Rolex GMT Master II Watches

Rolex, it is not just a watchmaker but it is a concerned watchmaker, who builts their watches keeping each profession in mind. So the Rolex is the master of tool watches. It is notable for designing and developing watches which are specifically for special populations of sportsmen and adventurers. And one fine example of this type of sports watches is the Rolex GMT Master watch.

The Rolex GMT Master is part of the Rolex’s professional watch collection. It was originally designed in cooperation with Pan American Airways and was issued by the airline to their crews on long-haul flights. The original Rolex GMT Master watch has a 24-hour display fourth hand complication with which it was directly linked to and it displayed the same time zone as the standard 12-hour hand. This GMT hand of the watch allowed the crews to set the watch to the standard time zone, and by using the rotatable 24-hour scale bezel they could set the time to the correct offset and the second time zone could be read.

You might be wondering what this name stands for? Well, the GMT in the GMT Master stands for Greenwich Mean Time, and it is also known as the Coordinated Universal Time, which is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time.

Let's take a trip through the memory lane of this GMT-Master II

Rolex GMT Master 6542
The GMT-Master was released with the production of ref. 6542 and this was introduced in 1954. It had no crown and it featured a bakelite bezel, which after two years was replaced with aluminum bezel for the reason that it cracked easily. If you are a James Bond fan then you might remember this as it was seen in the movie Goldfinger on the wrist of Pussy Galore. This reference number was in the production till 1959 and within this period, Rolex used several movements for this reference including 1036 calibers (1954-1959), 1065 calibers (1957-1959) and 1066 caliber (1957-1959).

Rolex GMT Master 1675
This is one of the popular vintage GMT-Master watches which was introduced in 1959 and was in the production till 1980. This vintage collection is also available without too much hassle because it was produced for a longer period. Until the last 60's the watch featured an extra hour hand with a small triangle and in the 1970's it was replaced by a red hand featuring a larger triangle. The early models of this Rolex pilot watch also came with pointed crown guards as well as with a chapter ring. And this was also Rolex's first sports watch which was available in both the oyster bracelet (reference 78360) as well as in the Jubilee bracelet (reference 62510).

Rolex GMT Master 16750
This reference of the Rolex GMT-Master came out with a new movement along with a glossy dial. In this model Rolex started using the 3075 caliber movement, featuring a quick-set date. This reference was released in 1980 and was in production till 1988.

Now after the production of Rolex GMT-Master, the Rolex started with its GMT-Master II, which had almost the identical look but the movement of the watch came with an additional capability of an independently adjustable quickset hour hand, using which you can set the local time of the watch without stopping and disturbing the seconds and the minute hand.

Rolex GMT Master II 16760
The Rolex GMT Master II 16760 was named as ‘The Fat Lady’ or it was also known as ‘Sophia Loren’. This new GMT-Master II came with an advanced feature which enabled the wearers to read the time using three different time zones. And beside this function, the ref. 16760 also had a thicker case, thicker crown guards, sapphire crystal and this was made available only in the ‘coke' configuration which is a red or a black bezel. It used the 3085 calibers for its movement.

GMT Master II 16700 and 16710
The Rolex GMT Master II 16700 replaced the ref. 16750 and the ref. 16710 became the successor of the Fat Lady. It changed from the tritium dials to the Super Luminova. The drastic change between the references was in the movement, they had had caliber 3175 in the ref. 16700 and caliber 3185 in ref. 16710.

The latest GMT Master II Pepsi 126710 BLRO was released in the Baselworld 2018, which features the bezel which is graduated with two-color cerachrom inserted in red and blue ceramic. And this is available in Oyster steel along with a Jubilee bracelet.

There were other popular references and names under the GMT-Master II model which included the ‘Bruiser' or also called ‘Rolex Batman', the ‘Rolex Coke', the ‘Rolex Root Beer’ or ‘Rolex Dirty Harry’ and many others.

So Rolex GMT Master II is just a perfect pick if you are a frequent flyer and this will fit and match all your occasions, from your business meetings to your leisure hours, Rolex GMT-Master II is an all-time winner.