New watches are a dime a dozen. After all, that is the entire point of this website. We review all the new watches. New movements, at least in the sub-$5000 segment, aren’t as common. Today we have the luxury of reviewing a new watch and a new movement. The Jack Mason Strat-o-Timer houses the all-new Miyota 9075 GMT movement. We’re likely to see this movement make its way onto many new watches in the coming months, but the Strat-o-Timer is the first commercially available watch to use it. We’ve got a good amount to unpack with this watch and movement, so let’s not waste more time.
On the Wrist & Movement
Jack Mason’s product page for the Strat-o-Timer states that this watch “checks every box.” As far as the dimensions and proportions go, they’re spot on. The watch comes in at 40mm wide, 47mm wide, and 13mm thick (11mm wrist-to-crystal). These dimensions are perfect for a GMT that is channeling some of the best cushion-case dive watches from days gone by. The cushion case gives the Strat-o-Timer a more prominent wrist presence than its stated case width, but that is more from the real estate making contact with the wrist than the outward-facing size of anything on the watch.
I had the opportunity to see a few of Jack Mason’s watches at WindUp in October, and while all their watches have a certain level of charm, they honed in on it with the Strat-o-Timer. When you put this watch on your wrist, it feels like you won the nightstand drawer lottery, and this was the watch your Grandparent had tucked away for decades. Whether it is the simplified star logo on the dial or the blue and red color scheme, this watch oozes classic vibes without feeling derivative.
I can hear it now. You’re saying, “Will, tell us about the new movement! We want to know!” Ok, ok. Let’s talk about the Miyota 9075 powering the Strat-o-Timer. The Miyota 9075 is what is commonly referred to as a traveler GMT. I loathe the term true GMT, so we’ll ignore that term for the rest of this review. A traveler GMT allows the main hour hand to be set independently of the rest of the hands without stopping or hacking the watch. The idea is that you set the GMT hand to your home time, and when you arrive at your destination, you set the hour hand to your local time. You may also have heard this referred to as a jumping hour. The other type of GMT we’re more familiar with is caller GMTs where the GMT hand is adjusted independently of the main hour hand.
Traveler GMTs aren’t a novel concept. They’ve been around for a long time in watches like the Rolex GMT Master and many of Grand Seiko’s GMTs. These movements have not found their way into more affordable watches until now. Along with the Seiko 4R34, we are experiencing a renaissance of GMT movements. The 9075 has a power reserve of 42 hours, and Jack Mason is regulating them to +/- 5 seconds per day.
Jack Mason Strat-o-Timer Specs | |
Case Width 40mm | Lug-to-Lug 47mm |
Case Thickness 13mm | Lug Width 20mm |
Wrist-to-Crystal 11.5mm | Weight 153g |
Water Resistance 200m | Strap Bracelet |
Crystal Sapphire | Lume Super-LumiNova BGW9 and X1 C3 |
Movement Miyota 9075 | Price $999 |
Dial Details
The dial of the Strat-o-Timer is simple yet well-executed. The applied markers are big and bold. The lume plots take up most of the markers and are rounded as they near the edge of the marker, giving the polished bevel some room to shine.
The baton handset offers a no-nonsense approach and allows the GMT hand to stand out. The hour and minute hands are sized for the markers, respectively. The hour hand just touches the innermost portion of the markers, and the minute hand extends out to the edge of them.
Dial text is located strictly at the bottom of the dial with the stylized star logo at 12 o’clock. The text feels cramped, and it would feel more balanced if there were two lines of text instead of 3.
The bezel has a 48-click bidirectional action. It feels crisp, and our good friends at Foster Watch Co. would be happy with the number of clicks. The bezel is fully lumed, and the color of the lume coordinates with the GMT hand’s lume. The lume on the hands and markers glow blue, while the GMT hand and bezel glow green.
Case & Bracelet
Cushion cases are great for showing off finishing. The larger surface area around the lugs gives the brushing a chance to shine. The sides of the case are entirely polished, and there is a significant undercut as the sides taper down toward the caseback.
A welcome surprise for anyone wanting a Strat-o-Timer as their one watch to travel around with will be the 200 meters of water resistance and a screwdown crown. After you’ve landed at your destination and you’ve set your local time, you’ll be able to jump right into the hotel pool without taking off or changing your watch.
The 7-link bracelet can best be described as jubilee-style, and it is ridiculously comfortable. It also has a satisfying heft to it, and even though Jack Mason will provide additional straps for preorders, I wouldn’t want to take the watch off the bracelet. The review sample I had in came with a simple double-push button clasp. However, the production models will have a nice upgrade. A glidelock-style clasp will come on the production Strat-o-Timers, providing toolless microadjustments.
Final Thoughts
The Strat-o-Timer offers a beautiful package that we rarely see in the watch world; a new watch with a new movement for right around $1,000. Add to that the fact that this type of movement has typically been reserved for watches 4-5 times that price (and more), and this should get every watch nerd on the planet excited. The watch community has grown so much over the past several years and has been a driving force behind watch brands and movement makers to continue pushing the envelope. Keep it up, watch fam, and we will continue to get innovations like the Miyota 9075 that get put into equally great watches like this.
Check out more GMT reviews at The Watch Clicker here
Check out the Jack Mason website here
