GMT

THE REALIZATION OF THE ROLEX GMT-MASTER

The Earth is divided in 12 time zones also known as meridians. GMT means Greenwich Mean Time, which is used as the time zone 0 in the Universal time. In the watch field a GMT Watch is a watch that displays a second time zone or a 24-hour indication. Without doubt the most known GMT watch is the Rolex GMT Master II.

Not everyone knows when the first GMT-Master was realized…

In 1954 the Boeing 707 successfully completed its first flight, and after an intense experimental phase, the jet is commissioned by the aviation company Pan American Airways, who advertised it as “The most rigorously tested civil aviation airplane”. In this experiment, Pan Am also worried about the physical and psychological wellbeing of its pilots, arriving at the conclusion that it would be of great help to them to know the time back home, as well as the time in their arrival destination. In practical terms, it was necessary to give the pilots a “technical” wristwatch, which indicated simultaneously the two different times. It is from this point that the request arose from Pan Am to Rolex, to create a new watch for modern age aviators: a watch with two time zones.

The name GMT-MASTER was chosen.

We are in 1954 and, from a Rolex press pack of Baselworld ‘97, among the historical dates of the Company, we can read:

1954: ROLEX PRESENTS THE “GMT-MASTER, A WATCH WHICH TELLS THE TIME IN TWO DIFFERENT TIME ZONES SIMULTANEOUSLY”.

We can also read, from other documents, that the name GMT-MASTER was registered in April 1955.
1954-1955, the first true aviator’s watch of the modern era was launched, one of the most sought after watches by enthusiasts throughout the world.

The first GMT has an additional central hand, which makes a complete circle of the watch every 24 hours, but is linked to the hour hand, in other words if the hour hand indicates 10:00 , then the additional hand indicates either 10:00 or 22:00, and not a different hour. In order to read the indication of the second time zone, Rolex adopted the rotating bezel divided in 24 sections. The way to read it is very simple: rotate the bezel, with respect to the 12/24 index on the dial, for the same number of hours as represent the difference between the second time zone and the reference one. Obviously, the minutes are always those indicated by the relative hand on the dial. The 24 hour hand is characterized by the arrow-shaped point, which distinguishes it from the hour hands intended to indicate local time.

This model with reference 6542, realized both in 18 ct. gold and in stainless steel, has different characteristics with respect to the following references: a 38 mm diameter, instead of 40, a thinner “carrure” and the winding crown without crown guards. A simple and essential dial with luminous indexes and hands, white, gold or silver graphics, and the date aperture, at 3 o’clock, covered by a magnifying lens and fixed to the plastic crystal. The reference 6542 was originally made with the bezel in bakelite, which was then substituted with a metal bezel. The calibers used for the ref. 6542 are: 1036 GMT, 1065 GMT, and 1066 GMT, all based on the caliber 1030, but with respectively 1030, 1065 or 1066 engraved on the bridge for the selfwinding mechanism.

Complete information in the book Collecting Rolex GMT-Master