Published on October 01, 2024Updated on October 02, 2024
GMT-Master II: The timeless icon reinvents the elegance of travel
It first came in blue and red, and earned the nickname Pepsi from its fervent admirers. Later, it made the bold step of changing colour, going brown, then green with black, and even all-over black. The iconic GMT-Master II watch now reveals a new face with two versions in Oystersteel. Unveiled this year, the two-tone 24-hour graduated Cerachrom bezel is revisited in grey and black ceramic. The lower part displays the daytime hours, the upper the nighttime hours. This is the ultimate traveller’s watch, a tool with a 24-hour hand which tells the time in another zone, a reminder of another place, somewhere important to the wearer.
The ultimate instrument watch
One is fitted with an Oyster bracelet, the other a Jubilee bracelet. These two new products feature a black lacquered dial with the words ‘GMT-Master II’ in green, echoing the 24-hour hand whose triangular tip is intrinsic to the design. Since its launch in 1955, the GMT-Master II, designed as a navigation aid for professionals crisscrossing the globe, has been on wrists during great aeronautical events in history, including the first intercontinental flights, world speed record attempts and Concorde test flights. It is also a great choice for travellers, modern-day adventurers and anyone who loves beautiful mechanical watches. They will appreciate its calibre 3285, an avant-garde movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex. With a power reserve of 70 hours, this concentration of technology means that the watch can display the date and a second time zone in 24-hour format, as well as the hours, minutes and seconds. Like all Rolex watches, the GMT-Master II carries the Superlative Chronometer certification, redefined by the manufacture to guarantee excellent performance on the wrist. The Rolex Superlative chronometer is highly precise: -2/+2 seconds per day, a much smaller deviation than the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute) requirement. The certification, symbolised by a green seal, comes with an international five year guarantee.
Innovation Rolex at the service of a watchmaking legend
Over time, this tool watch, with two simultaneous time-zone displays, has constantly evolved to incorporate the brand’s most recent innovations. The GMT-Master II wonderfully illustrates Rolex’s know-how in the development of special ceramics; materials with intense, unalterable colours, and scratch resistance. With its knurled rim which offers excellent grip, the bezel is easy to turn. What more could you want? The Oyster case, with a 40-mm diameter, is waterproof to 100 metres. Its case back, edged with fine fluting, is hermetically screwed down with a special tool that allows only Rolex watchmakers to access the movement. The Triplock winding crown, fitted with a triple waterproofness system, screws down securely onto the case while the scratch-resistant and anti-reflective sapphire crystal is topped with the Cyclops lens at 3 o’clock to ensure the date is easy to read.
By Julie de los Rios
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