Rolex has a long history with the airline industry, from designing watches for aircrew to working with airlines to develop timepieces that meet their needs. From the relationship came a number of timepiece advances still in use today. Whether it’s a watch showing multiple time zones or a watch designed specifically for pilots, the contributions Rolex has made to aerospace and air travel are diverse and significant.
The Air-King was first introduced in 1945 as part of the "Air Series" to honor the Royal Air Force in World War II. The Air-King was a key brand marketed to pilots and has been in production ever since, with the exception of a two-year break between 2014 and 2016. The Air-King was worn by some of the most famous pilots in history and during a number of important flights.
In 1954, Rolex partnered with Pan Am Airways to develop the GMT-Master, a watch that could display the time in two different time zones simultaneously. The GMT-Master was quickly adopted by many airlines and became the GMT standard for aviation planning and navigation. The GMT-Master was also popular with American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts.
In today’s world, air travel is a given. The ease of travel in the skies these days can make it easy for us to overlook the dramatic advances in technology that have come before us. Our great grandparents wouldn’t have ever really thought about different time zones, even just between the East Coast and the West Coast. Air travel made the world smaller and that impacted how we understood and measured time. Today it all seems simple and obvious but that just shows how much progress occurred over the last century. And Rolex was an important part of that progress.
If you’re in the market for a luxury watch, won’t you reach out? I’m sure I can help you find what you’re looking for. If you’re searching for a pre-owned Rolex in San Diego, give me a call or drop by our La Jolla showroom. You’ll be glad you did.
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