In 1955, Rolex created the GMT-Master with a dual time zone watch function for the pilots of Pan American Airlines, which solved the problems of time telling across time zones. With the popularity of jetliners since, travelling around the world has become commonplace and the demand for dual time zone watches has only increased. At that time, the original GMT-Master Ref. 6542 and Ref. 1675 had already been transformed from professional pilot’s watch to an object of desire by the fashionable crowd, and the blue and red ‘Pepsi’ bezel has since become a classic icon, influencing the design of dual time zone watches for over half a century. Rolex has just launched the latest version of its stainless steel GMT-Master II at Baselworld, while many other brands are keeping up with this important trend.
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ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL GMT-MASTER II
In 2014, Rolex finally reintroduced the “Pepsi” bezel onto GMT-Master II, though it was only available in white gold at the time. This year’s stainless steel version continues with the tradition having of dual-colour bezel, and the 24-hour bezel is made of Cerachrom ceramic in blue and red. The watch features new Calibre 3285 that incorporates the new Chronergy escapement. The new movement has obtained COSC plus Rolex certification after casing, with daily accuracy of ±2 seconds per day and a 70-hour power reserve. In addition to the stainless steel version, the model is also available as a stainless steel and Everose gold version and full Everose gold version. The former is equipped with a Jubilee bracelet, and the latter two are equipped with Oyster bracelet.
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TUDOR BLACK BAY GMT
To keep the GMT market share at different price points, Tudor, which is under the same group as Rolex, is also launching a dual time zone watch at the same time. This pair of brothers have their own unique characteristics: the big brother has opted for a more high end ceramic bezel and white gold hands and markers, while the cheaper Tudor features a bidirectional bezel in anodised aluminium. The GMT watch is equipped with the brand new in-house Calibre MT5652 automatic movement that has passed the COSC certification and has 70 hours of energy reserve. Since Black Bay is positioned as a diving watch, it also uses a slightly larger 41 mm case and is water resistant to 200 metres. Tudor offers more fashionable choices on the strap, including a brown leather strap and black woven strap in addition to the three-piece links in stainless steel.
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TAG HEUER CARRERA HEUER 02 GMT
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Carrera collection, and Tag Heuer has added a dual time zone function to the collection in its own unique way. Keeping with the characteristics of the Carrera, the new watch is a chronograph with three sub dials at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions of the dial. The in-house Calibre Heuer 02 is a automatic movement with date window, 75 hours of power reserve and for the first time, a dual time zone function. The centrally-located GMT hand with red arrow indicates the time of the second time zone on the black and blue 24-hour ceramic bezel. The Carrera Heuer 02 GMT is equipped with a transparent dial, showcasing the sophisticated and complex skeleton movement.
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ORIS BIG CROWN PROPILOT CALIBRE 114
Founded in 1904, Oris is a name that you may not think to much about, but the brand’s relationship with aviation began even earlier than Rolex and Tag Heuer. Starting from its 110th anniversary, Oris joined the class of manufacturing an in-house movement, and the Calibre 114 launched this year is its fifth example. Not only does it have a 10-day power reserve, the watch also adds a red-arrowed GMT indicator. Originally created in 1938, the Big Crown is named after its large-diameter crown designed for pilots, while the ProPilot series created in recent years is specifically designed for contemporary professional pilots. There is no extra colour or function on the dial in keeping with the practical military watch style.
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CERTINA DS ACTION POWERMATIC 80 GMT
All the GMT watches introduced here have something in common: coming from a sports watch brand, having extra long power reserve (minimum 70 hours) and using an in-house movement. The Certina DS Action Powermatic 80 GMT is no exception. The brand’s unique Double Security (DS) system is one of the earliest case sealing concepts, achieving water-resistance to 200 metres on this watch is certainly no problem. The built-in Powermatic 80 movement has an 80-hour power reserve, which is the longest among watches of the same level. This movement was developed and produced by ETA under the same group, so whether it is an in-house movement is debatable. However, so far the movement is exclusive to Certina, which probably makes other brands under the Swatch Group pretty envious.
