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The Most Innovative Affordable GMT Watch Is Back

In a new color, too.

Close-up of a titanium watch with a textured black dial, white markers, and a black fabric strap on an orange background.Arken
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By Johnny Brayson

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Generally speaking, if you’re looking for a sub-$1,000 automatic GMT sports watch, you’re probably going to end up with something that more or less looks like a Rolex GMT-Master.

Not so with the Arken Alterum.

Although I can’t say the Alterum was created out of whole cloth, as the watch was very clearly inspired by the incredibly cool Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time Everest, it’s still highly original at its price point thanks to its titanium case, its clever 12-hour GMT complication and its avant-garde styling.

Because of its uniqueness and, well, because it’s awesome, the Alterum has been pretty hard to get a hold of, with examples selling out in a flash whenever they become available. So if you’ve been pining for an Alterum, listen up, as Arken’s flagship watch is back, and in a brand-new color too.

Titanium Arken automatic watch with textured dark gray dial and black fabric strap on rocks and map.
Arken’s quirky and excellent Alterum is back.
Arken

Green? Gray? It’s both!

As a follow-up to its prior Black and Anthracite Grey versions, Arken’s latest Alterum comes in a brand-new color called “Sage Grey.” According to the brand, the shade is a desaturated British racing green that can look gray or green, depending on the light. In press photos, it has a very monochrome appearance that seems a perfect match for the Alterum’s no-nonsense tool watch identity.

Outside of the new colorway, the Alterum remains unchanged, which is very, very good news.

Close-up of an Arken Automatic watch with a textured dark green dial, white hour markers, and a date subdial.
The new “Sage Grey” is a desaturated take on British racing green.
Arken

All of the Everest inspirations remain. That means the dial keeps its granular texture, there’s still a 6:00 date subdial set via a screw-down 4:00 pusher, the case is still made of titanium and features an integrated design with a push-button quick-release system mated to a nylon strap with contrast stitching, and the GMT function operates on a 12-hour scale.

The clever movement is a modified Miyota Calibre 9015 automatic that uses two AM/PM indicators, one on the left and one on the right, that are tied to the local hour hand and 12-hour GMT hand, respectively. The uniquely shaped indices, a mix of circles and teardrops, are solid ceramic blocks of Super-LumiNova BGW9.

The alterum’s case is 40mm but measures just 38mm across the bezel and 46mm lug-to-lug, so it wears quite compact. Thickness is 13mm from the bottom of the screwed-in solid caseback to the top of the inner-AR-coated sapphire crystal, a measurement owed to the watch’s 200m water resistance. Like the pusher, the crown screws down, and the case is treated with an anti-scratch coating.

Matte silver Arken automatic wristwatch with textured dark green dial and matching fabric strap on a wrist.
The Alterum offers an absurd amount of watch for less than $1,000.
Arken

Availability and pricing

Despite the proprietary movement and engineering on display, not to mention the original design and just overall badassery, the Alterum is stupid affordable. As in, it’s priced well below $1,000.

Arkem lists the Alterum for £630, which currently converts to ~$847. With that low of a price, I expect the Sage Grey to fly off the shelves when it goes on sale, so listen up if you want to snag one before they sell out.

The watch will be sold in two waves. The first limited wave will be on May 23, beginning at 11 am EDT, with watches in stock and ready to ship. The second wave is a preorder that’s unlimited for as long as the window lasts, though Alterum doesn’t give an end date. It starts on May 30 at 11 am EDT.

Titanium wristwatch with green textured dial, white markers, and green fabric strap with white stitching.Arken

Arken Alterum Sage Grey

Specs

Case Size 40mm
Movement Arken Cal. ARK-9015DT2 automatic GMT (Miyota base)
Water Resistance 200m
About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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