Steinhart 39 GMT 500
Manufacturer: Steinhart | Price: €690 EUR (£599 GBP incl Tax)
I’ve had my eye on Steinhart for many years, but never actually pulled the trigger on one, as there was always something else that got in my way. Up until now that is. As I stated in my review of the Sinn 556i a couple of weeks ago, I had saved up enough for the Sinn, but I didn’t actually go ahead with it, after being able to try one out for a couple of weeks, thanks to my buddy Dennis from our Facebook group, WatchChat. Unfortunately, I just didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.
Anyway, as I had the cash just burning a massive hole in my pocket, I decided to start doing some fresh research on a few brands that I’ve always had my eye on, including the likes of Steinhart, Seiko, Hamilton, Longines & Christopher Ward to name but a few… I went against my own usual advice though, jumped straight in with both feet and bought the first one I looked at, the Steinhart Ocean 39 GMT 500 Premium. So am I regretting my rather spontaneous purchase?
Specifications
- Dimensions: Diameter – 39.1mm, Thickness – 13.2mm, Lug to Lug – 47.2mm, Lug Width – 20mm
- Movement: Swiss Sellita SW330-1 Élaboré, Automatic, 28,800vph, Hackable, Self Winding, 42hr Power Reserve
- Case Material: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel with Polished Sides
- Bracelet: 316L Stainless Steel, Solid Links & End-Links, Screw Pins, Milled Clasp
- Crystal: Domed Sapphire, Underside Anti-Reflective Coating
- Bezel: Polished 120 Click Unidirectional, 24hr GMT ‘Batman‘ Ceramic Insert, Fully Lumed
- Water Resistance: 500m / 50ATM / 1640ft
- Lume: Swiss Super Luminova® BGW9
- Crown: Signed, Screw Down
- Caseback: Exhibition Display, Screw Down, Sapphire Crystal
- Warranty: 2 Years Weight: 147g (Sized) Where to Buy: ChronoMaster
Steinhart - The Brand
In 2005, Steinhart LLC launches its new collection and expands the company's international presence with a corporate office and warehouse/distribution facility in Spring Hill, Florida. Steinhart Watches makes an unmistakable personal statement and communicates an uncompromising gusto toward life; a lifestyle to believe in. By uniquely selling direct from the manufacturer to the consumer, we keep our overhead low and do not spend unnecessarily for advertising, promotion, and other distribution costs. We make sure you get the most watch for the money. This unprecedented combination of competitive pricing and traditional Swiss quality are unbeatable."
Case & Crown
The case of the Ocean 39 GMT has a diameter of 39.1mm. The lug to lug is 47.2mm and the overall thickness, including the domed sapphire crystal, I measured in at 13.2mm. The entire case, caseback surround, bezel, crown and bracelet are all 316L stainless steel. The finish of the case is mostly brushed but with polished sides and a polished bezel. The actual design of the case if rather flat with no curvature to the lugs, but given the overall lenth it still wears very well on wrist.
The Ocean 39 GMT has a water resistance rating of a rather impressive 500m, thanks to the screw down caseback & crown. The actual proportions of the watch, are superb for my average 7″ wrist, due to the lug to lug distance of just 47mm. For me, the Steinhart does wear extremely well, wearing more like a standard 40mm diver in my opinion.
The signed crown is fantastic and looks great. There is no wobble whatsoever either when the crown is in use and you can also feel a very nice little pop as you unscrew it. You’ll also see and feel the amount of work that has gone into the crown, making it feel very premium whilst in use. The caseback has an exhibition display with sapphire crystal, that shows off that rather sexy Sellita Élaboré grade movement. You can see an image of this, in the movement section of the review.
Bracelet / Strap
The bracelet that’s fitted to the Ocean 39 GMT is beautifully made and there isn’t anything that I can really fault it on. It has everything you’d want in a premium bracelet. It’s very nicely manufactured with no rattles to be found anywhere. It has solid links throughout, screw pins for adjusting and re-sizing and a perfectly signed, milled clasp with 4 micro-adjustment holes. The end links are also of the female variety, meaning the bracelet articulates and doesn’t extented the lug to lug in any way shape or form. The bracelet also tapers from 20mm down to 16mm just before the clasp.
Movement & Accuracy
The chosen movement for the Ocean 39 is the Swiss made Sellita SW330-1 Élaboré grade. A fantastic GMT calibre that is a 28,800vph, 4Hz, smooth sweep, 25 jewel automatic movement with self winding, hacking and a very respectable 42 hour power reserve. As you can see in the image below, there is an absolute ton of detail applied to the movement including perlage or perlée finishing, blued screws and that unmistakeable gold Steinhart rotor. Checking the accuracy after running the Ocean 39 for approximately 2 weeks, mainly on my wrist and occassionally in my watch winder, I was extremely happy with the results, with the Steinhart Ocean 39 GMT showing an average of just +2.3 seconds per day.
Dial, Bezel & Hands
The hour markers at the 3 & 9 o’clock positions are of a baton style, while the marker at 12 is of a slightly larger triangular shape. The rest of the hour markers are of the more traditional circular shape. All of the hour markers are pumped full of lume. The minute track that’s printed onto the sloped chapter ring, has also been done very well with nothing extra added that would just make it look cluttered. The hour and minute hands also have a shit ton of lume.
As you can see in the images, the hour and minute hands are very nicely done with their proportionate and very legible design. The seconds hand is great too, that is entirely lumed and reaches right out to the minute track on the chapter ring when sweeping around the dial. There is also a borderless date window at the 6 o’clock position too, which looks fantastic… and although it is not colour-matched to the dial, it does match with the rest of the white accents.
Lume
The lume on the Ocean 39 GMT is absolutely superb! It is very bright and even although it does fade, it still lasts right throughout the night. The actual lume that’s been applied to the Ocean 39, is Swiss Super Luminova® BGW9 and it’s been applied 100% perfectly! The Steinhart’s lume is definately up there with the best I’ve seen. You won’t be disappointed!
Conclusion
This is my first experience of Steinhart and it just so happens it’s a watch that I’ve bought with my own hard earned cash. So, will I keep the Steinhart? Hell yeah! I was actually really surprised by how much I love this watch, and that is well after the initial honeymoon period. At the asking price of around £600, I think the Ocean 39 GMT is a bit of a bargain considering what you’re actually getting in return. It is a beautiful timepiece with outstanding fit & finish. I’m a happy man! Will I buy another Steinhart? Definately! I’d also be more than happy to review other models if Steinhart or ChronoMaster wish to lend me one at some time in the near future. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!
Steinhart—-> Totally nailed it! A superb timepiece at a bargain price. Very highly recommended!
At Zaltek Reviews, we also encourage the companies whose watches that we’ve reviewed to comment on our articles. We invite any company representatives to respond in the comments section below. Thanks.
Nice write-up. I keep looking at this and the 42mm titanium big brother, and then I remember the omissions that hold me back: At this price point, I would expect applied indices and a push-button clasp, or at least a divers extension. The jubilee bracelet is a bit expensive of an upgrade ($70) but I’d gladly consider it with a better clasp. I’m ok with the minimalist approach to the case (no beveled edges). The no curve-down design is also ok because the shorter lug-to-lug measurement will keep it wearable for most. I’m not a fan of the polished sides detract from the design and will show wear quickly. If they corrected either the clasp or the indices I would be on-the-fence for a purchase.
Rob, the lack of applied markers is a design choice to make the watch appear more sporty. This design decision compliments the sporty aesthetic of the hands. I think if it had applied indices with a chrome border, it would look a little too much like a Rolex.
Is the GMT hand misaligned? AFIK, it should always be offset a multiple of a full hour compared to the regular hour hand. In other words: When the minute hand is on the 12, both other hands should point exactly to one of the indexes.
Now look at the first picture, the wristshot. Minute hand at 30 mins, the hour hand is correctly between 2 and 3, but the GMT hand point almost exactly at 9 AM (maybe 9:10h)!!!
Do you see what I mean?
Yes! That’s a common issue with this movement (I have the same issue with my Squale). The GMT hand lines up when the minute hand is at about 20 mins after the hour, which isn’t correct. I’m trying to nut-up to pull the hands and fix mine. 🙂
This watch will become sought after IMO, it’s a true steinhart classic I hope they don’t remake it, but I do hope they continue innovating their own design, this watch is an absolute cracker the 39mm will work for more ppl then the 42mm I have a 42 and it’s always just slightly to large due to the massive lugs.
If I was to suggest any improvement it would be to all their cases just a slight curvature and perhaps a “high end” glide lock.