Hands-OnTimex Atelier Introduces the GMT24 M1a Automatic

With September's release of the Timex Atelier Marine M1a, we saw Giorgio Galli's take on a diver, with many of the familiar design cues from the S1 and S2 making an appearance, like the pierced lugs, contrasting midcase, and unique tool-free adjustable bracelet. And today, we get a surprisingly quick follow-up to the Marine M1a. This time, Giorgio Galli introduces his take on the travel watch with the Timex Atelier GMT24 M1a Automatic, priced at $1,450 on a steel bracelet and $1,350 on a rubber strap with a deployant clasp.

The case of the GMT24 is very familiar at this point, made in metal-injection-molded stainless steel for the skeletonized lugs, while the midcase gets a gunmetal PVD coating for contrast. I'd have loved to see the forged carbon midcase make a return from the Giorgio Galli S2, but here, the solid coloring works best with the dial design. On the GMT24, the blocky crown guards for the screw-down crown make an appearance from the previous dive entry, and water resistance is lowered from 200 meters to 100 meters.

Giorgio Galli's consistently strong design touches really shine for the dial of the GMT. I can't emphasize this enough — I think this watch looks phenomenal. It feels fresh, modern, with just a tiny dash of retrofuturistic feel thrown in. Most of this comes in the three-dimensional design that Galli has excelled at, with a bezel-free, rounded crystal design, and a minutes track that actually slopes outwards towards the wearer. The inward slope of the outer dial contains the 24-hour ring for the bright orange GMT hand, while the center dial has a raised metal applique surrounding the hour markers. 

From afar, the 24-hour scale looks uniformly black, but is actually divided into the classic day-night binary with a subtle grey. The entire dial is jet-black, save for the contrasting applied elements, and that's thanks to a black enamel dial. No, it's not a grand feu enamel dial, but Galli told me it's a cold enamel process that achieves the visual effect of the former, with layers applied then dried onto the dial, finally polished to get that deep glossy look. 

Flip the watch around, and you'll see the exhibition caseback with a view of the automatic Landeron 24 caller-style GMT movement. While it has very standard specs for a GMT caliber (including a power reserve of 40 hours), if there was one compromise in this watch, it would probably be the movement, especially in operation. Although the watch's build quality is impressive for its price, the movement has a few drawbacks. A ghost date is very much present on this watch, with the first stop of the crown covering both the GMT hand setting and the invisible date adjustment. 

More interestingly, the date changeover actually occurs around 10:40 pm on the watch I received, when you'll hear that small click either when the time occurs or if you're setting the time past it. In addition, the GMT hand actually moves backward when setting it, and while it doesn't have any functional impact, it did stand out to the few people I passed the watch around to. No, these aren't necessarily dealbreakers, but they challenge the "luxury Timex" position for the model.

I would expect that the biggest customers for the Timex Atelier are those who appreciate watches for their strong designs. If you're purely making decisions based on spec sheets, this watch might not be for you. But on the wrist, this watch punches far above its weight in look and was certainly hard to take off in the few days I spent with it. Galli tells me the inaugural diver has done incredibly well, with the first production batches already sold out, and it seems that there are quite a few out there who also agree with me. Timex and Galli are committed 100% to this new brand identity with Timex Atelier, and are already working on the next few designs for (hopefully) the near future.

For more, visit Timex Atelier.