Spending Time With The Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Travel GMT

All good things must come to an end, maybe...

Okay, before we go too far into this, I have to go back to where and when I first encountered the Sportivo Travel GMT. I was wandering through the booths at the Wind-Up show in New York this past October. I had briefly spoken with Damir Armstrong of Duber Time - the US distributor for Mühle Glashütte at the Watch Time event the night before, and as I waded through the masses of the Wind-Up show the next day, I was on a mission. I had to have a second look at something that had caught my eye and beguiled me. 

If you wanted to spend a quality minute or two on Saturday at the WindUp show, you had to commit to pushing through a throng of folks, three to four bodies wide, several wearing backpacks stuffed beyond a fully-prepped paratrooper just before jumping into Normandy. You had to show commitment ; )

Courtesy of Mühle Glashütte

So needless to say, after struggling past (I'm sorry, but in all honesty) some less-than fresh smelling folks, and dodging latte splashes and hurdling baby strollers (what the hell were these parents thinking?) I had Damir walk me through the the GMT Sportivo, and that more than anything else I saw in New York stayed with me.

So fast forward to "nowish" and the Sportivo Travel GMT found its way to the North Shore for me to spend some time with it.

Courtesy of Mühle Glashütte

Mühle Glashütte makes some fancier pieces, not least of which is my ALL-TIME favorite - the Robert Mühle Mondphase Limited Edition. And although what I am about to say may seem contrarian, this versatility is why I far prefer the offerings from Mühle Glashütte. And this is why I find the Sportivo Travel GMT such a perfect counter point to the (let's be honest) very high priced pseudo sport models offered by their neighbors in Glashütte.

So let's dive in, shall we? (see what I did there?)

Let's start with the basics - the case is of stainless steel, and measures 42.5 mm in diameter; with a height of 11.4 mm.

The level of quality in the case finish is of an impressive level - brushed and polished stainless steel. And yes, aesthetics are important. But just as important if not more so? The engineering that often goes unseen, and can be under appreciated or even taken for granted.

The Sportivo Travel GMT is rated to a depth of 30 bars - that's 3 ATM (atmospheres) or more specifically 300 meters.

Under the hood, the Sportivo GMT is driven by a nicely customized Sellita SW 330-2. How customized? Glad you asked!

The specs on the Mühle Glashütte website break it down -

Movement: SW 330-2 Mühle Version, automatic, Mühle version with woodpecker neck regulation, own rotor, characteristic surface finishes, stop-second, fast date correction, 56-hr power reserve.

And now here is where the NOMOS fanboys and fangirls will whinge - "But it's not a manufacture movment..."

Well, allow me to relate a few sad realities about owing a watch with a manufacture movement - service, movement failure, high service cost, long service wait times. This is the reality. So when we are talking about a watch that you actually intend to, I don't know, actually wear... well you might want to consider how you want to spend your money, and time ; )

The timekeeping of the Sportivo Travel GMT has been quite good, very steady, not real variances. And that's as it should be.

The strap is an interesting design choice, and clearly speaks to the actual intended use of the watch.  

It is crafted of canvas and rubber. The rubber portion is textured to ensure that the strap is breathable, not slippy, and most importantly in less wintery-weather? It won't be slimy.

The strap is similar to what I have seen from Hirsch. And as many of you know, Hirsch straps are not exactly inexpensive, and are highly praised for their quality.

Now all of these are important things, but ultimately you could have a perfectly engineered watch, but if it is uncomfortable to wear, it will either sit in your dresser, or be traded or sold for something else.

After several weeks, I can honestly say that it is one of the most comfortable watches I have worn in some time. 

But now I need to get a little personal. Because despite all of the wonderful craftsmanship (both artisanal and technological), the Sportivo Travel GMT hit (and still hits) me with a visceral sucker-punch. 

What do I mean by visceral?

Per Merriam-Webster:

1. : felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body : deep. a visceral conviction. 

2. : not intellectual : instinctive, unreasoning.

Visceral Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

When you work with and around watches, and most of your waking hours are spent trying to describe them, sell them, market them? It can become a bit like, well, work...

Courtesy of Watch Charts.com

The Swatch Calypso Diver is not exactly an horological marvel. It's a plastic cased quartz watch with a plastic strap that I think I bought at the May Company in the Midway Mall in Elyria, Ohio back in 1985. That watch strangely meant quite a bit to me, even more in hindsight. I had moved out of the family home, I was 17 years old and staring down the reality that I would have to work nights and weekends at the now defunct Selenti's Pizza, while going to Oberlin High School, haplessly chasing a soccer scholarship that the OHS coach spent zero effort to help me with. Let's just say that one year probably still resonates more with me than any one before or since.

More than anything else I remember about that time was that I wanted to do more, wanted to see more. I knew that there had to be more out there than Northern Ohio, and the dream of travel, learning a new language, living in a different country with a different culture? This started as an aspirational notion that evolved into an obsession.

When I wear the Sportivo GMT, it hits me on so many levels. Now I realize that the point of a watch review is to be objective, but sometimes things are more personal. And my feeling is that the right watch (which is different for each wearer) does more than tell the time. And for the Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Travel GMT is more - it is a time machine. 

The Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Travel GMT is very well priced at $2,999.00 on the canvas strap, and $3,249.00 on the stainless steel bracelet.

Here are the pertinents, straight from Mühle Glashütte -

Movement: SW 330-2 Mühle Version, automatic, Mühle version with woodpecker neck regulation, own rotor, characteristic surface finishes, stop-second, fast date correction, 56-hr power reserve

Case: Brushed/polished stainless steel, Bidirectional rotating bezel with black ceramic inlay, Double anti-glare sapphire crystal, Transparent case back, Screw-in crown, Water-resistant to 30 bars.

Strap: Waterproof canvas/rubber strap with stainless steel pin buckle or stainless steel strap with butterfly clasp

Dimensions: Diameter – 42.5 mm; Height – 11.4 mm

Dial: Black, Applied indices, Hour markers and hands coated in Super LumiNova