Automatic GMT watches

The principle is simple: a fourth hand makes a full turn in 24 hours instead of 12, and the two-tone graduated bezel lets you tell day from night at a glance. You leave that hand on your home time and shift the main hands to local time: no more calculating the offset, or pulling out your phone to check whether it is too early to call. The two most emblematic bezel colour schemes, blue-red and blue-black, were born from this use. Beyond travel, it is the most useful everyday complication for anyone working with people in another time zone.

10 models in this selection, from CHF 299.-, all on a genuine Seiko automatic movement with sapphire crystal and 316L steel. To go further, read our buying guides.