Pricing and Availability
With its mix of typical Fortis tool-watch toughness and ingenuity with the surprisingly luxurious addition of white gold on the dial, the new Fortis Vagabond is one of the more intriguing GMT watches to come out in recent memory.
I like practically everything about this watch, but if there’s one area where it can improve, it’s the price. Listed at $6,800, the Vagabond is now easily the priciest watch in Fortis’s permanent catalog.
On the one hand, you can justify the price due to the high-end materials used and the fact that it’s using a manufacture movement. On the other hand, there are still arguably better buys out there.
The Longines Spirit Zulu Time in Grade 5 titanium has an exclusive true GMT movement and costs just $4,275 on a bracelet — more than $2,500 less than the Fortis. If you want a touch and gold, a steel-and-gold Zulu Time will set you back just $4,550.
Other watches using the same movement as the Vagabond are also priced for less. Most notably, Tudor’s Black Bay GMT is $4,375 in steel and $6,125 in steel and gold, which includes a two-tone bracelet and a lot more gold than the Fortis.