Rolex GMT Master II
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date GMT Master is part of the Rolex Professional Watch Collection. Designed in collaboration with Pan-Am Airways for use by their pilots, it was launched in 1954.[1]
History
The Rolex GMT Master wristwatch (ref 6542) is a watch originally designed in collaboration with Pan-Am Airways for use by their pilots when travelling through multiple time zones on transcontinental (or long-haul) flights, GMT standing for Greenwich Mean Time.[2] Working in conjunction with Pan-Am's Captain Frederick Libby (a decorated World War II veteran and one of the airlines most respected navigators), Rolex executive and Public Relations Director Rene-Paul Jeanneret came up with the idea of a watch with an additional hour hand revolving just once every 24 hours and a rotatable bezel marked with those same 24 hours. Today it has become one of the most iconic models in the Rolex collection, regarded as a status symbol and is popular with travellers and people who need to keep track of the time simultaneously in different areas of the world.[3]
In 1981 Rolex added a quick-set date feature to the 16750 model. Before this (on the 1675 model), to adjust the date one would have to continue to wind the crown through all the dates in order to reach the current.
A new model of the Rolex GMT Master came out in 1983 and was named the Rolex GMT Master II (ref 16710).
The quick-set date feature and the scratch-proof sapphire crystal added in 1987 are the two major changes in the last 30 years at Rolex.
Production for the ref 16710 model ceased in 2007. The successor (ref 116710 LN) was introduced at the 2007 Basel World Fair with the same specification as the all-gold model (ref 16718 LN).
The Rolex GMT Master can display time in two different time zones and the Rolex GMT Master II in three. Using the additional GMT hand (which completes a 24 hour cycle in a single rotation) the GMT Master and the GMT Master 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 Master II allows the hour hand to be set independently from the GMT hand, thus allowing a third time zone.
50th anniversary edition
The completely redesigned Rolex GMT Master II was presented in 2005, but only in yellow gold (ref 16718 LN) and launched as a 50th anniversary model with an all green dial, but later the black dial became an option. At the 2006 Basel World Fair the steel/yellow gold version (ref 116713 LN) was introduced. A year later, in 2007, the much sought-after stainless-steel only version (ref 116710 LN) was released. 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 discolouration. 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. The Rolex GMT Master II is also fitted with a crystal crafted from a solid block of synthetic sapphire, that is virtually scratch-proof and is completely waterproof to a depth of 100 m (330 ft).[2]
Popular Culture
- Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara wore a stainless steel Rolex GMT Master wristwatch,[4] as did actor Tom Selleck (as 'Thomas Magnum') in the eponymous television show Magnum P.I.[5]
- The stainless steel Rolex GMT Master (ref 6542) was nicknamed the 'Pussy Galore' after the character, played by Honor Blackman in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger, who wore this model of wristwatch.[2] (Bond, as played by Sean Connery and in the original books, wore a Rolex Submariner).
- Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong and four-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion and three-time Daytona 500 winning racing driver Jeff Gordon wear stainless steel Rolex GMT Master II wristwatches.
- Cuban President Fidel Castro wears two, a stainless steel Rolex GMT Master and an 18ct gold Rolex Day-Date, on the same wrist.
- Actor Dustin Hoffman wears a gold and stainless steel Rolex GMT Master II, as does NASA astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao.
- Opera singer Plácido Domingo wears an 18ct gold Rolex GMT Master.
- Actor Peter Fonda wears a gold Rolex GMT Master in the 1969 movie Easy Rider.
- Actress Sharon Stone owns a Rolex GMT Master wristwatch.
- Actor Keanu Reeves wears the stainless steel Rolex GMT Master with blue and red bezel in the movie Street Kings.
- Actor and Director Robert Redford owns and wears a stainless steel Rolex GMT Master II.
External links
- Rolex.com - Official Rolex Website
- GMT Master History - good overview over the evolution of the Rolex GMT Master
References
- ^ Brozek, John (2002), The Rolex Report. St. Petersburg, FLA: InfoQuest Publishing
- ^ a b c "GMT Master History". Rolex. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "People in the news with Rolex". Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Félix Rodríguez, the CIA agent who killed Che". spartacus. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Magnum P.I." magnum mania. Retrieved 2009-09-20.