GMT-Master
Rolex's pilot and dual-time-zone watch family, introduced in 1955 with the launch of Pan Am transatlantic jet service. Modern GMT-Master II references include the "Pepsi" 126710BLRO, "Batman" 126710BLNR, and "Sprite" 126720VTNR.
The GMT-Master is Rolex's pilot and dual-time-zone watch family, introduced in 1955. The original reference 6542 was developed in collaboration with Pan American World Airways to give pilots and cabin crew a way to track home time alongside local time on transatlantic jet routes that the airline was opening at the time.
How the function works
A GMT-Master has a fourth hand (the GMT hand) completing one rotation every 24 hours instead of 12, combined with a rotating 24-hour bezel. The wearer reads home time via the GMT hand against the bezel's 24-hour scale. Rotating the bezel offsets the reading by hours, enabling a third time zone display.
Generations
- 1955-1959 (ref. 6542): original, Bakelite bezel insert (later replaced with aluminium).
- 1959-1980 (ref. 1675): long-running production with multiple dial and bezel variants.
- 1980-1988 (ref. 16750): quickset date.
- 1983-1988 (ref. 16760, "Fat Lady"): first GMT-Master II, with independently-jumping local hour. Coke (red/black) aluminium bezel.
- 1989-2007 (ref. 16710): long-running GMT-Master II in 40 mm steel. Pepsi, Coke, all-black aluminium bezel variants.
- 2007-2018 (ref. 116710LN): Cerachrom ceramic bezel introduced.
- 2018-present (ref. 126710BLRO, 126710BLNR, 126711CHNR, 126720VTNR): 40 mm case, calibre 3285, new bracelet.
Bezel colourways
Rolex bezels for the GMT-Master have spawned a vocabulary of nicknames:
- Pepsi (BLRO): red and blue. The classic 1955 colourway.
- Coke: red and black (no longer produced in modern GMT-Master II, retired with 16710).
- Batman (BLNR): blue and black, introduced 2013.
- Root Beer (CHNR): brown and black with rose gold case (2018+).
- Sprite (VTNR): green and black, 2022+ (the first "left-handed" / "destro" Rolex GMT-Master II in this colourway).
- Batgirl: blue and black on Jubilee bracelet, 2019-onward variant.
Modern price range
Steel current GMT-Master II references retail around €11,000-13,000. Secondary market premiums vary by colourway: Pepsi and Batman command 1.5x-2x retail; Sprite trades close to or above retail for the 2022-2023 limited supply window; Root Beer trades around retail.
Vintage collecting
Vintage GMT-Master 1675 is heavily collected. "Underline" dials, "long-E" dials, faded "ghost" bezels (especially the fuchsia or pink fading of 1960s Pepsi bezels), and tropical dial variants drive premiums on the secondary market.
Related: rolex, gmt-bezel, submariner.