Shop Rolex watches including Rolex Daytona and Rolex GMT Master II. Discover a Rolex GMT or Rolex Submariner. Browse Rolex Datejust, Rolex Yacht Master and Rolex Sky Dweller. Shop Rolex for men, including the Rolex Daydate and Rolex Pepsi.

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By 1953, the commercial trans-Atlantic airline industry was at a point where planes were able to take off on one side of the ocean and land on the other in a matter of mere hours. As a result of this expansion and innovation, Pan American airlines approached Rolex, and the two companies began working on a watch that could easily tell&nbsp;the hour&nbsp;in two different time zones. The Reference 6542 GMT-Master was released in 1954 and became the official timepiece of Pan-Am Airlines. It was equipped with a Bakelite bezel with radium luminous indexes and bezel. Their pilots found the watch to be a useful tool in the cockpit where many timing calculations were necessary over the duration of the flight.

GMT-Master Reference 6542, a stainless steel automatic wristwatch with date, circa 1959

The GMT model was an instrument in association with Pan-Am to help understand the effect of long-distance traveling and jet lag. Launched in 1954, the Rolex GMT-Master was the first wristwatch to display two different time zones simultaneously, becoming an instant success with pilots worldwide.

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