Timex's Waterbury GMT Gets a Root Beer Bezel for $579

Comparing a Timex to a Rolex is a silly exercise in most contexts. In this one it is unavoidable, because the Timex Waterbury Heritage Automatic GMT exists in the shadow of the GMT-Master II and has been selling well there since launch.

The name comes from the brand's origins as the Waterbury Clock Company, and the design language comes from the most recognizable travel watch ever made: a rotating 24-hour bezel, a fourth hand, and a case that reads vintage rather than modern. What Timex has now added is the colorway collectors have been asking for — a root beer bezel, the brown-and-black combination that first appeared on Rolex's GMT-Master in the 1960s and has never really left the conversation.

The price is $579, which is where the comparison ends in the most useful way. A GMT-Master II runs into the tens of thousands, while the Timex delivers the same visual reference, an automatic movement, and a bezel that tracks a second time zone without requiring you to do arithmetic at 30,000 feet. What it does not deliver is a manufacture movement with the accuracy and service network of a Swiss chronometer, or a bracelet and case finished to the same standard.

Set against other affordable GMTs, the Waterbury Heritage Automatic GMT occupies a sensible middle: cheaper than the microbrand GMTs with Swiss movements, more expensive than the quartz GMTs that require no thought at all. Its selling point has always been the styling, and the root beer option strengthens that case without changing anything mechanical.

Verdict: a fair buy for anyone who wants the vintage GMT look, an automatic movement and a price that will not require a family meeting. Buyers chasing actual travel accuracy should spend more; buyers chasing the look just got a better option.

Timex colorways often sell out before restock — check current Waterbury Heritage Automatic GMT root beer availability before ordering.