We rarely review quartz watches at WRUK – and even more rarely GMTs. The Iota GMT is new watch from a British company.
Iota GMT Review
My biggest issue with GMT watches is that it is a faff setting them every time I take them out of the watch box. One solution is to invest in a watch winder, another is to choose a battery-powered quartz model.
At a glance |
Iota GMT |
Price |
£265 |
Case size |
40mm |
Thickness |
8.5mm |
Water Resistance |
50m |
Movement |
Ronda 515.24H |
IOTA lent us two of their GMT watches to try out. They come in simple cardboard packaging which does the job but won’t win awards for innovation. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and presume this means more of the purchase price has been spent on the watch itself.
Case and Movement
Inside the 40mm steel case (available in plain, gold or IP black finishes) is a Ronda 515.24H GMT quartz movement. I often question why brands choose Swiss movements instead of equally accurate and reliable Japanese alternatives but in this case the GMT function justifies the relatively low cost of the watch.
The case is slim (thanks to that quartz movement) at 8.5mm and very light. Nevertheless, the finishing is acceptable at the price point. The downside of that cool-looking black finish is that it attracts fingerprints and is hard to keep clean. The gold did not suffer from that problem.
Dial and Hands
Of the two samples IOTA sent, I prefer the white dial to the black dial. Both are essentially the same, with a texture finish at the top (instead of a two-coloured bezel to show “day” and “night”). Applied markers denote each hour. Although the watches have antireflective coating on both sides of the glass, I found the black hard to read due to reflections, with the white being far more legible.
The handset is well-designed, with each hand perfectly matching the outer markers. This attention to detail is what I believe sets the IOTA GMT out from the crowd. It shows that the brand has thought about aesthetics and not just rebadged a Chinese factory watch (usually the minute I say this someone sends me an Aliexpress link to an identical watch, but I couldn’t find one!). The biggest drawback of the design is that the ‘floating’ GMT hand is hard to read. I am used to it being in a contrasting colour.
Strap and Buckle
Of the two straps, I preferred the one fitted to the black IOTA GMT. It’s a waterproof strap and felt very supple in comparison to the rather stiff Italian Nappa leather fitted to the gold watch.
The buckle is a standard tang. Perhaps some branding would have been a nice addition but there is nothing wrong with it.
Iota GMT – Video Review
What I Liked |
What I Didn’t like |
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Iota GMT – The WRUK Verdict
Overall, I really like the Iota GMT. I love the looks – especially the gold version – and I think that the choice of a quartz movement rather than a mechanical is justified to keep the thickness down and reduce the fuss of setting a GMT hand every time you wear it. I can’t wait to see what else Iota comes up with, especially if they move into mechanical watch production.
Buy an Iota GMT
You can buy an Iota GMT watch direct from Iota’s website.
