Hands-On: The Lorier Hydra SIII
Over the past couple of years, the marketplace for GMT watches has evolved rapidly thanks to the addition of a handful of new movements hitting the scene. The most compelling of these new movements, at least for the frequent flyers among us, is Miyota’s 9075, an automatic mechanical movement with local jumping GMT functionality. Pushing a once-premium travel complication into a decidedly more accessible price point than was previously available, the new Lorier Hydra SIII employs Miyota’s movement with mid-century style and a price that’s not just competitive – it’s a bit hard to believe.
Lorier is a small brand based in NYC operated by the husband and wife team of Lorenzo and Lauren Ortega. And while the Hydra SIII is far from their first watch, it is the brand’s first use of the 9075, and the watch is built around the format of a dive-GMT. This means you get an elapsed-time dive bezel and 200 meters of water resistance rather than a 24-hour GMT bezel. If you don’t need three time zones or find an elapsed time bezel to be rather handy (as I do), this format offers a ton of functionality for diving, travel, and everything else.
The watch itself is 41mm wide, 14.6mm thick (a good bit of that is crystal, the case is 12.2mm), and 46mm lug to lug. The crystal is Hesalite (and very domed), the 20mm lugs are drilled, the case back is solid and sterile, and water resistance is a dive-ready 200 meters.
The Hydra SIII comes as a single version with an Admiralty Grey dial and Hesalite bezel with a special two-color luminous treatment. The surprising asking price (keep reading) also includes the solid steel bracelet shown in these photos. While the bracelet doesn’t include quick-release or tool-less micro adjust, it does have single-sided screws, so sizing couldn’t be easier.
The dark blue, white, and red color scheme is applied to a handsome mid-century aesthetic that calls upon design notes from vintage Omega in a manner similar to what we’ve seen from modern-day Serica. With a crown that tucks neatly into the case side and the manner in which the bezel, 24-hour scale, and inner dial form a series of concentric circles, the Hydra SIII has enough dial to match the case, and the watch wears a lot like the dimensions would have you expect.
Legibility is good, with plenty of contrast, a bright red GMT hand, and a distinct 24-hour ring encircling the time display. There is a date tucked at six o’clock, and just about every “white” element on the dial and hands is rendered with a luminous treatment. Lorier has optioned a two-color lume execution that uses green C1 for the second time zone and its 24-hour scale, and blue BGW9 for the dive bezel and local time display. While the lighter weight of the markings on the bezel doesn’t leave a lot of room for lume, the dial treatment is quite bright and long-lasting, especially the 24-hour ring.
Aside from all that lume, the other element of the dial is how it is seen through the domed Hesalite crystal. The crystal has a steep box curve at its edge that warps and skews the view of the dial’s edge in a way that, at first, I found distracting. Over a few days with the Hydra SIII on wrist, I grew to like this effect, even if I believe I would prefer the watch with a sapphire crystal.
For Lorier, the decision to go with a Hesalite crystal is intentional and hinges on offering an effect that is closer to the feel of a vintage watch. The brand sees this option as philosophical and even has a whole page about it on its website.
Yes, it will scratch more easily, but you can also remove those scratches with a quick polish (and the Hydra SIII includes a tube of Polywatch and a polishing cloth). Another plus for the hesalite is that it can offer all of that dome without the same amount of reflection as sapphire. In person, the crystal looks great, is very clear, and I noticed minimal reflections, even during photography.
On wrist, the watch is nicely matched by the flat-link-style steel bracelet, which tapers from 20mm at the lugs to 15.8mm at the clasp. The case has a welcome curve to the lug position that helps manage the thickness. At a bit under 15mm with the crystal, the Hydra SIII is not a thin watch, but it’s also not especially thick. The case is 12.2mm thick and wears nicely in balance and proportion, even when fitted to a NATO. On the bracelet and sized for my wrist, the total weight is a substantial 132 grams.
The finishing is simple and straightforward, as you would hope for a watch at this price. The bracelet is brushed on the face of the links and polished on the sides, following a format established by the case and its polished flanks. Bezel action is also good, with a light 120-click action that doesn’t leave much to complain about, thanks to limited wiggle and good alignment. Likewise, the crown is nicely done with easy threading and precise control of the movement.
The movement is arguably the biggest non-aesthetic element for the Hydra SII. As previously mentioned, this watch is one of the early few from a small brand to incorporate Miyota’s 9075 automatic GMT movement.
Those of you who read most of my GMT-related stories can likely jump ahead here, but I do think that some context is required if you’re not deep into travel watches. I will try to be as brief as possible. While watches that have travel complications come in myriad formats, today’s traditional “GMT” watch comes in one of two formats. The first, and most common at lower price points, allows the user to independently adjust the 24-hour hand to indicate a second time zone on a 24-hour scale (usually the bezel). The second is a format popularized by successive iterations of the Rolex GMT-Master II (and further democatized by the Tudor Black Bay) that allows the user to independently adjust the main (or local) hour hand.
The former is casually called a “caller” GMT because it’s so handy for tracking another timezone from home (like, for international calls), while the latter is often called a “flyer” GMT as it greatly simplifies the act of updating your watch when you arrive in a new timezone. With a flyer GMT, you don’t even stop the seconds hand, and, in the most complete examples, the date updates backward and forwards whenever you jump the hour hand past midnight.
With the 9075, you get the full flyer GMT functionality – local jumping and date correction – as an extension of Miyota’s 9015 automatic. The 9015 is a long-proven option in the budget category, and the 9075 tick at 4Hz, has hacking, hand-winding, and a power reserve of around 42 hours.
The plus of the 9075 is that not only is it a less costly movement than many others a small brand could option, but it’s also one of very few that offer the flyer GMT functionality in a movement that is commercially available to small brands like Lorier (and others). ETA makes the CO7.XXX flyer GMT that is used in watches like the Ocean Star GMT LE we made with Mido. But as much as I love the Mido, if you’re looking for a budget GMT champ, the Hydra SII still manages to cost less than half as much.
I know it’s burying the lede, but Lorier is currently selling the Hydra SIII for $599. And that includes the bracelet, the Polywatch for polishing the crystal, a travel pouch, and a screwdriver for sizing the bracelet. Not bad at all. Dang good, actually.
For those concerned about the reliability and performance of a relatively new movement, Lorier is not alone in using the movement as brands from Bulova and Citizen have used a version of the movement (Miyota is owned by Citizen) and smaller brands like Vaer, Traska, Boldr, Zelos and more have put the movement into recent watches. Furthermore, I put this loaner from Lorier on my timing machine, and it averaged +8.5 seconds/day over six positions. While this represents only a single data point, and I certainly wasn’t expecting COSC time keep for a mid-three-figure watch, I am impressed by the timekeeping.
All of those models are worth a look too, but most of the competition is either more costly or formed around the more conventional GMT-first layout with a 24-hour bezel. For my tastes, a dive-GMT is the ideal layout for a multi-role everyday sports watch, regardless of whether it’s a flyer or a caller GMT. Again, I don’t often need to track 3 time zones, but I love an elapsed-time bezel.
As a budget option within the flyer GMT category that retains the tools of a dive watch and a generalist sizing that I had no trouble carrying on my 7-inch wrist, this Lorier offers so much for the money. Heck, it’s only $125 more than the list price of the Seiko SSK-series GMT, which is bigger, thicker, has less water resistance, and is a caller GMT rather than a flyer.
Where the Hydra SIII stands out is in the way it offers a very complete package (you can even have the case back engraved for $35) while also not feeling as though a great many corners have been cut to hit this price point. Sure, if I pick nits, the lume on the bezel is a bit dim and you need to use a tool to micro-adjust the bracelet.
Price notwithstanding, the Hyrda SIII feels nicely made, thoughtfully designed, wears well, and offers a function set that isn’t especially common, especially way under $1000. If I had one caveat about my prediction for your experience getting a Hydra SIII, it’s that I think you may have to wait. Lorier is a small brand, and I would expect the Hydra SIII to get a lot of attention, especially as more and more enthusiasts realize the specific and nerdy qualities of a watch that they are offering for a rather casual price.
With more and more 9075-powered GMTs on the horizon, the Hydra SIII stands out by hitting the market at a price point that feels remarkable and will certainly be hard to beat. GMT nerds rejoice – the Hydra SIII is an impressive bit of kit that does its best to leave your annual travel budget intact for your next adventure.
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For more information, visit Lorier online.
Hodinkee
