Hands-On: the Trafford Touring GMT

I am no stranger to the road, often finding myself lost on winding backcountry roads, grabbing cocktails in random local bars, and hunting for the hidden gems that make travel great. It can be easy to get lost in these adventures, jumping over time zones with an unwillingness to turn back towards my standard everyday life. That is where, annoyingly, a watch becomes more than just a watch. It becomes the rope tied to schedules and obligations that unobtrusively pulls you back to reality through the whirring of a rotor. While I certainly can not claim to be the modern American artist for whom this watch was designed, I have seen its inspiration scattered throughout random roads lost to different eras still holding the memories of its previous travelers. So, it seemed only fitting that part of my time spent with the new Trafford Touring GMT would occur on a spur-of-the-moment road trip down to West Virginia.

Trafford is a brand I am very familiar with having been hooked on Nathan’s designs since he first shared a single teaser image of the Crossroads (his previous, rectangular model) in a watch Facebook group. Of course, I backed the Kickstarter grabbing myself a cabaret dial version, and then would eventually go on to get to know Nathan more during our collaboration on a certain “Wonderful” video I am sure many of you have seen by now. It was at this time that Nathan shared more teasers with me, this time of a round case with a similarly bold design language featuring a GMT movement. I was hooked again. Look, I will admit it, I am a sucker for syringe hands and a unique design. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with all three models on their bracelet, perlon strap, and leather strap options but will point out that these are early production models with some changes being made for the final product.

Color has quickly become a staple of the brand, utilizing local inspiration to influence the color schemes on display throughout the entire Trafford collection. The Touring GMT is no different, here utilizing three distinct color combinations named after intimate music venues that embrace the same colorful undertones. You have the Saxon Pub in Austin represented in black and teal, the Troubadour in Hollywood honored with green and white, and then the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville shown in shades of blue. To describe the colors on each dial would warrant an article entirely of its own so I will let the photos do the talking, however, what is important to call out is the design language and all its details. 

At its perimeter, a thin strip of accenting color surrounds the rest, disappearing at most angles lending a bit of motion and hidden charm to the dial. Set just inside is a split color ring indicating day and night through 12-hour markers, opting to replace the twelves with a small sun and moon. One step further brings you to the primary dial surface holding printed hour markers and branding. At 6 o’clock, a small circular date wheel interrupts the triangular marker to reveal a color-matched date disk with its Arabic numerals color matching the GMT hour markers. At its center, a four-hand stack handles time telling with a painted and lumed arrow GMT hand, two syringe hands in accenting colors each filled with lume handling hours and minutes, and a ticking second hand matched to the primary hour indices cut in the shape of an arrow complete with fletching. 

While the colors may steal the show at first, you are treated to quite the display once the lights begin to dim and the applied Super LumiNova takes center stage. The split day and night outer ring has a lumed backdrop on the upper portion while the bottom has lumed hour markers. The primary hour indices utilize a luminous frame to outline their painted center. And then finally each hand holds its own generous portion of lume. Despite what could be described as a somewhat busy dial, legibility is solid as the colors contrast well enough to quickly read the time without contrasting to the point of being an eyesore. While I do tend to lean towards the black and teal Saxon, all three models carry an attractive yet distinct tone that I believe will resonate with their individual audiences. I will say that while I did not quite connect with the white and green Troubadour at first, it felt right at home while driving through the woods and laying on the mountaintops of West Virginia.

Moving to the case and construction, the Touring GMT follows in a dressier everyday configuration blending fine brushing with polished facets. The rounded case sides with vertical brushing transition to a polished facet twisting over the lugs to diminish their visual presence. A polished bezel surrounds the domed sapphire crystal, with an interior anti-reflective coating, to play in the light and almost appear bezel-less when looking straight on. At 3, a large knurled screw-down crown pairs with the screw-down case back to provide this watch’s 100 meters of water resistance. On its underside framed by yet another polished facet, a sapphire crystal protects the automatic Miyota 9075 regulated to +/- 10 seconds per day and customized with the Trafford red rotor. Overall, the case is a pleasure to look at from any angle and impressive for the price point considering other, more generic, offerings in the sub-$1,000 GMT market. 

Set between 20mm lugs, the Touring GMT comes equipped with an Italian leather strap with an accented underside and tail keeper. In the box, you will find complimenting single-pass perlon straps that can be swapped out to create a sportier package. There will be a bracelet option as well for an additional $150 treated with the same hardened coating as the case. For me, this is the way to go. The 5-link bracelet tapers down to 16mm before meeting the 18mm milled three-piece clasp. Decorated in a similar mix of brushed and polished surfaces, the bracelet offers great articulation and can be easily adjusted to the wearer through the use of screwed-in links, the inclusion of half-links, and an on-the-fly adjustment. All three options wore extremely well and changed the visual appearance of the watch significantly, which will help those traveling through blend into any unforeseen situation. 

Powering the Touring GMT is the aforementioned Miyota 9075, the affordable ‘true’ GMT movement that has become the darling of many microbrands. Opting to not settle for just slapping the movement in there, Trafford has further regulated the movement which I can attest was keeping time to within +/- 6 seconds per day on my timegrapher, even better than their claimed specifications. The bright red rotor puts on a show as, in typical Miyota fashion, it is sent wildly whirling around the rear window with a flick of the wrist. With 42 hours of power reserve, the Touring GMT will still be ticking on the motel nightstand in the morning, carefully avoiding the vibrations of the built-in mattress magic fingers. 

Though technically the third, this feels like the second act from Trafford Watch Co. A serious follow-up to the incredibly successful Crossroads that will delight dedicated fans and newcomers alike. The Touring GMT felt equally at home on the road in the colorful wilderness of West Virginia as it does sitting here at my desk now. Nathan could have phoned it in with a more off-the-shelf watch or simply could have released new dial colors for the continuously sold-out Crossroads. Instead, we are treated to a bold new trio that still holds the Trafford core values while stepping outside of the box and expanding the brand. The Touring GMT is Songs From The Big Chair. Yes, The Hurting was great, but every model here could be a hit and will solidify a brand that was just previously put on the map.

Availability on the new Trafford Touring GMT is a bit staggered and being offered at a few different price points but all of the relevant information can be found on their website, including deals for early bird purchases. The full retail price is $899.