There’s Now an Official Root Beer GMT Watch. It Isn’t a Rolex

First the Seiko Pepsi GMT, and now this?

Close-up of a watch face with a brown gradient dial, featuring the text "GMT The Root Beer Since 1919." The date window shows the number 18, and the watch has rectangular hour markers with white luminescent centers. The GMT hand is orange with a triangular tip. The outer bezel is orange with yellow markings.

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By Johnny Brayson

Published August 27, 2025

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The horological cola wars are heating up.

Historically, Rolex has effectively had a monopoly on GMT watches colloquially named after soft drinks. The original GMT-Master of the 1950s was nicknamed the “Pepsi” because of its signature blue and red bezel. That was followed by the two-tone “Root Beer” GMT in the 1970s with its brown and gold bezel, the original red-and-black “Coke” GMT-Master II in the 1980s, and finally, the modern green-and-black destro GMT-Master II “Sprite” that launched in 2022.

But now, other brands are coming after Rolex’s soda supremacy with some clever licensing deals. First was Seiko, which inked a deal with Pepsi to launch an official Pepsi GMT (and diver) earlier this month.

Now, it’s Jack Mason’s turn.

Stainless steel wristwatch with a brown dial and a two-tone bezel featuring black and orange sections marked with 24-hour numerals. The watch has large white hour markers, a date window at 3 o'clock, and a multi-link metal bracelet. The hands include a prominent orange GMT hand. The watch is placed on a wooden surface. — There’s a new Root Beer GMT in town, and this time, it’s ~~personal~~ official.

Float on

The Texas indie brand already had a deal in place with fellow Texan Dr Pepper, with which it has produced a couple of limited-edition versions of its best-selling Strat-o-timer GMT. Now, Jack Mason has expanded its carbonated offerings by partnering with iconic root beer A&W — which is owned and produced by Keurig Dr Pepper in the U.S. — giving us, for the first time, an official Root Beer GMT.

Rather than being a straight copy of a Rolex “Root Beer” GMT with two-tone vibes and a brown and gold bezel (or brown and black, like the current Rolex Root Beer), Jack Mason’s take on a Root Beer GMT is instead modeled after the A&W logo with different shades of orange and brown.

A stainless steel wristwatch with a multi-link bracelet, featuring a brown gradient dial and a bi-color bezel in black and orange with 24-hour markings. The watch has bold white hour markers, a date window at 6 o'clock, and an orange GMT hand. It is placed on a wooden surface next to a can of A&W Root Beer. — Jack Mason partnered with A&W to create a Root Beer GMT inspired by the iconic beverage brand’s logo.

The two-tone sapphire bezel is dark brown on the top half and orange on the bottom half, with numerals and markings in a burnt yellow tone. The dial is a brown gradient that’s light in the center and darker at the edges, which is intended to mimic a bird’s eye view of a scoop of vanilla ice cream dropped into a mug of A&W to create a root beer float. It’s a bit abstract, but the overall effect is quite attractive.

The GMT hand is light orange, which is color-matched to the GMT text at 6:00 on the dial. Just below “GMT” in white is some retro font labeling the watch “The Root Beer,” just to make things official, along with A&W’s slogan “Since 1919.” Flip the watch over, and instead of the Strat-o-timer’s usual display caseback, we get a closed one featuring a prominent embossed A&W logo.

Replacing the Strat-o-timer’s usual sapphire caseback is a closed one featuring the A&W logo.

Jack Mason

As one of the best pound-for-pound GMTs on the market, the new Strat-o-timer thankfully has the specs to back up its status as the official Root Beer GMT.

Said specs include a fully lumed 48-click bidirectional sapphire bezel, separate Super-LumiNova colors for the GMT and main timekeeping, 200m of water resistance, an AR-coated box sapphire crystal, a quick-release seven-link bracelet with a tool-free microadjustable clasp, a framed 6:00 date window and a Miyota 9075 automatic movement boasting an independently operable local hour hand and accuracy that’s been regulated in-house by Jack Mason to +/- 5 seconds per day.

Stainless steel wristwatch with a luminous dial and bezel. The bezel features green 24-hour markings on a half black, half orange background. The watch face has blue luminous hour markers and hands, with a green luminous triangle on the GMT hand. A date window is positioned at 4 o'clock. The watch is attached to a polished metal bracelet. — The Strat-o-timer remains a specs monster, especially in the lume department.

Pricing and availability

Like the previous Dr Pepper versions of the Strat-o-timer, the A&W Root Beer GMT is a limited edition. Just 200 examples of the watch are being produced, and it’s being released alongside another Dr Pepper GMT, this time with a green and red color scheme tied to Dr Pepper Real Sugar that’s limited to 230 pieces.

Both the Root Beer and the Dr Pepper Real Sugar GMTs are priced at $1,199 and will be available to purchase on the Jack Mason website on August 29.

Jack Mason x AW Root Beer Collab Strat-O-Timer watch

Jack Mason Strat-o-timer GMT: A&W Root Beer

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Miyota Cal. 9075 automatic GMT
Water Resistance	200m

$1,199 at Jack Mason

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.