The latest Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II seduces travellers with subtle new colours.
Some watch designs are so iconic that even giving them a subdued colourway does nothing to diminish their presence. Such is the allure of the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II, as the collection welcomes its latest edition in black and grey.
The 24-hour graduated two-colour Cerachrom bezel insert in grey and black ceramic will be familiar to those who remember last year’s references in 18 ct yellow gold and yellow Rolesor, but the 2024 GMT-Master II is paired with an Oystersteel case and bracelet. The black lacquer dial bears the inscription “GMT-Master II” in green, echoing the colour of the triangle-tipped 24-hour hand – an element that features strongly in the model’s design. Yet, behind this stealthy update lies a rich and colourful history.
Beginning in 1955 as a response to a world opening up to international travel, the original GMT-Master was a stylish and functional tool designed to help everyone from airline pilots and ship captains to businessmen and members of the armed forces keep track of two time zones. Its design was not only distinctive, but also highly intuitive. While the standard hour, minute and second hand indicated local time, a triangle-tipped 24-hour hand pointed to a rotatable graduated bezel for reference time. Its bi-colour bezel wasn’t just for aesthetics but also served to distinguish day and night. The very first model used red to denote day and blue to signify night.
In just four years, the GMT-Master’s success led to it becoming the official watch of the most prominent American intercontinental airline at the time — Pan American World Airways, better known as Pan Am. Captain C. N. Warren proudly wore one on the airline’s first non-stop transatlantic flight from New York to Moscow, flying journalists to the USSR to report on then-Vice President Richard Nixon’s visit to the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. This became the first stop on the GMT-Master’s long journey on the wrists of history-makers across the realms of aviation, space exploration and even Hollywood.
From pilot William J. Knight’s record-setting flight in the X-15 hypersonic flight research programme in 1967, where he attained speeds of Mach 6.7 while wearing a GMT-Master, to Captain Ronald Evans donning one during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 — the final moon landing — the GMT-Master has always been a trusted companion. It has also been favoured by legendary aviators like Chuck Yeager and Sheila Scott, as well as celebrated actors such as Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood and Tom Selleck, showcasing its enduring appeal across a diverse clientele.
The year 1982 marked a significant milestone in the watch’s evolution. By this point, the GMT-Master had switched out its plexiglas bezel insert for an aluminium one, and a winding crown guard was added as an integral part of the middle case, but its biggest update came in the form of a new movement that allowed the hour hand to be adjusted in one-hour increments independently of the minute and GMT hands, and without stopping the watch. This optimised movement earned the watch its new name, the GMT-Master II, and the two co-existed until 2000.
With a reputation already firmly cemented as the ultimate explorer’s tool, the successor we’ve come to love and admire continued to improve, its changes driven by functionality and performance. In 2005, Rolex introduced its first ceramic bezel insert (now known as Cerachrom), which boasted incredible scratch- and corrosion-resistance and long-lasting colour vibrancy. Almost a decade of research and development later, a bi-colour bezel insert made from a single piece of ceramic was achieved. The complex process creates sharp and distinct colour delineations, resulting in vivid and durable two-tone bezels. The first model to show off this technology was a GMT-Master II with a red and blue bezel in honour of its progenitor.
Not all improvements were simply cosmetic. Rolex’s in-house calibres continued to enjoy new innovations over the years, such as the introduction of the highly precise and reliable blue Parachrom hairspring, efficient and anti-magnetic Chronergy escapement, and high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers — all of which have earned patents. It is the calibre 3285 that has been powering the GMT-Master II watches since 2018, and as of last year has an optimised ball bearing in the oscillating weight for improved winding.
With the 2024 model, with one version presented in a Jubilee bracelet and another in an Oyster bracelet, the GMT-Master II family now houses 14 different configurations. And while material and chronometric technologies have advanced, the stories told by this traveller’s favourite will continue to reflect its legacy of connecting people across the world.
(Images: Rolex)
This article was first published in Prestige Singapore
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