Farer Palmer GMT is a limited edition explorers watch with Bauhaus influence

Forget the Rolex Explorer II – this affordable British watch has class and style in abundance

The Farer Palmer GMT on a steel bracelet, worn on a wrist
(Image credit: Farer)

I'm a big fan of the GMT complication on watches. In fact, I'd go as far as saying it's the most useful complication you can get on watch – that's part of the reason why my Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT is my go-to timepiece.

Now, another GMT has hit the market from the good folks at Farer. But it's a far cry from the swathes of Rolex Explorer II lookalikes on the market. Instead, Farer have fused a little of that DNA with lashings of Bauhaus-inspired design.

The result is really gorgeous. It's not often you see a GMT without a bezel. Farer have opted to place the 24 hour scale inside the hour markers instead. That gives the whole thing a field watch aesthetic, and takes it further away from the steel sports watch GMT market which is so crowded.

Taking away the bezel really gives this watch a much cleaner appearance. On a leather band, it looks like a neat hybrid of something like a Junghans or a Nomos, fused with the field watch design of a Hamilton Khaki Field.

I'm also a big fan of the hour markers. The batons themselves are forged from a material called Lumicast. That fuses Super-LumiNova with ceramic, to make for a marker which glows with lume. That's then printed black on top, to make it visible in daylight. A secondary benefit is that the lume appears to glow from underneath the markers themselves, which looks absolutely awesome.

The Palmer is a nicely sized piece. With a case diameter of 39.5mm and a lug-to-lug of 45mm, it should be a good size for most wearers. At just 10.8mm deep, it's also remarkably slim. Quite how they've managed to fit a GMT movement into that thin a case, I don't know, but the result looks great.

The case on the Palmer is 316L stainless steel. Inside, you'll find a reliable Sellita SW330-2 movement. That's good for up to 56 hours of power reserve, while the watch is also rated for 100m of water resistance.

Priced at just £1,225, the Farer Palmer GMT represents remarkably good value. You'll have to be quick to snag one though – these are a limited edition of 150 pieces, and they're already selling. If you want to snag one for your collection, you can do so on the Farer website.

Sam Cross
Staff Writer

Online news writer at T3.com, Sam has five years of experience in online and print journalism, with work featured in publications like Metro and Last Word on Sports. After years writing about music and football, Sam now turns his hand to bringing you news about new phones, smart home products, smart watches, laptops and TVs. Sam is a longtime fan and user of Apple products, including iPhones, MacBooks and Apple Watches.He’s also T3’s resident football expert, bringing you everything you need to know about the big games, including how to watch them. In his spare time, Sam is a keen guitarist, watch lover and (very) amateur golfer.