Rolex

The Rolex GMT can trace its history back to the mid 1950s when Pam Am Airlines turned to the storied watchmaker to craft a timepiece pilots can use on long-haul flights to track multiple time zones. Rolex’s solution would revolutionize watchmaking history and design by solving a complicated problem with a simple solution. The addition of a fourth hand that made one full rotation every 24 hours and a rotating bezel that featured a 24-hour scale allowed the wearer to easily track two different time zones with the flick of their wrist. 

The original GMT Reference 6542 were fitted with bezels with Bakelite inserts split into two colors: red and blue, which over the decades have become an instantaneously recognizable icon and was nicknamed the ‘Pepsi’ by collectors.

These Bakelite bezels proved too fragile for a tool watch and were replaced with a studier, aluminum bezel in 1959 with the launch of the Reference 1675, like our present timepiece.  

The present 1675 in stainless steel is fitted on a Jubilee bracelet and features the iconic bi-color bezel in red and blue just like the original GMTs that graced the wrists of the Pan Am pilots. It further features an attractive gilt 'exclamation point' dial referring to the hour marker at 6 o'clock resembling the punctuation mark.