The fruit of internal research and the development of a patented process, Rolex has mastered ceramics for making durable, virtually scratch-proof components whose colour is unaffected by ultraviolet rays. Thanks to its chemical composition, ceramic is inert and cannot corrode. Moreover, it can be highly polished for a long-lasting lustre.
The Swiss company particularly played a pioneering role in the development of special ceramics for making monobloc bezels and bezel inserts.
The cutting-edge innovation debuted in 2005 on the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II. Later named Cerachrom, it opened a new chapter in Rolex's industrial history as the brand established all the necessary facilities to completely and independently produce ceramic components.
From left: White gold GMT-Master II from 2014 with a red and blue Cerachrom insert; The 2022 reinterpretation with the winding crown on the left side of the case.
One of the challenges was to give ceramic a dual-colour aesthetic that characterised the original GMT-Master from 1955.
The professional tool watch featured an additional 24-hour hand with a triangular tip and a graduated rotatable bezel, whose insert was made from Plexiglas with the colours red and blue distinguishing the hours of day and night. By setting the bezel, the GMT-Master could simultaneously display a second time zone.
In 1959, Rolex replaced the Plexiglas with anodised aluminium, and the bezel insert was also fashioned in red and blue.
In 1982, Rolex launched the GMT-Master II, whose new movement enabled the hour hand to be set independently of the other hands. The local time could then be easily adjusted in one-hour increments without stopping the watch, allowing the reading of two different time zones without having to move the bezel.
Rolex’s first watch with a ceramic bezel insert was a yellow gold GMT-Master II launched in 2005.
In 2005, Rolex began updating the bezel insert with high-technology ceramic, starting with the GMT-Master II. The resulting 24-hour graduated insert in black ceramic contrasted with its green lacquer dial and 18 carat yellow gold case.
Eight years later, the world's first blue and black monobloc Cerachrom insert marked a new milestone. This was achieved via a patented process by which two different colours could be applied to a single-piece ceramic insert.
Producing a red and blue combination was a technical tour de force, as these two shades are extremely difficult to obtain on a single ceramic component. Rolex engineers, however, made that happen via two different methods for another world first.
As a result, a white gold GMT-Master II, launched in 2014, boasted a red and blue Cerachrom insert. The following 10 years saw Rolex expanding the palette and pairing black with other colours.
For instance, black meets green on the Cerachrom insert of a surprising reinterpretation in Oystersteel featuring a winding crown and date window, respectively on the left side of the case and at 9 o'clock.
After releasing this left-handed model in 2022, Rolex enriched the GMT-Master II collection with renditions boasting a Cerachrom insert in grey and black.
The models, launched last year, shine in 18 carat yellow gold or yellow Rolesor (a combination of yellow gold and Oystersteel). Moreover, Rolex innovatively incorporated ceramic inserts into the yellow gold Jubilee bracelet.
The 2024 versions are in Oystersteel matched with the three-piece link Oyster or the five-piece link Jubilee bracelet. Its black lacquer dial differs with a dash of green on the 24-hour hand and the inscription "GMT-Master II".
Since 2018, successors of the GMT-Master II have been equipped with Calibre 3285 that ensures a power reserve of approximately 70 hours.
Along with an international five-year guarantee, the GMT-Master II is covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification, symbolised by the green seal. The in-house certification tests assures superlative performance in terms of precision, power reserve, water-proofness and self-winding of the cosmopolitan timepiece.
Taking it to the limit
Launched in 1955, the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master became a horological high flyer associated with many groundbreaking achievements.
From left: Pilot William J. Knight; A photo of a GMT-Master on the Apollo 14 mission, taken by Stuart A. Roosa.
Embracing booming civil aviation, Rolex signed a partnership with Pan American World Airways, better known as Pan Am, and the GMT-Master became the airline's official watch in 1959.
Its pilots included Capt C.N. Warren, who used the professional tool watch as a navigation aid for Pan Am's first non-stop flight between New York and Moscow in July.
At the height of the Cold War, the Boeing 707 carried journalists to report on US vice-president Richard Nixon's visit to the Soviet Union. The historic transatlantic journey was celebrated in an advertisement, in which Capt Warren stated that "The flight itself was navigated by Rolex".
Ten years later in 1969, the GMT-Master accompanied supersonic pilot Brian Trubshaw on Concorde's maiden flights.
Stainless steel GMT-Master from 1959.
While British and French aerospace companies collaborated on the supersonic transport in the 1960s, Nasa along with the US Air Force and Navy developed the X-15 Hypersonic Research Program, aimed at developing next-generation jets that would pave the way for the propulsion of the first space rockets.
The GMT-Master was the watch of choice for test pilots Scott Crossfield and William J. Knight.
In a letter to Rolex in October 1962, Crossfield wrote of the flawless functioning of his GMT-Master despite the extreme temperatures and altitudes during the test flights.
On Oct 3, 1967, Knight sported a GMT-Master when flying the X-15 over the Mojave Desert and attaining a speed of 7,274kph, setting a record that stands to this day.
Two weeks later, during the X-15's 190th flight, he took it to an altitude of above 80km -- the boundary between Earth and space -- an aviation feat that technically made Knight an astronaut.
The GMT-Master really made it to outer space when Nasa astronauts Jack Swigert, Edgar D. Mitchell, Stuart A. Roosa and Ronald Evans wore the model during Apollo missions in the early 1970s.
In the following decade, Rolex updated its professional tool watch with Calibre 3085 and the GMT-Master II was born in 1982.
