Quote:
Originally Posted by OPfan
Airline pilot--that's very cool! Do you own a Rolex GMT?
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I enjoy it. Although the harsh truth is that most pilots end up doing a variety of different flying jobs before they end up in a big airliner. The Rolex GMT is a great watch, perhaps even perfect for the long haul jet airliner pilot, but isn’t necessarily the best for the other roles.
I did get close to buying a GMT, but at the time only the black ceramic version was available, and it didn’t do it for me. To me, the Rolex line was always about subtlety, and there were always very slight, but significant, differences between the models.
The classic GMT was always a different beast from the divers watches. The slimmer crown suited the role, the thickness of the watch wasn’t intrusive, and the overall concept was great.
When they switched to the ceramic bezel, the whole thing started to feel bulky to me. They switched to a green 24 hour hand, which is utterly useless in a cockpit as it looks black under red light at night, and then went with that triplock crown, which has no place on a pilots watch.
In the end, I bought an Explorer 2. Although it’s a big watch, it’s slim, and it feels more true to the original GMT concept. Unfortunately, there’s probably too much value in it now, for many of the places I operate to, so it doesn’t get the wrist time it deserves!
I’m not the only one who feels that way. A good many of my colleagues seem to have Explorer 2’s - generally the older model!