Timex x Pan Am Waterbury Automatic GMT (2026): An Automatic GMT for the Airline Watch, Plus Every Pan Am Timex So Far
The Timex x Pan Am Waterbury Automatic GMT is the fifth release in a collaboration that began in 2022, and the first to pair a self-winding movement with the GMT function that defined airline watches in Pan Am's heyday. It moves the partnership up-market as well, from US$179 quartz pieces to a US$669 automatic on a steel bracelet. Below: the new watch, then every Timex x Pan Am model so far.
Every Pan Am Timex has been built on the Timex Waterbury platform, the heritage line named for the Connecticut town where Timex began as the Waterbury Clock Company in 1854. That makes the collaboration a meeting of two American institutions: a 170-year-old watchmaker and the airline that defined international jet travel.
Why Pan Am, and Why a GMT
Pan American World Airways, founded in 1927, pioneered intercontinental air travel. In the 1930s its Clipper flying boats opened scheduled routes across the Pacific and Atlantic; in 1958 it ushered in the jet age on the Boeing 707, and in 1970 it launched the Boeing 747. Pan Am ceased operations in 1991, but its blue globe logo remains one of the most recognisable symbols of mid-century glamour.
Pan Am also sits at the centre of one of watchmaking's best-known origin stories. Its long-haul pilots were closely associated with the Rolex GMT-Master of 1954, whose 24-hour hand and rotating bezel let crews track home time and local time at once. A GMT is therefore the most historically fitting complication for a Pan Am watch, which is what makes this release more than a logo swap.
The New Waterbury Automatic GMT
The new watch uses a 41.5mm × 13.5mm brushed stainless steel case, noticeably larger than the 39mm quartz Waterbury GMT of 2024, under a double-domed K1 mineral crystal with anti-reflective coating. The silver-white dial carries luminous indices, a date window at 3 o'clock and Pan Am's globe at 9 o'clock, while a blue-and-white triangle-tipped GMT hand reads against a two-tone black-and-blue bidirectional bezel . An oversized crown carries the Pan Am logo.
It is also the first Pan Am Timex on a steel bracelet : 20mm brushed links with quick-release bars, tool-free adjustable links and a push-button butterfly clasp. Inside is a Japanese-made automatic GMT movement ; Timex has not published a power reserve. Water resistance is 50 metres , so this is a travel watch rather than a sports tool.
How a GMT Works
A GMT watch adds a fourth hand that rotates once every 24 hours instead of every 12. Set it to a reference time zone (traditionally Greenwich Mean Time, or home time) and read it against a 24-hour scale while the normal hands show local time. Turning the rotating bezel lets you track a third zone. Pilots crossing several time zones in a day, like Pan Am's long-haul crews, are exactly who the complication was designed for.
Timex x Pan Am Waterbury Automatic GMT: Full Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Reference | TW2Y94300 |
| Case | 41.5mm × 13.5mm, brushed stainless steel |
| Crystal | Double-domed K1 mineral, anti-reflective |
| Bezel | Bidirectional, two-tone black and blue |
| Dial | Silver-white, luminous indices, date at 3, Pan Am globe at 9 |
| Movement | Automatic GMT (Japanese-made) |
| Water resistance | 50m |
| Bracelet | 20mm brushed steel, quick-release, tool-free links, butterfly clasp |
| Price | US$669 (Watches of Switzerland); INR 64,995 (Timex India) |
Every Timex x Pan Am Watch So Far
Each release has returned to the same ingredients: Pan Am blue, the globe logo, brown or navy leather with Pan Am blue lining, and a cockpit-legible Waterbury case. Here is how the collaboration has evolved.
2022: Day-Date and Chronograph
The partnership launched on August 26, 2022 with two quartz watches in 42mm steel cases: a Day-Date at US$179 and a Chronograph at US$219. Both had navy dials with bold Arabic numerals, brown leather straps carrying the Pan Am globe, and 50m water resistance. They sold out, which set up everything that followed.
2024: Waterbury GMT and Fly-Back Chronograph
In September 2024 the collaboration added real aviation complications. The Waterbury GMT (TW2W97300) put a Swiss Ronda 515.24H quartz GMT with an independent fourth hand into a 39mm × 12.5mm recycled-steel case with a blue sunburst dial and 100m water resistance, at US$339. Its sibling, the Fly-Back Chronograph (TW2W97200, US$349), used a 43mm case with a slide-rule bezel, a quartz flyback with instant reset, a date window and a second-time-zone indicator in the upper sub-dial. Both featured an airplane-shaped seconds hand and a Pan Am crown.
2025: The Waterbury Ace Pair
The 2025 release went cleaner. Both Ace models use 41mm steel cases with 100m water resistance and an airplane silhouette at 12 o'clock, styled after classic mid-century pilot's watches. The Waterbury Ace Chronograph is quartz, on brown leather, at US$269. The Waterbury Automatic Ace was the collaboration's first mechanical watch: an automatic three-hander on navy leather with a Pan Am-branded exhibition caseback, at US$349.
2026: Waterbury Automatic GMT
The new model combines the GMT of 2024 with the automatic movement of 2025, adds a bracelet and a bidirectional bezel, and switches to a silver-white dial for the first time.
| Year | Model | Case | Movement | Launch price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Day-Date | 42mm | Quartz | $179 |
| 2022 | Chronograph | 42mm | Quartz | $219 |
| 2024 | Waterbury GMT (TW2W97300) | 39mm | Ronda 515.24H quartz GMT | $339 |
| 2024 | Fly-Back Chronograph (TW2W97200) | 43mm | Quartz flyback | $349 |
| 2025 | Waterbury Ace Chronograph | 41mm | Quartz | $269 |
| 2025 | Waterbury Automatic Ace | 41mm | Automatic | $349 |
| 2026 | Waterbury Automatic GMT (TW2Y94300) | 41.5mm | Automatic GMT | $669 |
Price, Availability and Positioning
The Waterbury Automatic GMT launched first in India at INR 64,995 and is listed in the US by Watches of Switzerland at US$669 . That is roughly double the price of the 2024 quartz Waterbury GMT, and it puts the watch in contention with affordable automatic GMTs from Japanese and microbrand makers. The case for it rests on the bracelet, the automatic GMT movement and, above all, the Pan Am story. Anyone who just wants the look of a Pan Am GMT can still find the 39mm quartz version for about half the price; for a mechanical Pan Am Timex under US$400, the Waterbury Automatic Ace remains the value pick.
For the wider Timex range, see our guides to the Waterbury collection, the Marlin, and our list of the best watches under $500.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Timex x Pan Am Waterbury Automatic GMT?
The collaboration's first automatic GMT (ref. TW2Y94300): a 41.5mm × 13.5mm steel Waterbury with a silver-white dial, black-and-blue bidirectional bezel, steel bracelet and 50m water resistance.
How much does it cost?
US$669 at Watches of Switzerland; INR 64,995 from Timex India, where it launched first.
When did Timex and Pan Am start working together?
August 26, 2022, with a 42mm Day-Date and Chronograph. New releases followed in 2024, 2025 and 2026, all based on the Timex Waterbury.
Are Timex x Pan Am watches automatic or quartz?
Mostly quartz. The 2025 Waterbury Automatic Ace and the 2026 Waterbury Automatic GMT are the automatic models.
Why does Pan Am suit a GMT watch?
Pan Am pioneered long-haul international flying, and its pilots are closely tied to the 1954 Rolex GMT-Master, the watch that popularised the 24-hour hand for a second time zone.
Related Reading
