Rolex Unveils the New Rolex GMT Master 2 at Baselworld

New Rolex GMT Master II launched at Baselworld 2018 (Images from Rolex.com)

The Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II timepiece is a favorite of world travelers because of its ability to read time in two different time zones simultaneously.  Famous singers, actors and business persons who travel often quickly realize the benefits of the GMT as they can quickly adjust the hour hand without losing precious seconds.  The dual color bezel is available in either Blue and Red or Black and Brown.  The Black and Blue portion of the dial indicates night time hours while the Brown or Red portion of the dial represents daytime hours.  The Red 24-hour hand with luminescent triangular tip indicates the 2nd time zone.

The Red/Blue combination is a favorite for decades since the original release of the Red and Blue GMT Master back in 1955, and is oft copied.  However, the brown and black combination above works extremely well on this 18 carat Everose gold version on this reference 126715CHNR.

The new Rolex GMT-Master II is powered by a perpetual mechanical self-winding caliber 3285 manufactured in house by Rolex.  The power reserve is a long-lasting 70 hours.  It has a centre hour, minute and seconds hands and a 24-hour display. The second time zone has an independent rapid-setting of the hour hand. The instantaneous date window appears at the 3 o'clock position with a cyclops lens above for easy readability. Most important for quick time setting, it utilizes a stop-seconds for precision.  The hour, seconds, minute and 24 hour hands all are painted with long-lasting blue luminescence with approx. 8 hours of visibility.

The scratch resistant sapphire crystal and triplock waterproofness system gives it water resistance up to 330 feet.  The case is the standard 40 mm oyster design.  The dual color steel/gold reference 126711CHNR and everose reference 126715CHNRboth have an Oyster Bracelet with flat three-piece links and a folding Oysterlock safety clasp with Easylink comfort extension link.  The all steel Blue/Red reference 126710BLRO sports a Jubilee five-piece link bracelet.

Two Tone Rolex GMT Master II with Everose Gold and Steel with Black and Brown Bezel