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The GMT-Master was born in 1955—meaning it’s now over 70 years old—and from its earliest days, it has been part of aviation milestones, from the first intercontinental flights to world speed records and Concorde test flights. It’s instantly recognizable by its rotating bezel with a 24-hour scale insert. Over the years, it has been released in many variations, featuring either a single-color or two-tone bezel, with the lower half representing day and the upper half night.
The GMT-Master made its debut at a time of rapid global change. Time was moving faster, and distances were shrinking. With the boom in commercial aviation, long-haul flights enabled intercontinental and transatlantic travel without layovers. The GMT-Master served as a navigation tool, with a central GMT hand and a 24-hour bezel scale making it easy to read the time in two time zones at once. It quickly became essential for pilots, captains, military personnel, and business travelers navigating between time zones.
The initials GMT stand for Greenwich Mean Time, the solar time calculated by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It refers to the prime meridian, established at the International Meridian Conference in Washington in 1884, which set the basis for the Earth’s time zones. GMT was the international time standard until 1972 and served as a crucial reference—especially in aviation. Today, in watchmaking, GMT refers to a function that allows a watch to simultaneously display time in two different time zones, using an additional 24-hour hand and a corresponding bezel scale.
In the 1960s, air travel became central to global transportation. In the early years of this pivotal aviation decade, Rolex signed a collaboration agreement with Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), the top American transcontinental airline of the time. In 1959, the GMT-Master became Pan Am’s official pilot watch. That same year, Rolex improved the bezel insert, switching from Plexiglas to anodized aluminum, which was much more durable. Additionally, the crown gained protective guards integrated into the case.
Over time, the GMT-Master saw numerous upgrades to keep pace with the needs of modern travelers. With the rise of global trade, the need for convenient timekeeping tools became essential. In 1982, Rolex introduced a new movement that allowed the hour hand to be adjusted independently from the minute and GMT hands. By pulling out the crown to the first position, the wearer could jump the hour hand forward or backward in hourly increments to set a new time zone—without affecting the rest of the watch’s functions.
To clearly distinguish this new functionality and avoid confusion with the original model, the watch was renamed GMT-Master II. It launched with a unique burgundy and black bezel exclusive to this model. The GMT-Master and GMT-Master II coexisted in Rolex’s lineup until 2000.
In 2005, the GMT-Master II was updated once again, now featuring its first ceramic bezel insert. It became the first Rolex to use high-tech ceramic—an extremely hard, scratch-resistant material that does not fade under UV light and is chemically inert, making it corrosion-resistant. Initially produced only in black, the ceramic bezel was later introduced in a variety of two-tone combinations, becoming one of the watch’s most iconic features.
This year, at Watches & Wonders, Rolex unveiled its first-ever dial made of high-tech Cerachrom ceramic. The latest version of the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II is crafted entirely in 18 ct white gold and features a left-sided winding crown. The ceramic dial is manufactured in the same way as stone dials—by mounting a ceramic disc onto a brass plate. Its color perfectly matches the vibrant green of the lower half of the two-tone Cerachrom bezel.
The new GMT-Master II (2025) comes fitted with an Oyster bracelet with an Oysterlock safety clasp and houses the automatic calibre 3285—one of Rolex’s most advanced movements. It provides dual time zone functionality in a 24-hour format, along with hours, minutes, seconds, and date. Like all Rolex watches, the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II is a certified Superlative Chronometer, ensuring outstanding wrist performance.
