The Best GMT Watches & World Timers of 2025

For globetrotters jumping across time zones, the most useful travel companion is a GMT or a more sophisticated world timer. Although cynics will counter that argument by whipping out a mobile phone or a smartwatch, there is nothing as reassuring and personal as your very own travel watch. Thanks to Louis Cottier’s ingenious solution in the 1930s of displaying local time with the central hands and time around the world on a rotating 24-hour ring, time around the globe could be consulted simultaneously. GMT watches are simpler, but provide local and home time at a glance, and both options usually come with a day/night indicator to avoid waking loved ones in the middle of the night. So, without further ado, let’s review our top five GMT & world time watches of 2025, an eclectic selection listed in alphabetical order.

Bovet REcital 30

Arguably the most advanced travel partner, Bovet’s Récital 30 world timer is a scaled-down version of the mind-bogglingly intelligent Récital 28, capable of synchronising the vagaries of Daylight Saving Time, with a perpetual calendar and tourbillon thrown in for good measure. Envisioned as a smaller, “everyday” version of its more complex sibling, the Récital 30 features the ingenious roller system that can be adjusted to reflect the four different Daylight Saving Time periods shared by 70 countries. Like most world timers, the central handset is linked to local time while the inner 24-hour ring corresponds to the 24 city rollers. Operating the watch is a breeze, and its relatively compact 42mm case sits comfortably on the wrist. Powered by a 373-component movement with a 62-hour power reserve, the calibre is hidden by the full rotor. The impressive Récital 30 is available in titanium for CHF 68,000 and red gold for CHF 96,800, with a limited annual production of 30 watches.

For more information about the Bovet Récital 30 Worldtimer, please consult our hands-on article here.

Doxa SUB 250T GMT

Transitioning dramatically in style, our next contestant comes from underwater watch specialist Doxa. Combining unbeatable robustness and practicality in one fell swoop, the SUB 250T GMT inherits the powerful personality of its iconic 1966 forebear, the SUB 300. Far more compact, though, the 40mm steel case has a slim height of 10.8mm and features the signature no-deco bezel timings and a 60-minute scale. A faithful underwater companion, the Doxa can fathom depths of up to 250 metres and is fitted with a screw-down crown and solid caseback. Relying on a skeletonised GMT hand pointing to a two-tone black and orange scale, this Doxa is an “office” GMT with an independently adjustable 24-hour hand. Below deck, you will find the Sellita SW330-2 élaboré automatic movement (an alternative to the ETA 2893, based on the 2892 architecture), delivering a 56-hour power reserve. Available in nine dial colours (orange is the classic), models on a bead-of-rice bracelet retail for EUR 2,590, while those on an FKM rubber strap retail for EUR 2,550.

For more information, dive in with Derek Haager’s first-hand underwater report.

Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Antipode

From the Maison whose meteoric rise was forged on luggage and steamer trunks, it makes sense that the Art of Travel is a thematic thread throughout its product lines. Louis Vuitton’s wonderfully kinetic Spin Time family was recently revamped as the Tambour Taiko Spin Time collection. The Spin Time Antipode world timer uses 12 rotating cubes, each with two city names exactly 12 time zones apart, and two colours to indicate night and day. The central area of the dial, decorated with a world map, features jumping hours indicated by a yellow pointer and a 360° hand to indicate the minutes. The animated display is housed in a 42.5mm white gold case and powered by the new in-house automatic base movement developed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. Playful yet technical, this 50-piece edition retails for EUR 110,000.

For an overview of the new Tambour Taiko Spin Time collection, click here.

Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer

It’s safe to say that the stylish, practical and fun Nomos Worldtimer has taken the world by storm. This first-class world timer, with a resilient case, a slim profile, fun dial colours, user-friendliness, an in-house movement accompanied by an economy-class price tag, was unanimously acclaimed. Presented in compact 40mm cases with a wonderfully slim 9.9mm profile, the watch is nevertheless resistant to depths of 100 metres and features colourful dials and user-friendly functions, such as the pusher at 2 o’clock to advance the peripheral ring with 24 city airport codes and the local hour hand in one-hour increments. Home time is featured on a sub-dial at 3 o’clock with a 24-hour scale and bicolour day/night ring. Made by Nomos at its Glashütte manufacture, the thin, compact Neomatik calibre DUW 3202 features the brand’s Swing System and offers a short-ish 42h power reserve.

Find out more about the Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer here.

Tudor Black Bay Pro Opaline

Voted by MONOCHROME in 2022 as the Best Tool Watch of the Year, Tudor’s Black Bay Pro GMT impressed us with its cool retro design, ultra-robust construction, pragmatic GMT complication and fair price. A do-it-all, go-anywhere adventure watch, the release of the opaline white dial (polar) this year elicited favourable comparisons with the Rolex Explorer II. The 39mm steel case, with a depth rating of 200 metres, features a fixed 24-hour GMT bezel, indicated by the central yellow hand. A “traveller’s” GMT, the local time hand jumps in one-hour increments backwards or forwards, coupled with the date aperture at 3 o’clock. Hallmark Tudor features like the Snowflake handset, treated with white Super-LumiNova, echo the soothing white dial. Powered by the Kenissi calibre MT5652, an automatic COSC-certified movement with a silicon hairspring, the power reserve is a robust 70 hours. This resilient, versatile white beauty can be yours for EUR 4,140 on a strap and EUR 4,080 on a steel bracelet.

Read Brice’s personal take on the Tudor Black Bay Pro here.