What fashion accessory helped us win World War II

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Pilots in World War II had a no nonsense piece of fashion worn on their arm for a reason. Read to find out what this was.

Originally designed in 1955, the GMT Master was made in collaboration with Pan American World Airways for use by their pilots during World War II. As a result of their brutal flight schedules for the U.S. military, Pan Am pilots coined the term “jet lag,” a condition caused by making frequent jumps between time zones. Pan Am’s founder, Juan Trippe, theorized that if the pilots had a watch that would help them keep track of the time in their current time zone as well as their home time zone, the effects of jet lag would be milder. The original Rolex GMT Master timepiece was developed by Rolex and Pan Am exclusively for Pam Am pilots, first officers, and navigators. This model featured a fourth hand and adjustable 24-hour bezel, enabling pilots to know their “home” time as well as the local time of any destination in a different time zone.

Many Rolex connoisseurs miss the convex crystals discovered on these older Rolex GMT Master watches.

The 1st version of the GMT Master series, 6542 had a bakelite bezel insert. As this bezel was likely to crack, it got replaced by a metal bezel in 1956. The bakelite bezel could glow in the dark. Even at 165 ft the GMT Master series could get submerged and come back ticking.

In 1964 the GMT Master series 6542 was seen in the “Goldfinger” James Bond Movie by Honor Blackman.

The GMT Master acquired more press in 1970 when a GMT Rolex Master was worn by Jack Schweigert, an astronaut. Not just any astronaut, but the one who helped Apollo 13 return safely to Earth after an oxygen tank ruptured.

In 1981 the waterproof depth was increased to 100m/330 ft. The models from 1981 and up are more common and best represent the Rolex GMT master series today.

A new model of the GMT Master came out in 1983 that features a sapphire crystal which cannot easily be scratched. This model was named the GMT Master II. In 2006 it was updated with the Parachrom hairspring which is unaffected by any magnetic field & 10x more resistance to shocks than standard hairsprings. In 2007 the bezel was updated to the nearly indestructibleceramic bezel, the most durable bezel in the world.

The GMT can display time in two different time zones and the GMT II in three. Using the additional “GMT” hand which completes a 24 hour cycle in a single rotation, the GMT (and GMT II) uses a bi-directional rotatable bezel marked zero to twenty three allowing for a second time zone to be displayed with the GMT hand pointing to the bezel hour. The GMT II allows the GMT hand to be set independently from the hour hand thus allowing a third time zone.

If you need to know what year your Rolex GMT Master is use this guide:

Year	Serial #
1966	1871000
1967	2163900
1968	2426800
1969	2689700
1970	2952600
1971	3215500
1972	3478400
1973	3741300
1974	4004200
1975	4267100
1976	4538000
1977	5008000
1978	5482000
1979	5958000
1980	6434000
1981	6910000
1982	7386000
1983	7862000
1984	8338000
1985	8614000
1986	9290000
1987	9766000
Mid 1987	R
1988	R
1989	L
Mid 1990	E
Mid 1991	X
Nov-91	N
1992	C
1993	S
1994	W
1995	W
1996	T
Aug-97	U
Dec-98	A
1999	A
2000	P
Mid 2001	K
Mid 2002	Y
Mid 2003	F
2004	F
2005	D
2006	Z
Mid 2007	M
Aug-08	V