A first watch launch is usually a thesis statement. For Lacité, a two-person microbrand based in Montréal, that statement is unusually clear: make city-inspired watches for people who live between neighborhoods, time zones, and airport gates. The debut model, the Lacité Urbanite GMT, doesn’t try to out-heritage the heritage brands or out-flex the spec monsters. Instead, it aims at a very particular modern niche: an affordable, everyday-wearable true GMT that feels tailored to urban life rather than aviation nostalgia.
Lacité is launching into a segment that has quietly become one of the strongest in microbrands: the sub-$1,000 GMT with real-world practicality. The Miyota 9075 has helped create this segment by making “true GMT” functionality accessible without pushing buyers into luxury price territory.
The Design Idea: City Texture Rather Than Vintage Tropes
Many microbrand GMTs default to familiar templates: classic bezel, familiar handset, familiar dial furniture, familiar story. Lacité’s angle is more tactile and place-driven. The Urbanite GMT uses an oil-pressed dial with gravel texture, paired with raised indexes and a 24-hour sloped rehaut, it reinforces the idea of a watch rooted in urban character without resorting to overt thematic cues.
That combination is telling. Instead of shouting “pilot” or “explorer,” it leans into the material language of the street: asphalt, stone, reflected light off buildings, and the sort of surface detail you notice when you walk a city rather than fly over it.
Beyond the textured execution, Lacité also offers a sunburst dial variant as a limited edition (100 pieces), that shifts the tone of the Urbanite GMT without changing its core architecture. Where the gravel texture emphasizes tactility and depth, the sunburst version plays with light.
In this configuration, especially on the Montréal limited edition, the applied Arabic numerals at 12, 9, and 6 bring structure and legibility, while the red GMT hand and red-accented date window inject a contemporary accent.
The case is 316L stainless steel with a brushed finish, with an IP coating for the Slate Black version. Brushed finishing makes sense for an “urban tool” idea, because it’s forgiving. It reads intentional after the first scratch.
You get a flat sapphire crystal with inner AR coating, plus a sapphire caseback. That’s a spec-forward decision, but also a psychological one: buyers in this segment expect sapphire as table stakes.
The Movement Choice: Why the Miyota 9075 Changes the Conversation
The Miyota 9075 is often described as a “true GMT” or “traveler GMT” because it lets you adjust the local hour hand in jumps. That matters for people who actually cross time zones, because you can land, change local time quickly, and keep the GMT hand tracking home time.
In the microbrand space, the 9075 also carries another benefit: it signals seriousness. It’s a movement choice that says the brand is building for users, not just for spec sheets. It’s also a smart way for a first-time brand to earn trust quickly, because the enthusiast community already understands what the 9075 is and why it’s useful.
Pricing, Availability & Where to Get One
The Lacité Urbanite GMT is positioned competitively within the sub-$1,000 true GMT segment, with transparent worldwide pricing that includes shipping, duties, and taxes.
For launch, Lacité is offering a 20% presale discount, bringing the entry price down significantly for early supporters. The presale opens on March 11, 2026 at 12 PM EST, with registered subscribers receiving a 24-hour early access link ahead of the public release.
Official pricing is as follows:
- Slate Black: $699 USD
- Emerald Green: $725 USD
- Montréal Limited Edition: $785 USD
Case Diameter: 40.5mm
Case Thickness: 12mm
Case Material: 316L stainless steel (IP-coated on Slate Black)
Water Resistance: 100m (10 ATM)
Caliber: Miyota 9075 (True GMT)
Crystal: Flat sapphire with inner AR coating; sapphire caseback
Function: GMT (dual time)
The Lacité Urbanite GMT reads like a confident debut because it does not try to do everything. It picks a practical movement, nails modern everyday dimensions, and builds an identity around texture and city reference rather than borrowed nostalgia. For a new microbrand, that restraint is a strength.
If Lacité can execute the finishing and quality control implied by the spec list, the Urbanite GMT has the right ingredients to become the first chapter of a genuinely expandable “cities” series. And for buyers who want a traveler GMT that looks at home on a Montréal street corner as much as in an airport lounge, this launch will be worth watching.
