It has been a month now since, through a pleasant course of events, a Rolex came to join my collection.
Now, after wearing it extensively, I'd like to give a first report.
You may of course ask how and why that has anything to do with Breitling, but bear with me, there is a connection... One other than me sitting in a train from Geneva to Grenchen via Biel right now while I'm typing this...
Well anyhow, the watch then:
First, I'd like to comment on its personality, which is why I chose it. After that, I'll come to user experience day to day.
The GMT, and here's where the Breitling connection becomes apparent, has profound roots in aviation. It is thus all the less surprising that it's key feature has been perpetuated in Rolexes latest, openly aviation themed addition, the Sky Dweller.
The GMT was indeed originally commissioned by PanAm, for its pilots... Or at least, that's what the legend says. It has later on gained popularity with the Huey pilots of the Vietnam war.
Within the Rolex lineup then, it is the watch that would appeal to someone who has found his grail watch in the Navitimer... And thus, it appealed to me immediately.
In this light, one can also comprehend the quite polarizing, or so it seems, polished center links. To me, the shiny stripe along the bracelet subtly evokes the golden stripes along an airline captain's cuffs. Granted, at first I was skeptical... Too bling bling and too out of touch with the general design language of the piece were the elements in question. So much so that I almost asked my AD to strap an all brushed submariner's bracelet onto the watch instead. With time though, the bling was toned down by wear and the polished stripe grew on me to the point where I wouldn't like to miss it now.
The rest of the aesthetics is, admittedly quite "easy listening", in that the look, borrowed in large bits from the Sub, has long since become emblematic (ice-watch anyone?).
Some details are worth noting however. The fact that a dive watch would make its way to the skies would seem uncanny at first. However, the thing is, what makes a good dive watch is not too different from what makes a pilots watch: instant readability (let's call that the Chronomat effect). This is where the maxi dial deserves a mention. The bigger lume-blobs make the watch almost easier to read than my Pam... And that means a whole lot more readable than an IWC big Pilot, which in that department is no slouch either. Unlike other Rolexes (read: Explorer I), the updated dial also means updated hands which have grown with the watche's diameter instead of remaining strangely small and thus out of proportion with the new and larger case... Another box chequed in my book.
A further key feature is the 24 hour bezel. First off, the ceramic insert is some sight to see... It is properly magnificent. That is, it isn't without it's weaknesses. The numbers go from single to double digit, which makes things somewhat unbalanced around the "24" triangle... With one 2 on the one side and two 2s on the other.
Furthermore, the bezel comes in any color so long as it's black. Amateurs of the Pepsi bezel may therefore feel a bit let down.
That is, I like the low-key look. Plus, the strong reflectivity of the polished ceramics gives it a great variety of hues depending on the lighting, going from polished steel to gunmetal to deep black.
The high reflectivity of the bezel also fits the missing AR coating (Rolex tradition, very disputed, I know, but let's not go into that issue) on the crystal and the equally reflective polished center links of the bracelet (which often look black when the lighting is poor).
Remaining with the subject of the watch face, the GMT-C also lost the red highlights on the dial (GMT-hand) in favor of a more subdued green.
Altogether then, bezel and dial make for a discrete but distinctive, highly readable yet precise, and most importantly, at least to me, very pretty ensemble. If anything, it may be a bit too reflective... But one gets over that.
I am then, very happy with my little Rollie, which brings me to usage.
With my Navi, which I love beyond reason, I am always aware of its presence on my wrist, be it because I'm consumed by its magnificence when I look at it or because I'm constantly panicked to bump it into something.
In that, the more easy listening character of the GMT is quite relieving. It just becomes the part of my arm that tells time. It doesn't have the delicacy of the Navi and thus does not solicit my protective instinct that much. Yet, it still maintains the aviation DNA that I value so much in my Navi.
I can and do wear it every day, something that I don't quite feel comfortable doing with the Navi.
And as an added benefit, the 24 hour bezel turned out to be of great use last week during the 24h race at the Nürburgring which I visit every year. It will be no less so for Le Mans in a couple of days
Images to come...
