diff --git a/swift/cli/recon.py b/swift/cli/recon.py
index 3af876b709..6147f4cbad 100644
--- a/swift/cli/recon.py
+++ b/swift/cli/recon.py
@@ -181,12 +181,12 @@ class SwiftRecon(object):
     def _ptime(self, timev=None):
         """
         :param timev: a unix timestamp or None
-        :returns: a pretty string of the current time or provided time
+        :returns: a pretty string of the current time or provided time in UTC
         """
         if timev:
-            return time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time.localtime(timev))
+            return time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time.gmtime(timev))
         else:
-            return time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time.localtime())
+            return time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time.gmtime())
 
     def _md5_file(self, path):
         """
@@ -495,16 +495,14 @@ class SwiftRecon(object):
                 elapsed = time.time() - least_recent_time
                 elapsed, elapsed_unit = seconds2timeunit(elapsed)
                 print('Oldest completion was %s (%d %s ago) by %s.' % (
-                    time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S',
-                                  time.gmtime(least_recent_time)),
+                    self._ptime(least_recent_time),
                     elapsed, elapsed_unit, host))
         if most_recent_url is not None:
             host = urlparse(most_recent_url).netloc
             elapsed = time.time() - most_recent_time
             elapsed, elapsed_unit = seconds2timeunit(elapsed)
             print('Most recent completion was %s (%d %s ago) by %s.' % (
-                time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S',
-                              time.gmtime(most_recent_time)),
+                self._ptime(most_recent_time),
                 elapsed, elapsed_unit, host))
         print("=" * 79)
 
@@ -899,12 +897,8 @@ class SwiftRecon(object):
                 continue
             if (ts_remote < ts_start or ts_remote > ts_end):
                 diff = abs(ts_end - ts_remote)
-                ts_end_f = time.strftime(
-                    "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S",
-                    time.localtime(ts_end))
-                ts_remote_f = time.strftime(
-                    "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S",
-                    time.localtime(ts_remote))
+                ts_end_f = self._ptime(ts_end)
+                ts_remote_f = self._ptime(ts_remote)
 
                 print("!! %s current time is %s, but remote is %s, "
                       "differs by %.2f sec" % (
diff --git a/test/unit/cli/test_recon.py b/test/unit/cli/test_recon.py
index a5b8f05d76..fb625313a3 100644
--- a/test/unit/cli/test_recon.py
+++ b/test/unit/cli/test_recon.py
@@ -164,17 +164,17 @@ class TestRecon(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(stats.get('perc_none'), 25.0)
 
     def test_ptime(self):
-        with mock.patch('time.localtime') as mock_localtime:
-            mock_localtime.return_value = time.struct_time(
+        with mock.patch('time.gmtime') as mock_gmtime:
+            mock_gmtime.return_value = time.struct_time(
                 (2013, 12, 17, 10, 0, 0, 1, 351, 0))
 
             timestamp = self.recon_instance._ptime(1387274400)
             self.assertEqual(timestamp, "2013-12-17 10:00:00")
-            mock_localtime.assert_called_with(1387274400)
+            mock_gmtime.assert_called_with(1387274400)
 
             timestamp2 = self.recon_instance._ptime()
             self.assertEqual(timestamp2, "2013-12-17 10:00:00")
-            mock_localtime.assert_called_with()
+            mock_gmtime.assert_called_with()
 
     def test_get_devices(self):
         ringbuilder = builder.RingBuilder(2, 3, 1)
@@ -750,11 +750,7 @@ class TestReconCommands(unittest.TestCase):
             mock.call('1/2 hosts matched, 0 error[s] while checking hosts.'),
         ]
 
-        def mock_localtime(*args, **kwargs):
-            return time.gmtime(*args, **kwargs)
-
-        with mock.patch("time.localtime", mock_localtime):
-            cli.time_check([('127.0.0.1', 6010), ('127.0.0.1', 6020)])
+        cli.time_check([('127.0.0.1', 6010), ('127.0.0.1', 6020)])
 
         # We need any_order=True because the order of calls depends on the dict
         # that is returned from the recon middleware, thus can't rely on it