After 15 days (incl. triangle shipping) it's finally here! I thought I'd add a few points I noticed on the first day. Most are very positive, and there are a few very nitpicky things. They're no problems, simply observations. Strictly speaking, it's a $350 watch, you shouldn't be able to get this kind of quality at this price. So any "problems" are simply stated because they are there and should not, in any case, be representative for the AT GMT, which is - in my opinion - worthy of being NWBIG. I can't attest for the quality of the movement just yet, but a quick run on the timegrapher shows that it averages at -3spd, with the worst position being crown down (varying between -9spd and +3spd). The beat error and amplitude are perfect considering that this is a hotchpotch proprietary movement.
- Hands and indices: I was very surprised to see both hands and indices being brushed on top and having polished sides. I hadn't thought about it before, but I'm extremely surprised that they managed to pull it off this nicely. It's a time-consuming task, especially for things at this dimension, so having finishing like this is impressive. The brushing is done very well, and there's no bleeding into the polished sides.
- Date wheel: This is the one flaw I saw on the QC pics, it's a micrometre too much to the right on the double digits. I can't understand the people red lighting a watch for something so trivial, which even gen watches suffer from, so I took the "plunge". It's not noticeable at all. Looking at QC pics up close makes me forget that the watch itself is small, and the tolerances we're dealing with here is less than 1mm. The printing does leave a bit to be desired. I would like to see the print being a bit thicker, but that's life.
- Date setting: It goes backwards! Oh, how I've wanted this. Though no quick set, having the ability to go back when you're too eager to set the date is fantastic. I'm surprised they added this, and I haven't really heard anyone talk about it. The jumping hours are smooth and get into position remarkably well. I'm eager to see how the movement holds up.
- Finishing: The sides are finely brushed, which are impressively straight. The polishing is well done, with sharp edges all around. There's two or three nicks here and there, but nothing I'd ever bother to point out. It'll blend in with ordinary use anyway.
- Bracelet: I'm actually surprised! I've heard a lot about it, coming with sharp edges, poor machining, loose screws and whathaveyou, but mine is quite good. Yes, the tolerances aren't perfect, so when worn loose it rattles just a tiny bit, but anything under $2000 does. Hell, I tried on a gen Rolex Explorer yesterday and even that drooped a bit when held vertically. It's not a fantastic bracelet, but for its price, it's remarkably good. Beggars can't be choosers. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they've included the little bearing which secures in place, but I'm hesitant to trust it too much. I'll have to put it through a bit of wearing to see how it holds up. Resizing it was a breeze, but the screws need a bit of Loctite. I imagine it'll be absolutely fantastic after a quick rinse and an oil bath.
- SELs: The solid end links are well machined and have practically no gaps. The polishing between the lugs is well done, but they could've done a better job on the inside of the lugs themselves. Again, to be expected, if I wanted that kind of attention to detail, I'd go gen.
- Crown: Though expertly done, it is a bit sharp. It should wear in nicely, but I try my best to avoid having to pull it out. Luckily, the power reserve let's me avoid that. The screw works well and the threads are nicely done. Pulling it out to the two positions gives some nice tactile feedback.
- Colouring: It's darker than I expected. I was expecting a tad lighter shade of blue, to be honest. I haven't seen a blue one in gen yet, so I can't tell how close it is. The GMT logo is a completely other shade of red than the GMT hand, but I'm fairly certain this is the case for the gen as well. I only had a brief moment with a black gen a few weeks ago but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Looking through the few reviews on YouTube it does look like it's a different shade, just not as extreme as this. But it all comes down to the lighting, in my experience.
- Gaskets: If you're comfortable with it, screw off that caseback and grease the gaskets right away. They were completely dry; pair that with the wimpy way they had screwed on the caseback, I'd say a 30m rating is for the lucky days. Luckily I had some gasket grease laying around and got them nice and moist, as well as getting the caseback properly screwed on. I always take a close look at the movement to look for any sort of dust or particles, but this one is surprisingly clean - it's a bit dry, but I expected that. It should need some service, so I'll look around for a good technician to have a proper look at it. I'm expecting a fair bit of grime under the bridges and such.
- Movement: Again, very clean and fantastically well done. I haven't had the chance to take a proper look at it, but the oil wells seem kind of dry. The winding is almost as smooth as my Hamilton Khaki King. The setting of the minute hand is just slightly loose, so setting it to the correct minute in a hurry isn't going to happen. However, it's something that happened with my gen Hydroconquest as well, so I'm not surprised.
- Weight: It feels solid enough. The complete watch, with all links, weighs in at 171g. I removed four links, so mine is clocking in at 160g, so you can go figure when it comes to individual links. Heavier than I expected, and I wouldn't have it any heavier.
All things considered, I'm amazed. They seem to have nailed everything. Sure, there's the obvious flaws, but I'm prepared to ignore that considering I paid next to nought for it. I'm excited to see how the movement performs and how things in general holds up, not to mention getting to play around with straps. I have a black nylon, a black croc, a blue and red suede, and a brown suede in 21mm, so it'll be interesting to see how it likes new shoes.