GMT Master III ???

[Tango21]

Just a question that has been on my mind for awhile...

When Rolex made a significant change to the original GMT Master, it became the GMT Master II.

So, why then after changing the case (larger) and bezel (ceramic), 3186, etc., have they not designated the newer GMTs as GMT Master IIIs???

Any thoughts from the forum members? I know that it's almost impossible to get inside the minds at Rolex, but why not up the number to the III???

[Z-Sub]

Funny you mentioned it. in an earlier thread with someone having the three kinds of GMT and I raised the same question. Why not name it III. If it does then it'll be a first for Rolex I believe.

[DJF881]

GMT-II was a completely new movement with enhanced functionality. The GMT master was like a Sub or a Datejust with a third hand, but the 12 hour hand and the 24 hour hand were linked so you could set the watch to home time and standard time and use the bezel to track local time.

This model also had a quickset date feature.

The GMT-II allows the hour hand to be set independently, so you can change the hour hand to local time at the second position on the winding crown. This can also be achieved without stopping the watch movement, so you can adjust your hour hand while traveling without having to reset your watch and still maintain Navy time.

However, there is no quickset date movement, because the hour hand takes up the extra position on the crown.

By contrast, the upgrade from 17610 to 117610 is substantial, but there's not actually any new function to the movement, so it's still a GMT Master II.