Zodiac Aerospace GMT Reissue
By: Michael Penate
Update:
Check out our hands-on Zodiac Aerospace GMT review
I’ll be honest—this is a watch I’ve been anticipating for a very long time. Just ahead of Baselworld 2019, Fossil-owned Zodiac has announced the latest addition to their vintage-inspired collection—the Zodiac Aerospace GMT. We’ve been open about our love of Zodiac’s modern interpretations of the Sea Wolf on the podcast, so it’s a real treat to finally see this coveted iteration come back to life as a modern, heritage reissue. Initial impressions are positive and I’ll more than likely be tackling this one on-air but like many of today’s coolest watch releases, this one is, for some reason, a limited edition. Sad. Let’s go over what we know so far.
Introduced in the early 1960s, the original Aerospace GMT was Zodiac’s entry into watchmaking’s Jet Age—sparked shortly after the advent of Rolex’s original GMT Master and watches like the Glycine Airman in 1953. During the next decade or so, Zodiac would continue to refine the design, introduce different versions (like the Aeronaut GMT), and improve legibility as they kept up with the rest of the watch world. During the late ’60s, we got the ref. 752-934, which used a beautiful two-tone bakelite bezel and also serves as the source material for the reissue you see pictured above. In my opinion, the Zodiac Aerospace GMT stands as one of the coolest alternatives to the mighty GMT Master and now you can finally get your hands on one without going vintage… maybe.
The modern Zodiac Aerospace GMT will feature a larger 40mm case, two different bezel colorways, and an ETA 2893-2 movement. If you’ve gotten this far in the post, I’m pretty sure at some point you were hoping that the movement would’ve been a fancy new STP GMT movement but the ETA will do just fine with its 38-hour power reserve. Perhaps, like other Zodiac watches, we can eventually get a version with an in-house GMT from Fossil’s very own STP manufacture.
Zodiac Aerospace GMT Specs
- Case Diameter: 40mm
- Case Thickness: 13mm
- Lug-to-Lug: 48mm
- Lug Width: 20mm
- Movement: ETA 2993-2
- Crystal: Sapphire
- Bracelet: Stainless Steel
- Water Resistance: 200m
- Price: $1,695
The new Zodiac Aerospace GMT reissue will be available in April this year and each version (only difference is the bezel colorway) is limited to 182 pieces. Like I mentioned before, you’ll probably hear more of my thoughts on upcoming podcast episodes. But, shortly after this publishes, I may be trying to strongarm my way into getting one of these—as crazy as it may be. Zodiac
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.