In 2022, Jack Mason shook the watch world by releasing a classically styled sports watch with excellent finishing, a genuine GMT movement, and a surprisingly affordable price.
This year, Jack Mason is re-releasing its flagship watch, making several improvements and updates to the Strat-o-timer GMT model while keeping the price still under $1000.
Jack Mason, based in Texas, was founded by designer Peter Cho and his partners in 2015. Although Cho never considered a watchmaking career when he started studying at the Parsons School of Design in New York, after graduating, he moved to Switzerland to work at Movado and quickly immersed himself in the art of watchmaking. When he found himself in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the epicenter of watchmaking and home to brands like Omega, Girard-Perregaux, Arnold & Son, Cho became fascinated by the art and science of watch creation and design. After moving from Movado to Fossil, Cho honed his craft, and the time came to launch his own brand. Thus, Jack Mason was born.
Jack Mason has been around since 2015, but it was the release of the Strat-o-timer GMT in 2022 that truly put the brand on the watchmaking map. The Strat-o-timer marked a transitional period in Jack Mason's history, as the brand shifted from producing high-quality, affordable watches (primarily quartz) aimed at a mass audience, to creating watches for watch enthusiasts and themselves.
When Miyota released the new caliber 9075 GMT, it gave Jack Mason the opportunity to create something truly unique and special in the watch industry: an affordable and reliable flyer GMT with an independently adjustable hour hand. But the movement is only one part of the equation; Cho had to design the watch in which it would be housed. His goal was to create a classically styled sports watch reminiscent of vintage GMTs from the 1960s-70s, but with a completely modern execution.
The Strat-o-timer's stainless steel case measures 40mm in diameter, 47mm lug to lug, and has a modest 13mm thickness. While the dimensions of the new Strat-o-timer model remain unchanged, Jack Mason has added a scratch-resistant coating that brings the case hardness to an impressive 1200 Vickers, helping your watch resist typical signs of wear. The Strat-o-timer's crown is now larger, at 6.5mm, making it more convenient and pleasant to operate when screwing down the crown or using the "jumping hour" feature.
Compared to the previous model, Jack Mason has switched to a ceramic bezel insert instead of the original sapphire insert with split coloring. The new insert has a polished surface, and the markers are coated with Super-LumiNova. Indeed, luminous markers have become a key element of the new Strat-o-timer version, as the hour and minute hands now have a more generous area for luminescence - a change Jack Mason was happy to make in response to customer feedback.
The Strat-o-timer is still available with black and white dials, but now the brand has added an entirely new, fully green color option: Magnolia. The name was chosen with inspiration. Firstly, magnolia trees grace Texas landscapes, their large white and pink flowers lighting up the branches and heralding spring against the lush green foliage. Secondly, Magnolia is also the name of a course at the prestigious professional golf tournament Augusta National Masters in Georgia. Creating the new green colorway was too significant a coincidence to pass up. According to Cho, "besides watches, I love playing golf, and creating this color scheme was a way for me to connect these two worlds and also create fun content around the watch."
The new Strat-o-timer still features the Miyota 9075 GMT movement, beating at 28,800 vph and offering a 42-hour power reserve. Jack Mason also regulates each movement with an impressive accuracy of +/- 5 seconds per day.
Whether you choose the new colorful Magnolia option or the timeless black or white dial, each comes with an elegant 7-link jubilee-style bracelet that tapers from 20mm at the lugs to 16mm at the clasp.
The price of the new Jack Mason Strat-o-timer GMT model is $999 USD. To learn more about the Strat-o-timer GMT, visit the brand's website.