Rolex GMT Master 1

It was in the 1950s, and at the height of its glory, that the most powerful airline in the world at the time, Pan Am, decided to respond to the emerging competition from other companies on the theme of modernism, technicality and prestige. After changing its name from Pan American Airways to Pan American World Airways at the beginning of the 1950s to signify its desire to conquer, it is in the areas of luxury and security that the company will materialize its transformation. To do this, it will play on the two major axes of its DNA, planes, and crews.

The post-war world demanded more speed, more safety, and more comfort, and it responded by replacing its Douglas DC6 and Lockheed Constellation fleet with a new range of aircraft: In 1954, the Boeing 707 made its first test flight, anticipating the increase in demand for intercontinental flights Pan AM will ask Boeing to increase the capacity of the four-engine and will place the largest order in its history. But the transformation must also have symbolic value and it is on its most visible ambassadors that Pan Am will bring a touch of luxury and prestige.
It will provide its pilot crews with a new uniform, less military and more luxurious and give it a unique touch that will characterize the prestige and luxury of the company.

A brilliant idea attributed to Juan T. Trippe, its founder, who wishes to highlight the luxury to which passengers are entitled, the best equipment, safety and he also wishes to highlight the colors of the American flag which, in the he post-war collective unconscious represents one of the strongest symbols of power. This object will have the function of jumping out in the eyes of all the passengers when boarding the plane and on this occasion, one of the two pilots will be responsible for welcoming them on the doorstep, surrounded by lovely hostesses. This genius idea is a new Rolex watch made exclusively for PAN AM on this occasion. The technical specifications of the company stipulate an additional hour hand which will allow the watch to display the exact time in two places on the globe, a precise and efficient modern movement, a date window, a white dial and a rotating bezel. blue and red. The GMT Master was born, and it actually sports the colors of the American flag. A prestigious GMT chronometer watch, very visible on a short-sleeved white shirt uniform and which was instantly adopted by the crews, it would become inseparable from their standing and their fame among passengers all over the world.



The GMT Master, thus baptized in reference to the “Greenwich Mean Time” will receive the Rolex reference 6542, will be equipped with a rotating bakelite bezel which will be graduated in 24 hours. For the additional time hand, a red hand will mark the time depending on the place of destination or arrival, depending on the time zone selected. Finally, the bottom of the case will be stamped with the Pan AM logo. A mythical object already attracting all desires, Rolex marketed it in 1955 in small quantities before producing in 1959 and until 1980, the reference 1675 with a black dial and a metal rotating bezel. This GMT master began its career with a good head start vis-à-vis its competitors: in the early 1960s, it evoked access to travel and was assimilated to the closed circle of wealthy businessmen and the Jetset.

The image given by the blue and red GMT Master "in the colors of America" to whoever owns it is so strong that, on this unprecedented occasion, it will brazenly appear on the wrist of "Pussy Galore" the iconic James Bond Girl of the sixties, and assisting 007, aka Sean Connery in Goldfinger.

A doubly remarkable fact for this era which consists firstly of having Honor Blackman (alias Pussy Galore, chief pilot of the Pussy Galore Flying Circus) wear a men's watch and using the Rolex GMT Master "Pointed Guard" to reinforce the female dimension sensual and powerful action of the character who wears her Rolex GMT Master 1675 like a trophy among her teammates of the "Pussy Galore's Flying Circus". A subliminal method comparable to the diving knife attached to Ursula Andress' sulphurous bathing suit in "James Bond 007 against Dr. No).
The result will be final: Honor Blackman instantly embodies the sexy icon of the sixties who, rid of her "potiche" side thanks to her "Pepsi-Globe-Trotteur" watch, is no longer perceived only as a lovely sexy blonde but also as the bewitching and sparkling alter ego of James Bond in the adventure… One of the elements which explains the strong magnetism exerted by this watch on men and women.

Buoyed by this success, the GMT Master 1675 conquered the front pages of magazines associated with celebrities of all persuasions, with astronaut Jack Swigert from the Apollo 13 mission in Time Magazine, for example, and became a symbol of success. It will evolve and adorn itself with several inserts and several dials: Brown insert with golden numerals for the 1675 “Root-Beer” or black dial and black bezel for the “Black-Guilt”, Tritium “Maxi Dial” indexes for the model manufactured in 1978, the bracelets will also give rise, for the first time at Rolex, to diversity: Oyster bracelet 78360 or Jubilee 62510, the latter winning the preference of the markets of the American continent.

For the mechanical part, the Rolex 1036 caliber at 18,000 vibrations per hour was originally used between 1954 and 1959, then replaced by the Rolex 1065 and 1066 movement from 1957 to 1959 for the Rolex GMT Master 6542 Pan Am reference and its civil alter ego.

In 1959, when the Rolex GMT Master 1675 was launched, the watch began its career with the Rolex 1565 movement. This movement, a little more precise than the previous one, made the heart of the watch beat at 19,600 vibrations per hour, a caliber which in 1971 will have the "Stop-Second" function which consists in being able to stop the scrolling of the seconds hand when setting the time by action on the crown, (a function very appreciated by pilots or by all those who wish to precisely synchronize their watch to a specific time signal, to a crew member's watch or even to an on-board watch)