Marloe GMT Hands-On Watch Review

Marloe GMT

If you have been paying attention, you will know that the newest trend in watches, especially microbrands, is GMT. Every year we seem to have a new trend; smaller watches, Genta-inspired watches, mint-colored dial watches, etc. We also have a newer GMT movement that is responsible for a lot of these GMT watches, which is the Miyota 9075. The Marloe GMT utilizes this new movement, and that means, this is a 3 timezone GMT traveler, which many refer to as a TRUE GMT, as it has the jumping hour hand. The price starts at $765 (currently), you get a myriad of strap choices, a sapphire box, and a very cool textured dial, that is available in two colors, Night, which is what I have here, which is not black but apparently a dark midnight hue, and one dubbed Day, which is a nice shade of sky blue. This is a thin and sleek 42mm case, in what I consider a very attractive overall design.

Specifications:

• 42mm diameter x 10.95mm depth (excl. crystal)
  20mm strap width
• 47mm Lug to lug
• Bespoke-designed dual-texture case
  Sapphire box crystal with dual-sided AR coating
  Multi-layer dial with applied indices
  Jet stream hour & minute hands with luminous fill
  Hairline seconds hand with luminous fill
  Floating GMT hand with luminous fill
  50 Meters / 5ATM water resistance
  70g
  2-year warranty
• Limited to 500 pieces

Price $765 at the time of publication

Marloe Website

Now Marloe is not the first to release a watch with the Miyota 9075 movement, I believe that honor went to a Bulova, and I think the first microbrand with it might have been the Traska, but it is still a fairly new movement and even though it was announced a year or two ago, the rollout has been slow with shortages, etc. But now we are seeing more watches with this movement, and many seem to be excited about this because it is a true GMT. What is true GMT? Well, the Rolex GMT Master of course. There are others obviously, but many point to that as a reference. The biggest difference is how the hour hand operates. On other automatic GMT movements, say like an ETA, you set your time like every other 3-hand watch, and then you can push the crown to the first position to set the arrow GMT hand. This allows one to track two time zones, and if it has a 24-hour bezel, you can track 3.

A true GMT, like this Marloe GMT, allows the user to set the main hands as your destination time, and then you can set the arrow hand as your home time, and then use a bezel like this 48-click bi-direction bezel on this Marloe, to track a third if you wish. Now, why does this make a big difference? Well, to some, it’s a HUGE difference. Because of the jumping hour hand, you can let’s say fly from NY to Hawaii, (I kept this simple so I didn’t need to bring Siri and a calculator into this), and when you land, you can just pull the crown out and move that hour hand behind 5 hours of Eastern Time. It’s a quick set hour hand essentially and you can set the GMT hand then as well, or worry about it when you get to the hotel.

Is this a cool feature? Sure. But, that quick set hour hand takes away a feature that I and so many others are accustomed to, and that is the quick set date. See, the jumping hour hand goes in both directions, so there is no crown position or opposite direction to move the crown to advance the date. The easiest way to set the date (instead of advancing both hour and minute hand around dial 24 hours), is to just use the jumping hour to advance the date. It takes a little longer than just scrolling through the date wheel, but that’s how this movement functions. If that is the case, I personally wouldn’t have minded if they did a date delete on this movement, at least until they figured out how to do a quick set date feature.

The case of the Marloe GMT is very slim, just under 11mm without that box-domed sapphire. The sapphire does have a dual AR coating, inside and outside though, and while it does help reduce glare, the outer AR coatings are prone to scratching, so keep that in mind. The crown is signed, and if I say, a touch on the small side considering this is a 42mm watch. I love that they did not downsize this to a 40mm or under like so many brands are doing, but I would have liked a beefier crown. The crown is also a push-pull crown, something that has been a little controversial from the feedback I’ve been getting on this piece. More disconcerting is the 50m of water resistance. I could live with the push-pull crown, but I would have preferred at least 100m of water resistance, even if that meant making the case a little bit thicker.

I have been referring to this dial as black since it arrived at my doorstep and it wasn’t until someone on Facebook asked me about the dark blue dial, and that it looks black to him, and how it looks in person. I hadn’t really looked at the Marloe GMT webpage yet, and was like, what is this guy talking about? Turns out, it does list it as a Twilight blue dial. Basically, if you pay attention to iPhone color, there is a new iPhone 14 color which they refer to as midnight, and it’s a very deep dark blue, which looks black in most lighting. But, I have to say, looking at this dial over and over, I honestly can’t tell that is supposed to be a dark blue, it just looks black to me. If you can see it, let me know, I do have an eye appointment coming up, so maybe I will need to tell the doctor I am having trouble seeing colors. The dial color aside, I do love the layout, and the hour and minute hands are not only attractive, but they are large enough to stand out and make it easy to read. The arrow hand, or more specifically the arrow itself could be a little larger though.

The case finishing is fantastic, and being such a thin case, Marloe still manages to give two distinct case finishes with vertical brushing on the mid-case, with the lugs and the top of the case, high polished, which does follow around to the back of the watch as well. The bezel insert is also brushed, so this does create a nice all around look, not too flashy and not too sporty. The lug-to-lug being only 47mm means that even though this is a 42mm watch, and with very thin lugs, it should still fit a wide variety of wrist sizes. Some have remarked on the 20mm lugs on a 42mm case, but with the way this case flows, I think it all balances out nicely.

I chose the rubber strap, which Marloe only refers to as black rubber, but it definitely feels like a natural rubber to me, and the diamond-patterned texture is attractive and the rubber is very pliable and fits perfectly on my 7 1/2 inch (19.05cm) wrist, with room left over. Now if you are not a fan of rubber, don’t fret, there are 15 other straps to choose from, in all different materials and colors, including a stainless steel bracelet, though it is a straight-end link bracelet, which is a boomer.

For those who have wanted a true GMT watch, and didn’t want to shell out for a Rolex or other high-end brands, now there is a much more affordable option with this Miyota 9075 movement. I believe the Marloe GMT is the first GMT for the brand, at least to my recollection, and I think overall it is a very well-designed piece, though I think a date delete and some more water resistance could really put this over the edge for myself and others. It is slim with a crystal box, so it definitely has that vintage vibe and does remind me of another British brand, namely the Christopher Ward C63 GMT, but not only is the C63 more expensive, but it is also much smaller at 39mm, so it is nice to see a somewhat similar GMT in a bigger size. Make sure to check out the video and you can see even more about this piece at the Marloe website linked below.

Marloe GMT Night

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