1979 Rolex Two Tone GMT-Master (Ref. 16753)

The Rolex GMT is the jet-setting icon of the Rolex sports watch family. The history of this sophisticated, versatile style dates back to 1954 when Rolex received a request from Pan Am to create a technical pilots watch that could indicate two time zones simultaneously.   As advances in aviation made transcontinental flights commercially available Pan Am needed a watch that could be issued to their crews on the long-haul international flights.

GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time - the time zone which regulates world clocks and is required for all aviation planning and schedules. The Rolex GMT Master has a fourth 24-hour hand that directly displays the same time zone as the standard 12-hour hand but on a 24-hour scale. The edition of this GMT hand enabled crews to set the watch to GMT or another time zone, and, using the rotating 24-hour scale bezel, correct the offset to display a second time zone on the 24-hour scale.

This feature is just as useful today, allowing the modern traveler to easily keep track of his home time zone, no matter how far he may have journeyed.

This specific 1979 Rolex Two-Tone GMT Master Ref. 16753 is an excellent watch for the seamless switch from formal to casual making it the perfect daily driver for the businessman always on the go. The other convent feature of the Ref. 16753 is the quick set date feature of the Rolex 3075 caliber movement.