GMT watches: The most popular models from Rolex, Patek & Co.

Hans Wilsdorf had an idea in the early 1950s: In order to land a large order from the emerging airline Pan American World Airways (Pan am), the founder of the Rolex watch brand developed a model that should simplify flying through several time zones. How about his thought, if pilots could recognize with just a look at the dial, how late it is at the destination and also at home?

Switching the cell phone after a flight and being in the right radio network after a few seconds – you weren’t that far. Although there were travel threads, the time -meaning with them was complicated, for example on Patek Philippe’s first Worldicer “515 HU”, which the brand had developed in 1937 with the watch tinker Louis Cottier. In addition to the time, the dial showed 24 time zones including various city names. But for pilots, the model was more like a salad of numbers and letters. And it was expensive on top of that.

Wilsdorf floated a commercial model. It should be based on the Time GMT, i.e. the Greenwich Mean Time, have a second hour pointer, as well as a bezel (a border of the dial) with 24-hour specification, which is divided into red for the day and blue for the night. Wilsdorf’s design convinced Pan on and went into series production from 1955.

For Rolex, the “GMT Master” became a high-flyer. Because not only pilots wanted to wear the clock, but also more and more jet set customers and those who would have liked to have been.

Today, 70 years later, the Rolex model still exists. It is one of the most sought -after and mostly copied watches in the world. It has hardly changed, only since a technical revision in 1982 it is called “GMT-Master II”. Current price tag: around 11,000 euros.

But since Rolex often brings new bezel colors together, their nicknames became independent. So the clock is called “Batman” with a rotary ring in black blue, in black green “sprite”. The classic in red blue is not called “Pan am”, but “pepsi”.

Some clock collectors also look for models today that are more likely to fly under the radar. It doesn’t always have to be Rolex: there is, for example, the “Spirit Zulu Time” from Longines. It was developed in 1925, according to the manufacturer it was said to have been the first wristwatch with two time zones. For the 100th birthday, the brand launches a model with a glass floor and rose golden bezel. The price: 4500 euros.

The “Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer” from Nomos is a bit cheaper (3940 euros) and surprisingly colorful. The first world time clock from the Glashütte brand is available in six color combinations. Each promises a good mood, no matter in which time zone.