The \u201cGMT\u201d in GMT watches means Greenwich Mean Time.<\/p>\n
Counted from midnight, Greenwich Mean Time is the solar time as it\u2019s observed at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. Greenwich Mean Time is also called the \u2018zero hour\u2019. When tracking time, according to the Royal Observatory in London, Greenwich Mean Time is at the point of zero degrees latitude along the line that passes through Greenwich village. This determination was made in 1884 to create a standardized way of tracking time on an international level.<\/p>\n
Originally, this came to fruition to help with train schedule delays but eventually spread to naval navigation and eventually aviation. While Greenwich sat on the zero line, other latitudes were then labeled according to their distance from that point i.e. Philadelphia is GMT -5 and Hong Kong is GMT +8 as you add or subtract hours from Greenwich.<\/p>\n
In 1972, the GMT way of tracking time was replaced by the UTC or Coordinated Universal Time. This was a response to the confusion caused by some calculating GMT at midnight while others calculated it at noon. The UTC is based on atomic clocks rather than time zones. Most watch manufacturers, however, used GMT, not UTC.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n As we explained, the concept of GMT dates back to 1884. Established in an era of slow boat travel, it helped monitor time in between oceans by declaring Greenwich, England as the \u201cMean Time\u201d by which the rest of the world\u2019s time zones would be compared. This was necessary at the time when time zones crossed over weeks and days. Jet travel changed all that.<\/p>\n In 1952, the British de Havilland Comet became the first jet airliner to fly nonstop, going from London to Johannesburg. This would become the advent of the Jet Age, when people were, for the first time, able to fly across oceans in a day \u2013 also introducing the modern ailment known as jet lag.<\/p>\n Pilots who flew these long haul flights needed a way to keep track of both local and destination time. Pan Am airlines commissioned Rolex and requested for a watch to be built\u00a0for this new need. In 1954, the\u00a0GMT-Master<\/a>\u00a0was introduced \u2013 a watch that could track two different time zones simultaneously.<\/p>\n Simply put, a GMT watch is a timepiece that has a 24-hour format hand in addition to the hour, minute and seconds hands. It\u2019s worth noting that there are other watches labeled GMT that feature two time zones in a 12-hour format \u2013 while useful, they can\u2019t be considered true GMT watches.<\/p>\n The Tudor Black Bay GMT<\/a> in two-tone steel and gold, and stainless steel<\/em><\/p>\n Most GMT watches have central hour and minute hands that tell time in the 12-hour format, and another hand that\u2019s independently adjustable to display the 24-hour time. The\u00a0Rolex GMT-Master<\/a>\u00a0II in particular, comes with a two-directional rotatable 24-hour graduated bezel. This works together with the colored 24-hour hand to display the local or home reference time which can be read on the scale points on the bezel.<\/p>\n Some GMT watches possess a static GMT hand. If that\u2019s the case with your watch then you\u2019ll want to start with the bezel of your watch set at 12 o\u2019clock. If you do this, the GMT hand will then point to the current local time. If you\u2019d like the find out the time in a different time zone, you would have to rotate the bezel towards the left or counter clockwise, and towards the right, or clockwise.<\/p>\n Choosing which direction depends greatly on the location of that city relative to your current time zone. For instance, you\u2019d rotate the bezel clockwise if the new time zone is behind you. If the other time zone is ahead of your current position, then you\u2019d rotate it counter-clockwise.<\/p>\n A fantastic invention for those who like to track time in multiple time zones (GMT-Master II) is the independent GMT hand. The GMT hand stays static while you can move the hour hand.<\/p>\n Rolex Explorer II<\/a> ref 216570 and 226570. Both are “true” GMT watches To use an independent GMT hand, you\u2019ll want to set the GMT hand to the local time while also keeping the 24-hour scale aligned with 12 and 24 together. This would be its original position. Now, set the hour hand to the current time on the 12-hour scale. You can use the bezel to align it with the second time you wish to track.<\/p>\n Many of your modern GMT function watches now use the independent GMT hand. Because of this, you can now track up to three time zones at once, which is quite a boon to travelers and business people who often cross international lines. Tracking a third time zone is quite easy with a GMT hand and a 24-hour bezel.<\/p>\n Breitling Navitimer GMT Chronographs<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n To accomplish this task you would first set the GMT hand to the current GMT time and then the hour hand you will set to local time. Once you complete those two tasks it\u2019s a matter of rotating the bezel to set a third time zone that you\u2019d like to track. You use the GMT as the reference for how many hours you\u2019ll need to add or subtract according to the location of your third time zone to you. You\u2019d rotate either clockwise or counter-clockwise whether you’re subtracting or adding, respectively.<\/p>\n To read the time, your bezel would align with the GMT hand, reflecting the third time zone and your local time would be read by the hour hand. Please be advised that in order to read your second time zone, you will have to move the bezel back to its original position.<\/p>\n Certainly, the GMT watch will be advantageous for someone who travels frequently. Aside from being able to tell the time in two time zones, a GMT watch can be useful in assimilating to different time zones and avoiding jet lag. To do this, one can simply set the 12-hour hand to the current travel destination time a few days before departure, letting you get accustomed to a different time zone before travelling.<\/p>\n Breitling Chronospace Military GMT<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Aesthetically, GMT watches are of the sporty kind. Most GMT watches use colorful accents, such as a distinctly colored 24-hour hand or a bi-color bezel, making it the perfect fit for those who like distinctive looking watches.<\/p>\n A GMT watch is used in lieu of many timepieces. You can display the time in different time zones without needing to reset your watch multiple times. There\u2019s a reason they\u2019ve been used by pilots and travelers for years. Even if you don\u2019t travel much, these sporty watches look great on any wrist with their distinct colors and bi-color combinations.<\/p>\n As you can see, the GMT watch can be a really useful tool in any watch enthusiast\u2019s collection, and hopefully, you\u2019ll plan on giving one a try. Check out our wide selection of GMT watches available at SwissWatchExpo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\nHow did GMT watches come about?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nWhat makes a watch a \u201cGMT watch\u201d?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.swisswatchexpo.com\/thewatchclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/IMG_2843-1200x857.jpg\")
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\nHow to set and read a GMT watch<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nHow to use an independent GMT hand<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.swisswatchexpo.com\/thewatchclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5T4A0692-1200x857.jpg\")
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\nas the local hour hand can be adjusted without disrupting the other hands.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nHow to use a GMT watch to track a third time zone<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.swisswatchexpo.com\/thewatchclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5T4A6631-1200x857.jpg\")
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\nIs a GMT watch right for you?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"Breitling](\"https:\/\/www.swisswatchexpo.com\/thewatchclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5T4A3967-1200x857.jpg\")
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\nGMT Watches: Final Thoughts<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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