dual colored bezel?

[abigsecret]

Can somebody explain to me the reason/function of the 2 colors on some of the GMT bezels? (Like the pepsi bezel.)

Thank you

[mike]

Distinguish AM from PM with the GMT hand.

I think it was more a feature with the older versions than the 16710.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

So the all-black bezel is just a cosmetic variety of it?

[Tools]

Originally Posted by mike

Distinguish AM from PM with the GMT hand.

I think it was more a feature with the older versions than the 16710.

I'll agree with Mike on this ..

The original/older GMT's didn't have the independent hour hand so you always had to turn the bezel.. If you're busy in the cockpit where all flight time is in GMT, a quick glance would tell you if you had set your bezel. With the newer independent hour hand, the 24hr would be set to GMT so you would seldom move the bezel.

In today's world, a black bezel is just as easy to read as any if you have set the hands properly..

[Stef_Call]

Originally Posted by Tools

I'll agree with Mike on this ..

The original/older GMT's didn't have the independent hour hand so you always had to turn the bezel.. If you're busy in the cockpit where all flight time is in GMT, a quick glance would tell you if you had set your bezel. With the newer independent hour hand, the 24hr would be set to GMT so you would seldom move the bezel.

In today's world, a black bezel is just as easy to read as any if you have set the hands properly..

Ahhhh I was wondering how that would work since the colours change at 0600 - 1800

[abigsecret]

Originally Posted by Stef_Call

Ahhhh I was wondering how that would work since the colours change at 0600 - 1800

See, that's what I don't get either...
I heard the explaination of am-pm, but I don't understand how it works....

[Tools]

It's really irrelevent except as a handy reference that breaks the bezel down into 4 quadrants rather than one big dial.

And think of it in terms of night-time vs day-light (rather than am vs pm)....0600-1800 is daylight while 1800 - 0600 is night time..

[ICUCOCCPA]

Originally Posted by Tools

It's really irrelevent except as a handy reference that breaks the bezel down into 4 quadrants rather than one big dial.

And think of it in terms of night-time vs day-light (rather than am vs pm)....0600-1800 is daylight while 1800 - 0600 is night time..

I had the same question too and wasn't aware that there ever was a GMT without a 4th hand--if I understood.

Thanks!

[Tools]

Originally Posted by ICUCOCCPA

I had the same question too and wasn't aware that there ever was a GMT without a 4th hand--if I understood.

Thanks!

David,
The GMT has always had 4 hands...The early ones and the 16700had the 24 hour hand synced to the Mercedes hand. When, for example, you set the Mercedes hand to 4 pm, the 24 hr hand would automatically be set at 1600hrs, therefore, it was not independent. In order to "see" two different timezones you had to move the bezel.

The later models have de-coupled the 24 hour hand and the Mercedes hand - when setting - so the hands can now be set independently to two different times..

[ICUCOCCPA]

Originally Posted by Tools

David,
The GMT has always had 4 hands...The early ones and the 16700had the 24 hour hand synced to the Mercedes hand. When, for example, you set the Mercedes hand to 4 pm, the 24 hr hand would automatically be set at 1600hrs, therefore, it was not independent. In order to "see" two different timezones you had to move the bezel.

The later models have de-coupled the 24 hour hand and the Mercedes hand - when setting - so the hands can now be set independently to two different times..

Well, thank you very much, Larry. You saved me several empty hours of searching for more information on what never existed. Thanks!

I understand how the 4th hand was and how it is now and how the bezel was used then.

It seems that the original GMT (if it was even called that) provided a 4th hand as a convenient conversion to military time, right?

I just purchased a GMT, Z Series today and am trying to decide how to use it. Any ideas?

[Tools]

Originally Posted by ICUCOCCPA

...It seems that the original GMT (if it was even called that) provided a 4th hand as a convenient conversion to military time, right?
I just purchased a GMT, Z Series today and am trying to decide how to use it. Any ideas?

Well....yes..provided the bezel triangle is at the 12 o'clock; the 24 hr hand would read military time.. I flew and controlled airplanes in Alaska, so my bezel was mostly set with the 8 in the 12 o'clock position and I would read Zulu time off the bezel

Today I have the same watch you have..I set both the Mercedes hand to local time and the 24 hr hand to local time also. When I travel through a timezone, I just pull the crown out to the second position and bump the Mercedes hand each hour. If you need to know the time in any other time zone, and you know how many hours difference you are, just rotate the bezel and read it.

If I were still flying, or controlling, I would set the 24 hr hand to Zulu time and the Mercedes hand to local time..

[ICUCOCCPA]

Originally Posted by Tools

Well....yes..provided the bezel triangle is at the 12 o'clock; the 24 hr hand would read military time.. I flew and controlled airplanes in Alaska, so my bezel was mostly set with the 8 in the 12 o'clock position and I would read Zulu time off the bezel

Today I have the same watch you have..I set both the Mercedes hand to local time and the 24 hr hand to local time also. When I travel through a timezone, I just pull the crown out to the second position and bump the Mercedes hand each hour. If you need to know the time in any other time zone, and you know how many hours difference you are, just rotate the bezel and read it.

If I were still flying, or controlling, I would set the 24 hr hand to Zulu time and the Mercedes hand to local time..

That's clever. Thanks. I'll give that a try.
First, I think I'll set to Zulu time, because I have some friends in England.
It will be fun to experiment with different configs. while finding the one I like best.

[Solar]

The GMT is one of the best sports models Rolex does/did in my opinion. Light, comfortable, two time zones, the date and waterproof to 100 meters.


The colour in the bezel allows for a quick visual cue as to the day/night of the second time zone.

For example, its 11:34 pm here, EST.

My cousin lives in western Europe, so its 05:34 in the morning there.

With a quick glance at the red GMT hand, I can see that its pointing into the blue portion of my Pepsi bezel. I know at a glance that its nighttime or early morning in the second time zone I'm tracking, so a phone call to say hi would be out of the question.

If I take a bit more of a moment to read the GMT hand, I can see its 05:37 now in the second zone.

So, the red/blue (Pepsi) or the burgundy/black bezels give you that additional quick-glance functionality.

The reason for the red/blue was that Rolex made the GMT initially for airline pilots in the 50's, and specifically for TWA whose corporate colours were red and blue.....

Chris

[abigsecret]

Awesome! Thank you all for your responses! I really appreciate it!

[ICUCOCCPA]

Originally Posted by Solar

The GMT is one of the best sports models Rolex does/did in my opinion. Light, comfortable, two time zones, the date and waterproof to 100 meters.


...

So, the red/blue (Pepsi) or the burgundy/black bezels give you that additional quick-glance functionality.

The reason for the red/blue was that Rolex made the GMT initially for airline pilots in the 50's, and specifically for TWA whose corporate colours were red and blue.....

Chris

Great example in your post and expl. on the colors.

I'm all new to this and want to know more about what I'm wearing.

So the red and blue came first?
And was specifically designed for TWA but is called Pepsi?

Odd. What am I missing? lol

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Originally Posted by abigsecret

Can somebody explain to me the reason/function of the 2 colors on some of the GMT bezels? (Like the pepsi bezel.)

Thank you

It is to tell the AM/PM difference as the GMT hand moves around the dial.

[Jedi]

the blue red association with Pepsi is perhaps more obvious to the wider market in terms of recognition as opposed to TWA's corporate colours.

[Flyjet601]

I recently switched my Red/Black bezel to the all black version.

Although I find the Red/Black combo very nice looking it is not practical for me as I change many times zones.

My red 24 hr hand is always set to GMT(Zulu). So if it is 3 o'clock in the morning for me, dark outside, and its 1400 Zulu, it will point to the Red section of the bezel, indicating day time....I really dont care about that. An all black version I find more useful for me, but that is me.

Here is a thread about how I use my GMT.

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=22171

[mike]

Originally Posted by ICUCOCCPA

Great example in your post and expl. on the colors.

I'm all new to this and want to know more about what I'm wearing.

So the red and blue came first?
And was specifically designed for TWA but is called Pepsi?

Odd. What am I missing? lol

Yes, the RED/BLUE came first. As stated Black came about in the early 70s. RED/BLACK was first introduced with the reference 16760 in 1983--no GMT-MASTER was fitted with RED/BLACK from the factory(as no 16760 was fitted with anything other than RED/BLACK from the factory).

Pepsi, Coke, Kermit, and all the rest are just nicknames used today for some reason.

RED/BLUE was chosen for what ever reason to distinguish AM from PM.
Pan Ams colors were Blue and White.

[ICUCOCCPA]

Originally Posted by Flyjet601

My red 24 hr hand is always set to GMT(Zulu). So if it is 3 o'clock in the morning for me, dark outside, and its 1400 Zulu, it will point to the Red section of the bezel, indicating day time....I really dont care about that.

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=22171

lol
good point. I guess you're over the fact that it can be Day in one place and Night somewhere else.
To me, it still freaks me out.

thanks for the link to your How I Use thread.
I'll check it out.

[ICUCOCCPA]

Originally Posted by mike

Yes, the RED/BLUE came first. As stated Black came about in the early 70s. RED/BLACK was first introduced with the reference 16760 in 1983--no GMT-MASTER was fitted with RED/BLACK from the factory(as no 16760 was fitted with anything other than RED/BLACK from the factory).

Pepsi, Coke, Kermit, and all the rest are just nicknames used today for some reason.

RED/BLUE was chosen for what ever reason to distinguish AM from PM.
Pan Ams colors were Blue and White.

Interesting. I was reading the History of GMT last night. It was posted here in brief of this full article. I was Pan Am, according to what it said. Haven't figured out where the color comes from but they definitely do look like Pepsi colors.

Say, it's really kind of fun to learn about the watch you wear.

Is this stuff picked up along the way or is there a book about it?

Thanks for your help.

[aanthunter7]

Great info everyone

[mike]

Originally Posted by ICUCOCCPA

Interesting. I was reading the History of GMT last night. It was posted here in brief of this full article. I was Pan Am, according to what it said. Haven't figured out where the color comes from but they definitely do look like Pepsi colors.

Say, it's really kind of fun to learn about the watch you wear.

Is this stuff picked up along the way or is there a book about it?

Thanks for your help.

Studying these wonderfull pieces and the rich history of the company is indeed half the fun of all things Rolex. Often we look at Rolex in the microcosm of the here and now.
Historically, Rolex has led the way in several fields of endeavor, the history of the GMT being only one.
The article you refer to is a great start! Here's another, with a few pics, (note: the author borrowed heavily from the article written by Mr. James Dowling that you cite).
http://www.fiftyfathoms.net/Rolex/6542.html

Other great bits of information on the GMT can be found here.
The author is a wonderfull gentleman and extremely knowledgeable in all things GMT.

http://www.doubleredseadweller.com/

As with most everything Rolex, new information constantly comes to the fore. Certainly the printed word is a valuable tool, but IMO some great internet sites have proven to be the real nexus of study and learning as collectors share the wealth of their study.

[ICUCOCCPA]

Originally Posted by mike

Studying these wonderfull pieces and the rich history of the company is indeed half the fun of all things Rolex. Often we look at Rolex in the microcosm of the here and now.
Historically, Rolex has led the way in several fields of endeavor, the history of the GMT being only one.
The article you refer to is a great start! Here's another, with a few pics, (note: the author borrowed heavily from the article written by Mr. James Dowling that you cite).
http://www.fiftyfathoms.net/Rolex/6542.html

Other great bits of information on the GMT can be found here.
The author is a wonderfull gentleman and extremely knowledgeable in all things GMT.

http://www.doubleredseadweller.com/

As with most everything Rolex, new information constantly comes to the fore. Certainly the printed word is a valuable tool, but IMO some great internet sites have proven to be the real nexus of study and learning as collectors share the wealth of their study.

Fantastic, Mike! That ought to keep me busy and get me up to speed! Thanks!

Just out of curiosity, how collectible is the white face and its approximate value?

[mike]

Originally Posted by ICUCOCCPA

Fantastic, Mike! That ought to keep me busy and get me up to speed! Thanks!

Just out of curiosity, how collectible is the white face and its approximate value?

The white 6542 is about as collectible as it gets. LOL! So few were ever made. I'm aware of one that changed hands privately.
If I had to guess I'd say it's north of 100K,

[Destroy]

It'll be interesting to see what Rolex do with the Ceramic version. Since the ceramic black piece is made from a paste-like substance, it is very very difficult to merge the two colours. Rolex have successfully made an all green one (supposedly) but a seamless two colour version is as yet not existant......

C'mon Rolex, YOU CAN DO IT!

[mike]

Originally Posted by Destroy

It'll be interesting to see what Rolex do with the Ceramic version. Since the ceramic black piece is made from a paste-like substance, it is very very difficult to merge the two colours. Rolex have successfully made an all green one (supposedly) but a seamless two colour version is as yet not existant......

C'mon Rolex, YOU CAN DO IT!

Hopefully the problems can be solved.

[timebroker]

Mike has to guess, that says it all as to how rare these are.
Any of the Pan Ams on display in for instance a Rolex museum or anything like that?

[Dan Pierce]

Studying these wonderfull pieces and the rich history of the company is indeed half the fun of all things Rolex. Often we look at Rolex in the microcosm of the here and now.
Historically, Rolex has led the way in several fields of endeavor, the history of the GMT being only one.
The article you refer to is a great start! Here's another, with a few pics, (note: the author borrowed heavily from the article written by Mr. James Dowling that you cite).
http://www.fiftyfathoms.net/Rolex/6542.html

Other great bits of information on the GMT can be found here.
The author is a wonderfull gentleman and extremely knowledgeable in all things GMT.

http://www.doubleredseadweller.com/

As with most everything Rolex, new information constantly comes to the fore. Certainly the printed word is a valuable tool, but IMO some great internet sites have proven to be the real nexus of study and learning as collectors share the wealth of their study.

Well said Mike! And great info.
dP

[ICUCOCCPA]

Wow. Mike.
Thanks for the posting the picture! Wow, again.

wow.