Scrabble the Seconds: The 70th Anniversary of Rolex’s GMT-Master

While the Rolex brand is gloriously celebrating its overall 120th anniversary this year, the official introduction seven decades ago of the GMT-Master almost, almost overshadows the brand’s birthday. The iconic watch arguably has come to define the perfect blend of functional expertise and dominating style. It has also become a key ingredient in the watchmaker’s estimable stable of products.
 

Let’s cast our memories back to the year 1955 and the “golden age” of air travel.

While the GMT-Master Ref. 6542 was revealed in 1954, by 1955, the wristwatch captured post-war positivity and the prevailing sense of freedom and travel as a collaborative timepiece developed by the then-dominant international airline Pan Am for its pilots, ostensibly.
 

A second time zone GMT function was an apt choice for the intended Pan Am pilots: GMT (or in aviation parlance “Zulu Time”) provides a global time reference for civilian and military pilots flying anywhere in the world and across multiple time zones.
 

The 38mm steel timepiece used the 1030 movement as its base calibre, which was modified with a 24-hour hand and redubbed the calibre 1065. However, the rakish good looks of the GMT-Master made it an equally appealing watch-of-choice for the emerging generation of “jet-setters” and also established some enduring design DNA for Rolex.
 

While it had yet to receive the “Pepsi” nickname, the 1954 GMT-Master introduced the iconic two-tone red-and-blue bezel to the world, with the blue half representing night hours and the red daytime hours.
 

The GMT-Master’s “cyclops” date magnifier, as well, was still a relatively new Rolex innovation, being introduced in 1953 on the DateJust. Add it all up, and you have a gorgeous travel watch, one your pilot might also be wearing, even if your seats were way behind the cockpit.