Reply With QuoteGREAT review! Thanks!
Here's mine, black.
September 2023
A Review of the SMITHS Traveller GMT PRS-58 Wristwatch from Timefactors UK.
This is my fifth review for Timefactors and Mr. Eddie Platts. Each of the past has been somewhat polarizing and this one should not be any different. Some dislike my reviews because they are too long, ramble, and seem to be highly tangential. Many others look forward to reading them peacefully and enjoyably without interruption, hopefully in a comfy chair, fire going, and with drink in hand. For the former group, I fully understand that I am boring, so here is their review: “This is an excellent watch which you should attempt to purchase.” For the latter group, I give you, “my usual ramble”:
The SMITHS brand, and what has MR. PLATTS done with it?
As I have mentioned in the past, the well known SMITHS watch, clock, and gauge brand which Eddie Platts had so deftly captured as his own many years ago was a brilliant move. This was a business coup worthy of BMW and the Rolls Royce brand backstory, which most should lookup if not familiar. As a watch creator, he was really smart to get this brand and make new watches, and has done it very proud. I imagine few could argue with the almost rabid worldwide ordering frenzy which occurs each time a new SMITHS model is introduced. Eddie’s watches end up in all the far corners of our world, and command somewhat higher prices consistently on the secondary markets. What does this tell you? Almost all SMITHS watches have been very well reviewed, loved by their owners, and repeatedly sell out, so what could be a better revival for this past dormant British brand? He set out around 1996 from a backyard garage hoping to ultimately do exactly this for SMITHS and other famous English watch brands, and has really succeeded far beyond even his own expectations. Amazing how throughout history, so many successful companies originate from such humble places. The only single thing to suffer from the resultant success and complete garage commandeering for his company has been his fine automobile paintwork!
What is it about the coincident LOVE we have of Automobiles and Wristwatches?
Fine well made automobiles and fine well made watches always have “Lovers”:
Many small components come together to make a bigger cohesive and attractive item we use daily. We grow to appreciate the aesthetics close up and from afar, and cherish what ceases production and becomes vintage and less obtainable. We educate ourselves as to the creators of these two products and all of their backstories. We go to tradeshows and eagerly anticipate new models coming to market. We stay in garages and at desk tops hours on end fiddling with these two items. We insure them. We look far and wide for no longer made accessories. We show them to others at shows. We lock them away. Our family fight over them. Our spouses sometimes grow to hate them. We spend far too much money buying and maintaining them. We feel bad when they get damaged or worn out. A few nefarious people steal them! We befriend their authorized or venerable dealers much more so than some of our own family!
And, finally, we can sell them at hopefully higher amounts than we had originally paid. We are collectors, a “very diseased” group!
What is the PRS-58 SMITHS Traveller?
It is a true GMT wristwatch made to exceedingly high standards with which one could afford to buy and then actually travel with; and bump it around with luggage on planes, boats, buses, taxis, and trains. It is something which is “fit for its purpose” and is ridiculously well made for its extremely affordable price. It does the SMITHS brand very proud indeed.
The SMITHS Traveller is like a nice, plainly done, simple “restomod” Land Rover Defender 90 without the big pricetag. The kind with the perfect paint, but still showing the classic rivet like spot welds in front of the rear wheel openings, with the white steel wheels and white roof with alpine safari windows. The allure, simplicity, and beauty of these British vehicles is such that I still walk across roads and carparks to ogle them. People will do the same at a dinner table or pub with your Traveller GMT. I guarantee this happening.
Alright, firstly, what does this thing LOOK LIKE and why would I put it on MY OWN wrist?
When I discussed the drawings & prototypes a long time ago with Eddie, there were going to be the two choices of Traveller GMT we have today, but both were destined for a ceramic luminous black bezel. I mentioned to him that maybe the crème colored dial with blued handset would be nicer with a matching blue bezel, which could much more easily be done with his new manufacturer and today’s ceramic technology. Surprisingly, the next prototype drawing had this very change. I imagine he was going to do this all along, as he had a curious subtle tone and agreed to do it way too quickly, but had nicely allowed me think it was “my idea”. How kind of him! Nevertheless, Eddie’s change has resulted in two very distinct versions of the same watch, and we customers are much better served by this. Many reviewers have said the exact same type of comment repeatedly in their reviews of other watches which come in different versions, many times about average looking or sometimes downright ugly wristwatches. But……..
Mr. Platt’s GMT Traveller is Different.
Some may recall that I was made famous by a review declaration, “I am no sycophant” years ago. A few have joked about its’ veracity because I say so many nice things about Timefactors. I understand their need for brevity and curtness. But I apologise to those people, and they need to relax; because I stand by all of my past compliments, dopey rants, and criticism. At almost 62 years, I have developed an increasing “expressive brazenness” which leads me to entertain long term friends and also embarrass myself sometimes at functions where others are present, but I now lose absolutely no sleep over my predictable foolishness.
With this in mind, I stand by the following sentence:
Timefactors is a great company.
So please ready yourselves for the following comment about the AESTHETICS of the SMITHS GMT Traveller watches:
They are both absolutely stunning looking, highly desirable, and there is nothing else like either on the market today. In fact, the crème dialed version is one of the best looking wristwatches I have ever seen. Period.
Now please prepare all the “sycophantic” critical comments right now, after a few look up the word of course. I am willing to take the barbs from naysayers, but remain firm in my aesthetic evaluation. These are REALLY SPECIAL WELL MADE GOOD LOOKING WATCHES and should be far, far more expensive to purchase than they currently are.
What is a GMT and why is this SMITHS Traveller one SO SPECIAL?
I will keep it very simple.
A GMT watch was designed for airplane pilots who travelled relatively quickly through many different time zones. Historically there have been two kinds of GMT movements made, and, while there are some esoteric detail differences within each of the two categories, each have strange “commonly referred to names” used by most.
First is the Office or Caller GMT and then second, the Traveller GMT.
The Office GMT is a normal time telling wristwatch which has an additional hand or dial which can be adjusted independently to show some other time on a 24 hour scale. Called the “24 hour hand” with its own 24 hour scale on the dial, and delineated somehow from the regular time telling handset by color and or size. The regular home time is seen with the traditional hours, minutes, and seconds hands which also are connected to the date mechanism should the watch so have one. That’s it, nice and simple. It was made so that anyone sitting in an office or home could easily see the time in another place This helps a business person who has to deal with employees or events elsewhere in a different time zone from his.
The Traveller GMT on the other hand, is designed for the person who is actually traversing different time zones himself. It allows the user to both keep track of his home time via the 24 hour hand and simultaneously change the main handset’s hour hand to reflect the new time zone he has just entered. Its functions are a bit complex and require familiarization to be easily used when travelling. With routine use it becomes easy:
It has an independently adjustable regular hour hand which can go forward or backward, having tactile indents for each hour and a separate 24 hour hand. The additional 24 hour hand is controlled by rotating both the minute and hour hands together as one would do to normally set the time and it is not independently adjustable. All travel timezone adjustment can be done without stopping the watch and the seconds hand keeps running. Initial alignment of the regular home time with the 24 hour hand, along with the date if present, make synchronization somewhat complex, especially if one wants the date to function properly. The increments and detents seen when moving both the 24 hour hand and the independently adjustable hour hand of Traveller movements sometimes historically have varied with different manufacturers. One must again remember that in models which may have a date window, the main handset hour hand controls this function through cycling the dial twice for each day change needed and this must be in sync with home time setting of the 24 hour hand. There is no quickset date feature on the vast majority of these GMT’s. That is it, however; additionally a GMT with a rotatable 24 hour bezel can do two more things. It can tell time in a third time zone and also if the sun can be observed, function as a compass! If read twice it becomes very easy to commit one’s memory to the differences between the two types.
Which is INSIDE of this watch? What TICKS under the bonnet?
Which movement is the engine in the SMITHS Traveller?
The Traveller GMT movement of course! It is the 2022 Miyota 9075 high beat GMT automatic without its date feature. It was derived from the high beat Miyota 9015 movement made in 2009, and it from a previous movement invented in 1977. As many know, Miyota is really Citizen, and the history and great numbers produced indicate that this new GMT has a very robust pedigree, high accuracy, and easy repairability. Please look it up on the internet should you be further interested in its components and evolution. There is a lot about its construction online and good things are said. Eddie uses lots of very reliable Miyota movements and there is no downside in doing so whatsoever. Timekeeping and shock resistance is exceptional. I have mentioned that using Miyota “motors” to power his past SMITHS watches was a very good idea as well.
The Traveller Bezel in both BLACK and BLUE. TWO PERSONALITIES to CHOOSE FROM!
The SMITHS Traveller GMT in all satin black:
It is a very serious looking watch, with a “distinct ooze” of quality, toughness, and sophistication. It looks as though Patrick McGoohan should be looking at it as “Danger Man” John Drake to see when his TV show will get temporarily cancelled and then again resurrected! (True!) It says it should be on one of “The Persuaders” wrists (Which one? RM of course) By the way, their TV Aston DBS had a modest V6, not the V8 the false bodywork would suggest. Honor Blackman would wear this satin black version as she “restrains you” with all of her “P---- Galore-y”! (just say WOW, look at her photo, and say nothing else…) This satin black SMITHS GMT is very serious! It has a slight menace to it. Again, it looks significantly more costly than it really is. It is very much “the watch” for the sophisticated and tough man or woman of action.
The Smiths Traveller GMT in creme and blue is an altogether different bird:
It absolutely says that it needs to be on ALL OF OUR WRISTS, no matter who we are; and even on both men and women who may be rather sedate. It is that beautiful and desirable. It has a sort of “visual soothing softness” altogether different from the black version. Eddie calls the dial simply “vintage white”, but it is crème to me. Superb! Gorgeous even, a word I very seldom use. Some may disagree, but I am very adamant in my feelings about this one’s fantastic appearance. It reminds me of so many classic cars which have similar color schemes and can be pensively enjoyed visually for hours. An early E-Type FHC or Roadster, or Jensen Interceptor, perfectly restored in navy blue with a cream colored leather interior and clean, restored, perfect SMITHS gauges come to my mind at this moment. My, oh my, what beauties our auto forefathers made! “CarWatchwise”, call me crazy, but I think that this GMT’s jubilee bracelet is the watch equivalent of classic car wire wheels with knockoff hubs. They just grab you visually and sparkle in motion. So absolutely wonderful to admire; and this version of Eddie’s GMT is a similar classic for one’s wrist which can be stared at for hours.
This is the “soothing relaxing beauty” classic car version of the two.
The Heft and Feel of it. Look at that CASEBACK! Look at the HANDSET! LOOK AT THOSE CASE CURVES!
Many have mentioned the size of this watch and its heft and thickness:
It is hefty and a bit thick, but certainly no more than many dramatically more expensive offerings from famous brands, which actually lack it’s many additional features. SMITHS GMT Travellers have anti – magnetic separate internal case movement shielding. They have SMITHS logo decorated screw down watertight case crowns with very high 200 meter rated water resistance. They have beautifully integrated synthetic sapphire crystals and ceramic glow in the dark bezels which turn nicely in both directions, lovely jubilee style stainless bracelets, and dials and handsets which I have complimented in past because they are truly of Patek beauty and quality. I really mean that, just like the gauges of a classic motor. I shall also say something else again, the numerals on the crisp ceramic bezels of this watch glow in the dark! Think about that - this is very special! The caseback is so beautiful, tactile, and three dimensional that it alone is worth staring at. Look at the photos! Should you take either of these GMT’s in your hand and then put them on your wrist, you will absolutely love them and any slight thickness issues will be forgotten. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, they represent so much for relatively little investment. The buyer will treasure his for several years to come. The superb quality of the SMITHS GMT components is now becoming “repeatably old hat” with regard to TIMEFACTORS; a consistently wonderful thing. Quality, quality, and more quality and such a reasonable price point and aesthetic. This is the norm for Mr. Platts. Like a fine new lovely curved & affordable sportscar, can Timefactors produce enough for the demand?
A JUBILEE style Bracelet . Move it around in SUNLIGHT.
Eddie has made jubilee styed bracelets before, notably on his apt named “Jubilee Anniversary” Blue Aventurine Everest limited edition. They were really high quality then, and now the same is true here on this new GMT, and the construction certainly punches above its price point. No cutting corners and it is easy to adjust and clean. All components of the bracelet are solid stainless steel, very well finished, and tight and robust. The links and end pieces are of Rolex quality and have hefty screw bars to connect links and adjust. The sport clasp is thickly stamped, has dual release buttons, an additional safety lock, and has the SMITHS logo nicely engraved on the lock flipper. These bracelet links are the metaphorical knock off wire wheels of the watch! How could it be any better?
Criticism of SMITHS Traveller GMT? Come now, you are a somewhat CRANKY fellow.
None, that is it. I hope that the “brevity demanding crowd” is happy.
How does the Traveller GMT come DELIVERED to you?
In most reviews the watch packaging is always mentioned. Is the box it comes in too large, too small, too cheap, or too overdone? Does the watch come with cloths, screwdrivers, extra links, straps, coherent instructions and warrantee? Many manufacturers today are going overboard in this area, to the point of having very thoughtful, but unnecessary, extra small removable travel boxes as part of the main watch box or having exotic woods so heavy that it becomes seriously difficult to carry home from the shop. How much does this box cost to make and how much does it add to the shipping costs? Some watch authorized dealers I’ve known for decades have told me that their watches now come in small plastic or cardboard containers from the district reps, all nice and with the environment in mind, but, in order to actually sell the watch to the public they are mandated to pay exorbitant postage amounts to actually receive the heavy customer presentation boxes under separate cover from the manufacturer, and have staff do weekly inventory and paperwork just for the boxes themselves. For a busy AD, this adds up to not only lots of extra cost, but defeats the manufacturer promoted concept of “doing good for the planet”!
It is similar expense to what a car dealer charges for “Delivery & Prep costs”. Can you remember the wonderful feeling when your long awaited car was presented to you at a dealership? Recall when our first “cherished” & “long - fored” autos gave us so much excitement that we were somewhat anxious driving them home for the first time? Remember going to view them in the garage or drive at 3AM in the morning? Do you still park really, really far away from others at Costco or home centers? Who amongst us needs medication should he curb an alloy wheel?
So answer the question, “rambler man”, what are your thoughts with regard to the PACKAGING of SMITHS GMT’s?
Very nice, simple, somewhat luxurious in a small way, easy to ship, of vegan red leather “good for the planet”, you can use for travelling, tastefully embossed and colored, comes with a cloth, many extra links, and an instruction pamphlet customized with photos and specs and dated warrantee card. By the way, “Vegan” is a new fancy word for vinyl used nowadays by many auto manufacturers to sort of “virtue signal”. I have just learned this phrase and facts simply show that almost all decent & robust automotive vegan vinyl is made from petroleum products, cellulose, and talc. Real natural leather is in great abundance due to the meat food industry and with proper processing & care this “real leather stuff” can last over 50 years in a car and really outperform vinyl. Real car leather, which originates mostly from Argentina and Uruguay, is actually better to use and better for the planet than the fake stuff! I like meat and I really love leather seats in my cars, having grown up during summers eating hot dogs, wearing shorts, and burning my bottom on seriously hot black vinyl seats as a kid. But nevertheless, all the “vegan conscious” should really enjoy the vegan vinyl he has chosen for his watch cases because it is very luxurious and leather like indeed. I know there will be some controversy about this paragraph, but please keep in mind it is just a watch case description!
Big deal……….“Vinyl Shminyl”……..What else BOTHERS you, OLD MAN?
Eddie really spends his money on the watch’s value for pound ratio, and it is repeatedly incredible. No one ever can refute that. Packaging cuts no corners but is purposefully not extravagant. The money is in the watch!
But I do have a complaint, and those few who consider me a Timefactors “brown noser” should really pay attention: I seriously wish that the size of the text in the instruction pamphlet be larger. I am getting older and have this concern with many things, and feel many are better served in our world, in any language, with bigger text. I know, it may not then fit into the travel box provided, but I would like to read it normally and not on the bridge of my nose as if I were taking a miniature eye exam. Also, on that point, I feel that given the worldwide demand for SMITHS watches, potentially a multi lingual instruction pamphlet in a few major languages would be a good idea and a nice gesture for those not fortunate enough to call England home. OK, excessive “nation sycophanticness”, you got me; but this is indeed an extremely beautiful and lovely country. Years of wonderful automotive accomplishments and stunning designs. And its people, like Mr. Platts , are really very stellar, talented, personable, formidable, tenacious, smart, hardworking, and absolutely superb.
Just like each of the two Traveller GMT watches somewhat, don’t you think?
Wait….. this old blokes a dentist? What the heck does he know about cars & wristwatches?
A tiny little bit, I think. Finish your drink ‘cause I’m done.
Respectfully Submitted to Mr. Platts for his use anyway he chooses.
Thomas Tagliani DDS
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
GREAT review! Thanks!
Here's mine, black.
Are there any white dials currently in stock?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Not according to the website, but there’s one in the sales section!Originally Posted by number2
Yeah, the website generally says ''sold out'' until the shop is open, I'll email TFactors direct, as for SC I might be tempted if the seller drops the price a bit.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Yes that is true. I seem to recall the last of them being sold out last year.
There were only a few left last August:
https://www.timefactors.com/blogs/ne...-3rd-september
Hmm, appreciate your input, is there by chance a thread of comments by owners, I'm being a bit more picky regarding this as I also have something else in mind, is the bezel friction or clicks for example?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
This might help!
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...-Traveller-GMT
(I have all this info as I was toying with buying one myself for a while)
Something to read tomorrow - thanks, why haven't you taken the plunge?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I would really love one with a steel bezel.
I can see the profile is really well executed, but I just know it will be too thick for my taste.
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