Seiko Release Trio of 5 Sports SKX GMT US Special Creations

Following last year’s introduction of the Seiko 5 Sports GMT SKX, Seiko are back with three new colourways. The trio of watches are the SSK017, SSK019 and SSK021, and while they offer interesting alternatives to the existing collection, they’re only available in the US. Let’s take a look.

SSK017

First up is SSK017, a vibrant yellow edition. The bright colour is found across the dial and flange 24-hour scale, contrasting with the dark outline of the lumed hands and indexes. Zooming out shows that the watch itself is identical to the original SKX GMTs with the 42.5mm steel case and 24-hour scale rotating bezel. Yes, that’s right, it has two 24-hour scales making it more than a dual time zone display, but a triple zone display. It’s only a few city names short of a worldtimer.

Powering the watch is the calibre 4R34, a solid GMT movement with a 41-hour power reserve. It’s equipped with hours, minutes, seconds, GMT and date complications. The date window is located at 3 o’clock beneath a cyclops lens.

SSK019

Next is the SSK019, which is a grey model with a red/blue inner 24-hour scale. Those colours will be very familiar to GMT fans because it’s the iconic Pepsi colourway used on the Rolex GMT-Master. However, here, presented on the flange rather than the broad rotating bezel, it’s more of a Diet Pepsi. A comparison that’s actually more apt than first appears because the bezel itself is grey like the packaging of a Diet Pepsi.

I think this is one of the more attractive watches in the set, combining the dark tones of the grey, anthracite and black portions with a burst of vivid red and blue.

SSK021

The last of the new Seiko 5 Sports SKX GMT US Special Creations is the SSK021, which turns up the luxe dial by a couple of degrees. It has a bi-colour stainless steel case with a gold-tone bezel and golden GMT hand. The dial and bezel 24-hour scale are the same colours as the SSK019 but this time the flange scale is also black. Interestingly that makes it look similar to a different version of the Rolex GMT-Master II, the bi-colour edition launched earlier this year.

Despite the bi-colour design, the SSK021 has the same price as its brethren at $475. As mentioned they’re US-exclusives, so they’re only available from boutiques in America. One to keep an eye out for if you happen to be stateside.

​Oracle Time 

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