Tom Austin
GMT watches arrived in the 1950s. At that point, the excitement surrounding commercial air travel reached its peak. Today, jetting across the continent and time zone is just as common as riding a bus, but back then it was at the pinnacle of charm and refinement. Pilots and travelers alike began using GMT watches to track time across time zones. Most of the time, aside from the dressy dual-time oditas, those watches were consistently tilted towards the tool side of the spectrum. Over the past decades, this trend has continued, with GMT complications becoming more common with today’s sportier or tool-like edged watches.
Montreal-based brand Heron is here to change his vintage-inspired travel clock called The Mirabel Gmt in its latest release. In fact, the vintage-themed ending of the GMT watch market is not crowded. Mirabel uses this trend to harness the vintage style popular in micro-brands, and also incorporate complications that rarely combine with pre-1950 aesthetics.
case
One of the first interesting things about Mirabelle is the case design. Modeled after the shape of the C-case, popular by the Omega Constellation, designed by the iconic Ghent since the late ’60s, the watch fits very well with Mirabel despite its leaning towards the aesthetics of the 1950s. Made from 316L stainless steel, the attractive case is a 37.5mm diameter style and blends vintage style with modern proportions. There are two options. One features a soft, polished stainless steel finish, and the other features a warm gold PVD coating. Each finish pairs with a variety of dial options, providing a clear style for each variation.
The attention to detail is solid, with resin cabochon-like elements set in the crown, and the case is finished with classic box sapphire crystal with a reflective coating. Even with that crystal, the watch is admirably thick at 11.8mm. Thanks to Heron skipping the opportunity to use the display case. Instead of descending that exciting route, the brand decided to use the case as a canvas to add more interesting details. It also features a small hand enamel centerpiece, meaning night and day, as it is engraved with details of the world’s timer style. It is also interesting to note that the inside of the caseback features Perlage Machining, nodding to the fact that caseback removal is likely to occur on vintage watches. The first 200 watches are also numbered, bringing a touch of exclusiveness to the watch.
Dial
The Héron Mirabel GMT collection comes in four variations, paired with two steel watches with white or blue sunburst dials and two gold PVD-finished watches with brown or black dials. Each dial laid out in sector style features an inner ring with applied Roman numerals, followed by an outer GMT scale that lacks variations in night/day colour that keeps the dial looking dressy and formal. Each dial is enamel painted for its deep, extremely refined quality. Although it may seem busy at first glance, it does a good job of being easy to read and clear, especially with a beautifully finished blue inner ring.
The gold dial furniture adorns a gold PVD-coated version, while the blue keratin steel watch features bright, refined silver elements. The white dial features contrasting black printing and markers, along with a thermal blue facet alpha hand. The unique look of each dial makes picking a very challenge for your favorite.
strap
Sometimes the brand goes very long with the watch head design, but lacks at the final hurdle, making sure to pay little attention to the final touches such as straps. Heron did not do anything like that with Mirabel. Each Mirabelle GMT comes with a delugs balanil strap made from Calfskin leather sourced from French leather tanning. The brown dial pairs with a tan strap, the black dial has matching black straps, and the blue and white dials arrive at blue blue straps, each hand-sewn with linen thread in a smooth, thin finish. These top-quality straps sell on their own for around $110, bringing more value to the Mirabel GMT.
Movement
Of course, each watch that is GMT has an additional hand on the dial and can be set to its home time zone. Mirabell is a “true” GMT watch. This means that the main hour hand is independently adjustable and can be easily changed to your travel time zone. This is thanks to the hidden hidden Miyota 9075 movement of Japan, a robust automatic movement that finds a way to head towards several powerful competitors in the GMT market. Break at 28,800 bph and offers a 42-hour power reserve and a Parashock anti-shock system. It’s a good thing to see Heron exploit it for its robustness, as it is usually a movement seen with more tool-like watches, but it’s even better if they choose to hide it in a solid case.
Héron Mirabel GMT Pricing and Availability
Héron Mirabel GMT is available for pre-order on the Héron website from June 9th, 2025. Price: US $690
Brand Heron Model Mirabel GMT Case Dimensions 37.5mm(d) x 11.8mm
It was created in collaboration with Heron. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with the editorial policy.
