial. I wish I had gotten a solid black or blue dial when they were available.


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## panucorodolfo (May 29, 2015)

jkingrph said:


> I have a Pumpkin and a white dial. The white dial is a bit hard to read, The small orange 24 hour numbers seem do disappear into the white dial unless I make an effort to read that dial, so I tend to leave the moveable bezel set the same , 24 hour marker at top of dial. I wish I had gotten a solid black or blue dial when they were available.


That happens to me too with white and silver dials when the the numbers are not clear enough.

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## watches4ever (Dec 7, 2019)

I have both and for most people, the GMT will serve them better. The Purist Airman is basically double 24 hrs. Main hour hand in 24 format and then the bezel for the second timezone. That was the original 1953 concept for pilots at that time well before Rolex came up with the GMT. The Airman GMT gives the third timezone in 24 hour format as the second timezone and the main hour hand is in 24 hour format which the date moves to and will be set for local time.


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## vabent (May 29, 2016)

Definitely prefer the GMT. I can't get used to the 24 hour time format and prefer GMT watches for travel. Great thread!


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## Skynet3132 (Apr 26, 2020)

They both serve their purpose well. if you don't need to track more than 2 zones, then go Purist. As much as I am an aviation and aerospace nerd, I am not a pilot (however I spent years traveling on aircraft as crew in my previous job). With my current day job, I deal with tracking aircraft worldwide. The office is surrounded by clocks synced to the USNO, which is great and convenient because we live our lives by them... but the GMT function on these pieces is a lifesaver at a glance. These are the best uncommon tool watches by far for the price IMO.


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