The love story of one particularly charming blogger and GMT watches continues – the Nodus Sector GMT, this time in the form of a geographic limited edition, takes center stage here at CSH. Elegantly built and elegantly priced, I think this watch showcases how new watch companies are bringing innovative ideas to an old industry.
A Brief Interlude On Brand Plurality
I feel quite confident saying that we’re living in something of a horological renaissance right now. That isn’t to say that watch making has evolved to vastly greater heights, per se; rather, what I mean is that we are experiencing exponential growth when it comes to consumer choice in the world of watches. Simply put, watches are growing heavily in popularity and a symptom of that is an ever-increasing selection of new brands to choose from.
Is this a good thing? In my near-sighted eyes, yes, absolutely. Inflation and margin-driven price hikes over the past three decades have rendered many historically prominent brands (I’m looking at you, Rolex) inaccessible to the average joe. In their place and alongside smaller established companies, micro brands have risen to absorb that left behind, lower-priced market share. Rattle them off and you simply can’t keep track – Monta, Baltic, Halios, Furlan Marri, Anordain, etc. The list goes on forever.
If you’re like me, you subscribe to the “Grey Nato” school of thought that most of the fun in watches is under $5,000. Despite owning watches beyond that range, I firmly believe that the most bang for your buck happens below that target. Nodus is another brand, like its competitors above, that brings high quality watches to the table in such a value-friendly fashion.
If you aren’t familiar with Nodus, they’re a newer LA-based watch company of 2017 vintage. The founders, Wesley Kwok and Cullen Chen, have carved out a specific niche with Nodus that focuses on modern styling and innovative manufacturing techniques. The brand currently has a wide variety of watches available (with most options falling under their Sector lineup), and you can observe those aforementioned dual focuses directly in all of their offerings.
For the members of RedBar ATL, we were very fortunate to get the Nodus experience firsthand earlier this year. Nodus partnered with RedBar ATL in April to deliver a lovely customized version of their Sector GMT, complete with a unique dial color scheme and a slick caseback depicting downtown Atlanta’s skyline. Try to imagine my excitement when I learned our special collaboration was a GMT. Spoiler: it was excessive.
Event photos by Andrew Hughes
In case you thought it was all just for vanity – a portion of the sale proceeds from each watch were given to the Atlanta Community Food Bank, with #00/50 specifically being auctioned off in support of the ACFB as well. The ACFB specializes in distributing food to those in need across 29 counties in north Georgia. Overall, an astonishing $10,000 was donated to ACFB as a result of this partnership. Quick shoutout to Faisal Nayani, Caitlin Trost, Wesley and Cullen, and everyone else who worked for over a year on this project. You guys rock.
Normally a limited edition makes for a questionable review due to public inaccessibility. Fear not, however – despite the aesthetic variances, this is still very much the same watch from Nodus’s core lineup, and we’ll be reviewing it as such.
Sunny Hours Countability
The Sector GMT (and by extension its other Sector siblings) is a highly distinctive watch. This time keeper sits firmly in the sports watch category, partnering a highly modern case profile with a multi-piece Arabic numeral dial. Nodus has achieved something that many younger brands have either failed at or were too lazy to tackle: a unique design language, which in turn receives an A+ for originality. You simply aren’t going to walk around and have someone mistake your Nodus for another watch, which I find to be a positive element.
Starting from the outside, the case is my favorite thing about the Sector GMT. 38mm is a great size and the 47mm lug-to-lug measurement keeps the whole package tight. This case has attractive, swooping beveled edges and benefits from drilled, I repeat drilled, end lugs. The inside corners (top and bottom) of said lugs are a tad sharp to the touch, and drilled ends may come across as too utilitarian for some, but not for moi. Please never change, Nodus. I just don’t think my heart could bear the strain if those drilled ends disappeared.
It’s literally a small thing to point out, but props to Nodus on making the crown not feel like an afterthought. The size has some materiality to it, and the fact that it is signed with the Nodus logo adds that little something extra that can often be missing in watches of this price point. The cherry on top is that we are graced with a screwdown crown – tied in with 100 meters of water resistance, you can swim easy at the pool for a few more days as this summer enters the doldrums.
The key feature to point out is that the Sector GMT is a “caller”-style GMT. Pulling the crown out to the second position allows you to independently move the GMT hand. The nickname’s genesis is that this GMT style is more apt for a stationary businessman rather than a jetsetter, whereas a “flyer” GMT (which has a jumping local hour hand) might make more sense in the opposite scenario. The latter is technically more advanced and usually comes at a slight cost premium. As someone who owns both, I personally think they can both be practical and fun to use. You’ll need to decide on your own which better suits your lifestyle.
The Sector GMT is powered by Seiko’s NH34 movement, or the GMT version of the agricultural NH35. The NH34 comes with a 41-hour power reserve, is automatic and hacking, and hits 21,600 bph (or about six beats per second). Stock NH34s are typically advertised with an accuracy range of +40 / -20 seconds per day. However, Nodus has gone the extra mile in regulating every NH34 that powers their Sector GMT watches. As such, you are marketed to a far superior + / -10 seconds per day. Very nice.
Something that I really like about Nodus’s approach is how they elect to show you that second time zone. The not-so-secret technique lies hidden within the “Sector” name, as Nodus has turned the interior circumference of this multi-piece dial into a GMT numeral ring vs using a traditional rotating bezel like most other brands. I’m going on the record here in being pro-experimentation. The traditional method provides a more tactile experience, but I certainly don’t think this watch suffers from any missing functionality by changing things up. I also like the brushed sunray finishing of the bezel, which itself is obviously fixed in place.
Keep in mind that while you are getting a lot of watch for the dollars, the Sector GMT does suffer in a few areas. My primary gripe is the chapter ring. Since it occupies the surface of the rehaut, it absorbs the angle of said rehaut at a steep guestimation of 80-85 degrees. Unsurprisingly, staring at the watch head-on provides no discernible view of the chapter ring, and you need to roll your wrist forward or back in order to effectively read it. Playing devil’s advocate, this is likely a side effect of the GMT ring being placed within the dial and the numerals requiring a minimum font size for legibility. We can’t have it all, watch fam.
Another area for improvement with the Sector GMT is lume strength. On a scale of the howling dark to radioactive supernova, we’re somewhere in lightbulb territory. The Sector GMT’s super luminova is Grade A, which based on my childlike understanding of luminescent material, is the middle-tier option between Standard Grade and Grade X1. If Grade X1 really does glow 60% brighter than Standard Grade (and presumably something slightly less superior when compared to Grade A) after two hours, I would absorb a reasonable price increase to experience that improvement in this watch.
To close on a brief positive note regarding OEM watch accessories – I love the quick-release rubber TecTuff straps that Nodus offers on their website. I have both the bracelet and the white rubber strap option. The ultra-comfortable rubber strap almost looks like sail cloth from the outside and never snags when I go to tighten it up. Most times, I find OEM options to be duds. The white rubber strap is in fact the only strap I wear on the Sector GMT.
In Summary
High level thoughts upfront after several months of ownership – the Sector GMT is a really nice daily driver. It performs quite well across both casual and active situations. Night on the town? Check. Golf outing? No problem. Cockpit of a plane? A little aspirational as far as usage goes, but I bet you’d look even cooler. I would argue against it being your weapon of choice for a black-tie gala, but with the right strap or even the bracelet, the Sector GMT can certainly clean up well for lighter-duty dressy events.
Sure, the watch has a few subjective areas for improvement as I have noted in this review. Is it worth the roughly $500 MSRP that Nodus is charging out the gate? Absolutely. The finishing is solid, it is a fresh design, and your movement is pre-regulated to a level most brands simply wouldn’t care to target. The devil is in the details, and Nodus picked their battles appropriately in order to construct what I consider to be a highly enticing value proposition.
Recall what I mentioned earlier around the Grey Nato and where all the fun in watches is at. Omega, Tudor and the like provide an incredible tier of watches. But if you want something special at a special price point, buying from a bootstrap company like Nodus who is doing things differently seems like a heck of a way to spend those spare greenbacks.
As stated before, the RedBar ATL edition is a limited edition and is not available for public consumption. However, both the Pacific and Metro colorways are equally attractive and await their addition to your digital cart. Multiple time zones (your smart phone aside) are merely a few clicks away.
- To learn more about Nodus and their watch lineup, check out their website for additional information.
- To learn more about the Atlanta Community Food Bank and how you can help, check out their website here.
- Head over to Worn & Wound for the offical press release of this limited edition.
- For a much more comprehensive read around the creation process and more, visit our man Andrew at Watch Hunter for the scoop.
The Specs
- MSRP: $475 (strap), $525 (bracelet)
- Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel
- Crystal: Sapphire (AR Coating on underside only)
- Features: Caller GMT
- Movement: Seiko NH34 (GMT, Automatic, Hacking)
- Power Reserve: 41 Hours
- Screwdown Crown: Yes
- Bezel Movement: N/A, Fixed
- Caseback: Sealed Caseback
- Water Resistance: 100 Meters
- Case Diameter: 38mm
- Lug-to-Lug: 47mm
- Lug Width: 20mm
- Thickness: 12.25mm
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