This Sub-$700 GMT Tool Watch Offers Classic Rolex Explorer Vibes with a Twist

An affordable automatic true GMT with a clever mix of iconic design cues? Yes, please.

a nezumi gmt watch viewed from the sideNezumi

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If someone tasked me with making a list of the most iconic tool watches in history, some of the most obvious nominees would be the Rolex Explorer, Rolex Explorer II and the Omega Speedmaster Professional.

Now, what if I told you you could pick up a watch that combines design elements from all three of these watches, while also featuring great specs and an automatic “true” GMT movement, all for less than 700 bucks?

It might sound like a pipe dream, but thanks to the massive leaps in quality we’ve seen in the microbrand watch space over just the past few years, such a watch now exists courtesy of Swedish brand Nezumi.

a nezumi gmt watch
Nice finishing, clever vintage styling and a great size for several hundred less than $1,000.
Nezumi

Explorer I or II? Yes

The third generation of Nezumi’s Aviera GMT wears its design influences on its sleeve, but it combines them in such a way that it still comes across as an original and cohesive design — no easy feat.

The fixed 24-hour steel bezel with triangular odd-hour markers and the oversized yellow arrow GMT hand are both borrowed from the original Explorer II. The 3-6-9 dial pattern recalls the Explorer I; though there is a “12” here, so maybe the Tudor Ranger is a closer analoge. And the twisted lugs and tall domed sapphire crystal both bring to mind the Speedy.

a nezumi gmt watch on a mans wrist
Despite a massively taller sapphire crystal, the new Aviera is thinner than the previous version.
Nezumi

Throw in a pair of old-school syringe hands and a 40mm case size that’s just 39mm across the sloped bezel, and you’ve got yourself a seriously handsome tool watch that looks like it just teleported in from 1970.

Agreeable looks aside, the new Aviera also has a pretty impressive specs sheet, which seems to be the norm with many micorbrands today. There’s a screw-down crown, 200m of water resistance, anti-reflective coating on the underside of the sapphire crystal and a generous dose of Super-LumiNova on all hands and indices.

a nezumi gmt watch glowing in the dark
There’s no shortage of lume on the Aviera.
Nezumi

As I already mentioned, the watch is powered by a “true” GMT automatic movement, which at this price means the Miyota 9075. The Japanese movement, introduced in 2022, has quickly become a darling of the microbrand world, as it brought the once elusive independently operating hour hand to an affordable, off-the-shelf, self-winding movement.

Nezumi has made some refinements over the previous Aviera generation, mainly related to the watch’s wearability. The smaller sloping bezel is new, and the case is thinner than before. This is despite the crystal being made considerably taller, taking up 1.9mm of the watch’s 13.3mm height. That means the case itself, including the tapered bezel, measures just 11.9mm thick. Not too shabby.

two nezumi gmt watches
Two limited editions are available: one with a black DLC case and lumed bezel, and another with a full-lume dial.
Nezumi

If the Explorer-y vibes of the standard Aviera feel a bit too derivative to you, no worries. Nezumi has you covered there, too. There are also two limited editions of the Aviera that are a bit more unique: One with a black DLC case and fully lumed bezel, and the other with a cream-colored full-lume dial. Each is limited to 300 pieces.

Pricing and Availability

The standard Aviera is available on a number of strap options, including rubber, canvas, leather and a steel, brushed Jubilee-style bracelet with a microadjustment clasp. Pricing begins at just $674 on rubber, then goes up to $691 with a leather or canvas strap, with the bracelet option being the most expensive at $791.

a nezumi gmt watch with a dial glowing in the dark
The limited full-lume version costs the same as the standard version.
Nezumi

The two limited editions, surprisingly, aren’t any pricier. Both versions have the same prices on the straps, while the lume dial is curiously slightly cheaper on the bracelet at $689 (I’m guessing this is a conversion error on Nezumi’s website). The DLC version is not available on a bracelet.

All three styles are currently available to order directly from Nezumi’s website, and if you’re a fan of mid-century Rolex and Omega tool watches but don’t have the scratch for the real thing, this just might fit the bill for the time being.

a nezumi gmt watchNezumi

Nezumi Aviera GMT

The third generation of Swedish microbrand Nezumi’s Aviera GMT combines design elements of iconic 20th-century tool watches with modern sensibilities, resulting in a classically attractive tool watch with impressive finishing and specs for the price.
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