Watch Review: Rolex vs San Martin — GMT Master II

The Rolex GMT Master II is a legend among watches. For decades it has defined the look of GMT watches, most especially the classic red and blue “Pepsi” variant. For my money though, the blue and black “Batman” style is the cooler look. It is a bit more subtle and better matches my own fashion.

In my last watch review I did a comparison of the Rolex Submariner “Hulk” and a Pagani homage version of the same watch. While I dislike homage watches, I did receive a number of requests to review a higher end homage and compare it to the real deal. I decided to acquire a San Martin GMT “Batgirl” that is basically a 1:1 copy of my Rolex. So for this piece I will be doing a concise review of the Rolex GMT, a comparison to the San Martin, and some concluding thoughts.

Let’s begin with a review of the Rolex GMT Master II “Batgirl” edition.

The GMT Master II is one of Rolex’s most coveted watches for good reason. It does this very tricky thing where it somehow works as both a flex watch and an everyday beater. The iconic bicolor bezel design is instantly recognizable and endlessly copied for its beauty. The rugged case, solid water resistance, date window, rotating bezel, and GMT hour hand make it a useful and versatile tool. Like an Explorer I, a GMT Master II would make a good candidate for a one watch collection.

The jubilee bracelet dresses it up a bit. The shimmering polished center links give it a flashier air. If this were my everyday watch, I would have gone with the oyster bracelet. To me, the jubilee is a better fit with that polished clasp and the colorful bezel. Whichever bracelet you opt for, be it “Batman” or “Batgirl,” you are in for a comfy treat as Rolex bracelets are the best in the business. I also adore the clamshell lock on the clasp. The double click sounds from securing it are one of life’s little pleasures.

The GMT hand and rotating bezel allow the wearer to quickly tell the time in three different timezones. As someone who travels frequently and works with people all around the world, this is a very nice feature. I get more use out of it than I do timing bezels on dive watches. The ceramic gives the bezel excellent scratch resistance. The 100m of water resistance means it can handle the beach or swimming pool just fine. The dial is also gorgeous thanks to the classic Mercedes handset, the rich lacquered black surface, and the white gold trim on the indices. The use of color in the combination of the bezel, GMT hand, and markers, make this a paragon of form and function. It is both a stunning watch and a delight to actually use.

If you can get your hands on this watch, do it. You will not regret it.

The Comparison

So how does the San Martin “Batgirl” homage measure up?

Simply stated, it’s a nice watch for $300. Were it an original design I would recommend it. For an homage, it’s pretty successful. You get surprisingly good build quality and finishing on a timepiece that plays as a Rolex pretty well. In fact it even surpasses the Rolex on a few points. You really can see where that extra $200 of your money went compared to a $100 Invicta or Pagani homage watch.

However when we take a complete view, San Martin is not at all in the same league as Rolex. It is inferior on numerous points and on some just downright awful. While it holds up better than the cheaper copies, you will be disappointed if you think you are getting “Rolex quality.” You’re not.

Let’s list the disadvantages and advantages:

Disadvantages

• Worse packaging: Rolex gives you a gorgeous box, booklet, warranty card, tag, and their iconic green watch case. San Martin sends you what looks like a plastic box for screwdrivers wrapped in a bunch of bubble wrap. There’s a good reason Rolex boxes alone sell for more than San Martin watches.
• Inferior Bezel: The San Martin is stiffer to turn and less precise in its movement between ratchets. The coin edges are also duller than the Rolex’s.
• Inferior bracelet clasp. The Rolex has that delicious double clamshell lock with those satisfying snaps. The San Martin has a basic twin trigger lock that feels less secure. On top of that, the Rolex’s deployant clasp is much more handsome thanks to its polishing and logo. Both clasps feature micro-adjustment, but the Rolex implementation is more elegant with its neatly locking in place half-link versus San Martin’s four pin holes. One good thing about the San Martin clasp: It features a nicely textured logo.
• Worse bracelet: The San Martin bracelet will pinch and pull your arm hair. The Rolex jubilee probably won’t. The Rolex bracelet also has a better taper allowing it to conform to your wrist more naturally. Its connection to the watch case is also neater and more flush. The San Martin is noticeably less precise and uneven.
• Cheap-looking date window: While not as bad as the Pagani, the San Martin date window and cyclops are not great. The cyclops has a rather rough, cloudy look particularly on the sides. The date text is not well aligned in the box. The text is also a bit light and the font looks slightly off. It also doesn’t smoothly transition between dates when adjusting. It feels loose and cheap.
• Awful crown feel: The winding on the San Martin is fine. What is annoying is locking the screw down crown back into place. It is very awkward and counterintuitive to use. If you just push it in really hard and turn it, it will not lock. If you push it too softly, it will not lock. You have to kind of ‘jimmy’ it a bit to find the sweet spot, all the while tightly pressing your finger tips into sharp metal crown guards. Probably the most unpleasant aspect of San Martin user experience.
• Worse GMT hand: The Rolex uses white gold for a silvery finish on the GMT hand tip while the San Martin does it all in a plastic-y blue finish. A small detail perhaps but once you notice it you can’t stop seeing it.
• Worse movement: Accuracy for the Rolex GMT came in at -1 seconds per day. San Martin was +12 and had higher beat error. It also has an inferior power reserve with only 40 hours of usage compared to Rolex’s 70. With Rolex you get COSC certification, a five year warranty, and the peace of mind of knowing that your watch will last generations. San Martin gives you a two year warranty.

Advantages

• Superior Water Resistance: The San Martin is rated for 200m while Rolex is rated for 100m. I’d be willing to bet the Rolex can comfortably go beyond 100m given its case and crown, but if we look at official ratings then San Martin has a clear edge here.
• Good finishing for the money: This may be the most impressive thing about the San Martin. Broadly speaking, its finishing is pretty good and rivals the Rolex on several points. The case polishing is solid, the signed crown is well-executed, the brushing on the clasp is smooth, the lume is almost as good Rolex’s, and the jubilee bracelet shimmers and looks the part. Unlike Pagani, the San Martin is a watch that holds up fairly well under scrutiny in spite of the several flaws noted above.
• Purchase Experience and Price: This one is pretty obvious. San Martin will run you $300 while the Rolex is 30x that at retail which is near impossible to get anyway. You can order as many San Martin’s as you want straight from China and have them in hand in a week. Want a Rolex GMT? Either spend a year playing games with an authorized dealer or take out a second mortgage for that 100% markup on the grey market.

One final interesting difference between the watches is in the date and time setting functionality. In short, the GMT Master II is a “true GMT” in its implementation. When the crown is pulled out to the second position you are able to quickly adjust only the hour hand in either direction. This is meant to make it super fast to adjust timezones when traveling. In the third position you can adjust the minute and GMT hands in tandem. The San Martin, however, is an “office GMT” and instead lets you quickly adjust the date and GMT hand when the crown is in the second position. There is no hour hand quickset; the third position functions the same as on the Rolex adjusting the minute hand as well as hour and GMT.

What’s interesting about this difference is that many casual users will likely prefer the San Martin approach. If you happen to leave the watch unwound for a long time or you like to frequently change the GMT hand, the San Martin second position is much easier to use. The Rolex GMT crown functionality is really optimized for globetrotters who are constantly in and out of different timezones. I fly a lot so I love being able to adjust my watch with a single tick in two seconds while getting off of a plane. We can call this difference a wash but in truth it also makes the San Martin a less successful homage because it fails to actually copy the Rolex user experience.

Final Thoughts

In some ways, expensive homages are worse than inexpensive ones. Investing more money into a knockoff seems somehow more pathetic than just getting the cheapest clone you can find. Perhaps it is because for the same money there are so many original design watches of similar or even better quality. Why pass up on all those other cool options just to ride Rolex’s coattails?

It’s for the same reason everyone complains about Hollywood making only remakes and sequels while original movies routinely bomb. People like the familiar — the already proven, the star that already has a following. That incredible value for dollar Orient diver isn’t going to get you a second look from girls. A slick homage however just might get you an opening with that drunk business guy at a party who’s firm happens to be hiring.

Homages are a symptom of a larger cultural issue. Like Marvel movies and corporate K-pop boy bands they aren’t going anywhere soon. I personally never recommend them. Maybe I’m old-fashioned but I think a watch, like all fashion, ought to honestly reflect one’s station in life. I never wore ‘homage’ shoes or clothes and in fact I feel a pleasant nostalgia when I think about my broke college student days rocking Casio and Seiko watches. However if you choose to go the homage route, San Martin at least leaves you with a quality watch in its own right. That’s worth something.