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JULY 22, 2020
WORDS & PHOTOS BY ED JELLEY
https://wornandwound.com/review/review-zelos-horizons-gmt-ice/
Nestled in Zelos’ lineup amongst a sea of modern, angular, tough-as-nails tool watches is the Horizons GMT. It’s a break from Zelos’ design language, which tends to lean towards chunky angular divers with big bezels that are commonly rated to at least 1000m. Here, we have a slimmer, more subdued, but still built to take a beating 40mm GMT watch with some very interesting design details. Today, we’re looking at the “Ice” model – a 13.5mm thick watch, with a beautifully contoured case, an interesting sunburst anthracite dial, and a light blue/white dial that’s more lume than not. When I was offered the Horizons GMT to check out for review, I was expecting something big and chunky but was pleasantly surprised when the watch showed up. It still maintains that Zelos attitude, but a bit more scaled back and a lot more refined. Most importantly, it doesn’t lose the fun factor that runs so deep in the brand’s catalog. Let’s take a close at this slim, comfortable, and modern GMT from a brand that’s really hit their stride.
Review: Zelos Horizons GMT “Ice”
CASE
Stainless Steel
MOVEMENT
ETA 2893-2
DIAL
Sunburst Anthracite Gray
LUME
Yes
LENS
Box Sapphire
STRAP
Bracelet + Rubber
WATER RESISTANCE
200m
DIMENSIONS
40 x 45mm
THICKNESS
13.5mm
LUG WIDTH
20mm
CROWN
Screw-down
WARRANTY
Yes
PRICE
$899 (Launch Pre-Sale Price was $749.00)
40mm is an excellent size for a 200m dive-inspired watch case. With a lug-to-lug of 45mm and an overall thickness of 13.5mm (11mm case, 2.5mm box sapphire), the Horizons is an ideal size for nearly any wrist. It’s not just about the measurements though, the proportions and curves of the 316L stainless steel case go a long way in making it very wearable. In profile, the balance between each of the case elements makes for a snug, contoured fit on the wrist. Let’s break it down a little further.
When looking at the case from the side, there are four main elements. Up top, you’ve got 2.5mm of box sapphire crystal. Since the crystal is clear, visually, it doesn’t add much to the appearance of overall thickness. Moving down the case, there’s a chunky, matte bezel with alternating sections of cut grooves. The mid-case is curved from lug to lug with a wide polished chamfer on the top and bottom with a lightly brushed surface in between. This design really helps keep the slim appearance of the case, and the undercuts in the section help the watch settle nicely into your wrist when bent.
At 3 o’clock, there’s a textured screw down crown with the Zelos “Z” logo adorning the flat surface on the side. Finally, the case back hangs underneath the mid-case but isn’t really all that visible since it’s spending most of its time nestled into your wrist. For being 13.5mm thick, the Horizons hides that thickness well. Several different elements with different finishing techniques go a long way in keeping thickness at bay. Zelos did an excellent job on the Horizons, it definitely appears thinner than the measurements imply.
From the top-down, the dial takes up most of the visual real estate. It’s surrounded by a bi-directional 48-click bezel. In a world of 60- and 120-click bezels, 48 felt odd, but there are two clicks per hour on the 24-hour GMT scale. Action on the bezel is just okay. It’s not particularly snappy and it’s a bit difficult to turn. On the model in for review, there’s an “ice” bezel insert made from lumed sapphire. The top half is light blue with white numerals, while the bottom is white with light blue numerals. All of the white surfaces are lumed which gives off a really cool look in the dark, but renders it nearly illegible in the day time. Other colorways in the lineup are far more legible (the Midnight Blue looks great), and if reading the GMT scale on your GMT watch is important (it should be), maybe check out the other models.
Small lumed hash marks are present in between each hour marker, but the amount of markers varies depending on what indices they’re in between. If you zoom in on one of the dial pictures, you’ll notice that between a triangle index and a rectangle index, there are three hash marks. In between each rectangle, there are four. This alternating pattern is a necessity because of the wider cardinal indices, but I can’t really get over it. It bugs me. I would have liked to see a thinner triangle used in order to keep the minutes scale in check. The bottom of the dial throws all hash mark caution to the wind. Between 5 and 7 there’s a straight run of nine markings. The asymmetry in these minute markings is a weird quirk of the design. Located at 6, you’ll find a generously sized date display inside of a window with a clean-cut angle surrounding it. I appreciate the matching of the date wheel to the dial, but the hash marks here just don’t make much sense.
The handset used are a slimmed-down version of hands seen on other Zelos models. The hour and minute hand are straight most of the way through, with some interesting angles at either point. They don’t fall into any of the main categories of handsets, but they look good and are quite easy to read. Like the indices, they’re silver with C3 lume inside, and they’re nice and easy to read, day or night. Sweeping around the dial, the seconds hand has some heavy vintage vibes thanks to the trapezoidal lume plot towards the tip.
Zelos’ Horizons GMT is a fun watch that would make an ideal companion on your summer vacation. Ample water resistance, a slim and svelte 40mm case, and fun colors on the dial. While the Ice colorway won’t win any awards in the legibility department, the light blue and lumed bezel with the orange dial accents really make for an enjoyable watch. The finishing and design punch well above their weight, and I find the $899 asking price reasonable, especially considering the Elaboré grade ETA movement inside. I’m happy to see Zelos take a departure from their angular and modern dive watches with the Horizons GMT. Zelos continues to put out interesting and affordable watches. While they weren’t at the top of my watch list, the time I spent with the Horizons GMT definitely bumped the brand up quite a bit.
all images from W&W
link to full article: https://wornandwound.com/review/review-zelos-horizons-gmt-ice/
Thanks Mike.
I'm petty sure these all have the same decorated rotor Stan. The reviewer even mentions that fact. Unless you mean the perlage.
