Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but I had an interesting experience this afternoon that pertains to the core of this fantasy project.
The idea was simple enough; bung an Omega GMT movement into a 40mm Globemaster case (in Titanium), add a 24Hr GMT track a la Grand Seiko to the rehaut, tidy up the bracelet sharpness issue and release it at one of the forthcoming BaselWorld events. I guessed that most of the above should be possible, if not downright easy, based on owning a regular Globemaster, handling the Annual Calendar and seeing images of the various Grand Seiko GMT models.
Well I'm shocked to say that the above actually exists, even down to the corrected skin-side bracelet comfort chamfering. The only "problem" is that it isn't an Omega Globemaster; it's, as I should have guessed from day one, a Grand Seiko SBGJ211 (white) or SBGJ213 (black).
I was at a bit of a loose end today, winding down after a hectic week and long hours preparing for my first public presentation in German in front of a hundred or so aerospace professionals. As a form of reword and chill-out I decided to go into Hamburg and see if the Omega Boutique had finished with their refurbishments (not) and ended up at the Rolex Boutique on the opposite side of the street. I was curious to find out if all these rumours about extreme shortages of steel sports Rolexes are true...they are, apart from Daytonas which seemed to be in every shop window in Hamburg. Most of the other watches that I wanted to try were in the process of being sold or had just gone in the last 24hrs (strange things afoot it seems).
Anyway, after a most enjoyable afternoon at the Rolex OB (worth a visit, very nice folks there) I planned to set off for home, but remembered that there is a new Seiko Boutique in Gänsemarkt (one of the squares in Hamburg), so I ought to pop in and see what's what. That might just have been a very expensive mistake!
Apart from having what looked like every conceivable Seiko/GS model they had a very good selection of GMTs. So I looked at the steel models with rotating bezels, then some more classical ones and finally landed by the SBGJ213.
🤬🤬🤬🤬 all far too nice for safety.
The SBGJ211 and 213 models more or less exactly fit the spec that I had written at the top of this thread and it was all that I could do to prevent myself dropping a load of coin right there and then. It was another one of those Railmaster Trilogy 30 seconds instant decision moments. Looking at pics on the internet is no substitute for experiencing these things live and I really didn't expect the GSs that I had based my GM-GMT on to be so damned good and close to what I was trying to portray. So where to now? I guess it's wait and see with BW2018 if Omega bite on the GM-GMT idea, otherwise I know who will be making me poorer later in the year.
A post without pictures is always bad form so here are a few of the GS to whet your appetite.
I'm still kicking myself for not taking some of the inside of the bracelet links to poke under the nose of the folks at Omega, who just don't seem to grasp these simple things.
The one in the middle is singing very very loudly to me. Did you notice the longer lugs compared to the GM and that they are fully drilled, i.e. great for NATOs...I think I mentioned that wish somewhere. Oh boy, I thought I was done with collecting for a while; I guess not.
