Rolex GMT Master & Master II

The Rolex GMT Master is a part of the Rolex Professional watch collection. The GMT Master was launched in 1954 to aid pilots who travel through multiple time zones.


A new model of the GMT Master came out in 1983 that features a sapphire crystal which cannot easily be scratched. This model was named the GMT Master II.


Production for the 16710 GMT Master II model ceased in 2007. The successor 116710LN was introduced at Basel World fair 2007 (same specification as the already in 2005 presented all-gold model 116718). The new model has the ceramic bezel, polished bracelet center links with Daytona type clasp, maxi dial and green 24 hour hand found on the 50th anniversary edition.

The GMT can display time in two different time zones and the GMT II in three. Using the additional "GMT" hand which completes a 24 hour cycle in a single rotation, the GMT (and GMT II) uses a bi-directional rotatable bezel marked zero to twenty three allowing for a second time zone to be displayed with the GMT hand pointing to the bezel hour. The GMT II allows the GMT hand to be set independently from the hour hand thus allowing a third time zone.

The watch was originally designed in collaboration with Pan American World Airways for use by their pilots. Today, this watch is popular with travelers and people who need to keep track of the time across multiple time zones. In 1981 The Rolex GMT Model 16750 added a quick set date feature, prior to this the model was 1675. Prior to this to adjust the date, one would have to continue to wind the crown through all the dates in order to reach the current. The quick set date feature & the Sapphire Crystal added in 1987 are the two major changes in the last 30 years at Rolex.

The 50th anniversary edition of the GMT Master II was revealed at Basel World Fair 2006. This new model features a number of technical enhancements, such as Rolex's patented Parachrom hairspring as well as a larger Triplock crown


The new model also has several cosmetic improvements such as larger hands and a new bezel made of an extremely hard ceramic material which greatly resists damage and discoloration. The numbers on this bezel are filled with a fine layer of gold (the stainless steel version features a bezel that has platinum encrusted numbers), using a process of physical vapor deposition.

Why is Rolex a trusted wristwatch brand?

Rolex just like any other well known brand are highly valued due to the quality and workmanship each timepiece has.

Among the company's innovations are :
1. First waterproof watch case
2. First wristwatch with a date on the dial
3. First watch to show two time zones at once
4. First watchmakers to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch
5. First watch company to create the first water resistant watch to 330 feet




A specially made Rolex watch was attach to the side of the Trieste bathyscaphe, which went to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. The watch survived and tested as having kept perfect time during its descent and ascent. It was confirmed via telegram sent to Rolex the following day saying "Am happy to confirm that even at 11,000 metres your watch is as precise as on the surface. Best regards, Jacques Piccard".


To date, Rolex still holds the record for the most certified chronometer movements in the category of wristwatches.

ROLEX:History of the trusted watch

In 1905 Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis founded "Wilsdorf and Davis" in London.Their main business at the time was importing Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and placing them in quality cases made by Dennison and others.

These early wristwatches were sold to jewellers, who then put their own names on the dial. The earliest watches from Wilsdorf and Davis were usually hallmarked "W&D" inside the caseback.

In 1908 Wilsdorf registered the trademark "Rolex" and opened an office in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.The company name "Rolex" was registered on 15 November 1915. The word was made up, and its origin is obscure. Wilsdorf was said to want his watch brand's name to be easily pronounceable in any language. One story, never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the name came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning "exquisite clockwork". Another story claims that "rolex" was meant to evoke the sound of a watch being wound.The book The Best of Time: Rolex Wristwatches: An Unauthorized History by Jeffrey P. Hess and James Dowling says that the name was just made up. The Book A Movement in Time with Breitling & Rolex by Mark A Cooper states that the name came from the partner Alfred Davis and not Wilsdorf. Alfred Davis was a Rolls Royce driver and loved the quality of the car, something he wanted with Rolex. He used the name Rol and then added the popular watch name at the time 'TIMEX' to make the word Rolex
Yacht-Master

In 1919 Wilsdorf moved the company to Geneva, Switzerland where it was established as the Rolex Watch Company. Its name was later changed to Montres Rolex, SA, and finally Rolex, SA. The company moved out of the United Kingdom because taxes and export duties on the case metals (silver and gold) were driving costs up.

Upon the death of his wife in 1944, Wilsdorf established the Hans Wildorf Foundation in which he left all of his Rolex shares, making sure that some of the company's income would go to charity. The company is still owned by a private trust, and shares are not traded on any stock exchange.