After the launch of their Heritage Collection in January, Le Jour has made a quick turnaround with the drop of their new Hammerhead GMT just weeks later. The Hammerhead GMT is a follow up to the Hammerhead Diver, a sports watch with a 70s flavor and plenty of color. Unsurprisingly, that aesthetic has been carried over into the new GMT lineup, and it’s fair to say that if you appreciated the vintage cues of Le Jour’s previous releases, you’ll find plenty to like here.
The cushion style case seen on the Hammerhead GMT appears to be identical to the dive watch released last year. It measures 42mm in diameter with a case height of 14mm and a lug to lug distance of 48mm. It’s finished with a mix of satin brushing on the case bands and highly polished areas on the tops of the lugs, and is fitted with a bidirectional 24 hour bezel with a ceramic insert. It’s a chunky case, but that feels like an intentional design note here rather than an accommodation to a thick movement or over-the-top water resistance. Wrist presence seems to be the point – these are not meant to be discrete. The watch is called the “Hammerhead,” after all.
As with its dive watch predecessor, the highlight with Le Jour’s GMT is certainly the dial. There are a total of four options: black, blue, and green dials with matching bezels, as well as a black dial with a black and blue bi-color bezel. Each dial has a very subtle texture that Le Jour describes as “canvas,” and it’s not something we’ve seen a whole lot of in this price range. The most obvious point of comparison might be Rolex’s linen dials, although here the texture appears to be a bit finer. It’s a surprising move from Le Jour, and we give them credit for trying something a bit different on a type of watch that isn’t necessarily known for its endless variety.
On the technical side of things, the Hammerhead GMT runs on the Sellita SW330 movement, which is an automatic caliber capable of tracking multiple time zones with an independently set GMT hand. This is the so-called “caller” GMT format that makes it a breeze to track a second time zone from your own fixed location, but is more difficult to work with if you’re actually traveling and need to adjust the local time. Still, it’s a reliable Swiss movement with some additional functionality should it be necessary. The Hammerhead GMT is also water resistant to 200 meters, making it appropriate for virtually any water based activity.
All four variants of the Hammerhead GMT are available now directly from Le Jour at a retail price of $1,280. Le Jour
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