After 100 Years, The World’s First GMT Watch Has Never Looked Better

Longines is celebrating a century of the Zulu Time, one of the best travel watches under $4,000, with the three-reference 1925 collection.

By Brad Lanphear

Published May 23, 2025

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Updated May 23, 2025

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Rolex may have established itself as the definitive GMT, but it was actually Longines that invented the first dual-timezone wristwatch a century ago.

The Zulu Time was introduced in 1925 as a tool watch for pilots to track their home and local times. It was named after “Zulu,” the military and commercial aviation call sign for UTC+0, or Greenwich Mean Time.

a Longines watch on a desk — The Spirit Zulu Time 1925 has rose gold-plated dial detailing and is offered with a rose gold bezel.

Longines revived its original GMT in 2022 when it launched the Spirit Zulu Time collection. It was built on the beloved Spirit pilot’s watch with large Arabic numeral hour markers and the distinctive five stars above six o’clock.

First released in a 42mm case, a more comfortable and contemporary 39mm version joined the collection in 2023. A year later, the Zulu’s aptitude for travel increased with a titanium model.

a Longines watch with a black dial — The Spirit Zulu Time 1925 comes with an additional black nylon NATO strap.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original GMT, Longines is decking out the Spirit Zulu Time with rose gold and yellow gold flourishes like a symbolic crowning for its achievement.

All five references feature the same matte black dial with gold-plated applied numerals and gold plating on the hands, including the GMT.

a Longines watch with a black dial and blue bezel — The dial on the blue bezel reference is decorated with yellow gold.

For an additional $1,000, one reference has a rose gold bezel insert engraved with the 24-hour GMT track and a decorated rose gold rotor visible through an exhibition case back.

A flight history

Longines has a history of dual time zone movements dating back to the age of pocket watches.

In 1908, the Swiss horologists created The Turkish Watches, a pocket watch line with five hands that simultaneously displayed the time in Western Europe and Turkey.

a vintage 1925 Longines GMT watch — The 1925 Zulu Time was the first ever dual time zone wrist watch.

In 1925, Longines transferred the concept to a wristwatch for the first time with the Zulu Time.

Unlike modern GMT watches, which have a single hand registering on a 24-hour track, this design had two distinct sets of hour and minute hands at the center and local seconds only on a sub-dial.

a Longines watch in an airport security tray — The black bezel has gilt inlays in an engraved 24-hour track.

Longines revived the Zulu Time as part of the Spirit collection in 2022, completely redesigning it as a contemporary GMT optimized for world travel. It has maintained a status as one of the best, relatively affordable travel watches on the market.

a Longines watch in the dark with the lume dial glowing — The hands and hour markers are coated with lume.

It runs on the in-house L844.4 automatic movement, equipped with a “true” GMT movement that allows the hour hand to be adjusted independently.

World travelers prefer this variety of GMT because it allows for easy adjustment of the local time while tracking home time with the GMT hand.

Inner beauty

Along with a rose gold bezel insert, the marquee reference of the Spirit Zulu Time 1925 collection has an exhibition case back. It displays an ornately decorated movement, including a rose gold-plated rotor.

the back of a Longines watch — The rotor is decorated with a map of the Northern Hemisphere with a line indicating Greenwich Mean Time.

This extra-special anniversary reference notes the Zulu Time’s centennial on the steel case back ring, secured with six exposed screws, with “1925-2025.”

Beneath the sapphire crystal window, etched into the rotor, a Mercator projection map of the Northern Hemisphere with a line marking Greenwich Mean Time is visible.

The rest of the caliber L844.4 has its standard finishing with a blend of circular and linear brushing, which is hidden beneath a standard steel case back on every other Spirit Zulu Time reference.

a Longines watch with a passport and a plane ticket — The new rose gold Spirit Zulu Time may be the most beautiful travel watch on the market.

Four of the five watches in the new Spirit Zulu Time 1925 collection—the black bezel and blue bezel designs are available in both 39mm and 42mm—are handsome additions to the best travel watch under $4,000.

But, for $1,000 more, Longines offers what may be the most beautiful travel watch, full stop. The rose gold bezel insert and visible decorated movement push this particular Spirit Zulu Time 1925 to the top of the class.

Availability and price

The Longines Spirit Zulu Time 1925 collection is available now from Longines for $3,300, except for the rose gold reference, which is $4,350.

Each watch comes with an additional black nylon NATO strap and a decorative display box.

Longines Spirit Zulu Time 1925

Specs

Case Size	39mm
Movement	Longines caliber L844.4 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

$4,350 at Longines

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.