Created for Pan Am’s jet-age pilots, the Rolex GMT-Master combined dual time precision with its signature “Pepsi” bezel, securing its place as aviation’s definitive wristwatch.
The Queen Elizabeth Liner and Pan Am Clipper cross the Atlantic at a leisurely pace (Oct 1950)
Photo: Smith Archive
A New Challenge in the Jet Age
In 1954, as the jet age prepared to eclipse the unhurried elegance of propeller-driven travel, Pan American World Airways faced a challenge no airline had yet encountered... speed.
The new commercial jet airliners could carry passengers halfway around the globe in less than a day, but in the cockpit, the men at the controls still needed to know the exact time in two places at once: point of departure and destination. In an era before digital displays and GPS, this was more than punctuality; it was navigation.
1950s Pan Am Jet Clipper Ad.
Photo: adsR
Rolex’s Answer: The First GMT-Master 6542
Pan Am’s solution was to turn not to an aeronautical engineer, but to a Swiss watchmaker. The brief to Rolex was deceptively simple: create a wristwatch capable of displaying two time zones simultaneously, with clarity and precision, at 35,000 feet.
The result was the Rolex GMT-Master reference 6542, launched in 1955, distinguished by its luminous bakelite bezel in deep red and dark blue — colours chosen to indicate daylight and night-time hours at a glance.
Rolex GMT-Master ref.6542
From Tool Watch to Aviation Icon
Issued to the airline’s pilots and navigators, the GMT-Master was more than an instrument; it was an insignia. The sight of that bold bezel flashing from beneath a crisp cuff became as much a part of Pan Am’s image as the blue-uniformed stewardesses or the Clipper Class cocktail service.
Passengers might disembark with postcards and duty-free cologne; the crew stepped onto the tarmac with a watch that would go on to become one of the most coveted timepieces in the world.
Rolex GMT-Master Ad (1958)
Photo: Rolex SA
The Shift from Bakelite to Aluminium
In 1961, following a U.S. court case that deemed the radium-filled bakelite bezels too radioactive, Rolex replaced them with printed aluminium inserts. This upgrade not only improved safety, but also introduced a brighter version of the original “Pepsi” colours.
Debuting on the GMT-Master reference 1675, this new bezel would remain in production for over two decades, cementing the model’s place as both a precision tool and an enduring style icon.
<>Rolex GMT-Master ref.6542 and ref.1675
A Collector’s Dream
Today, the Rolex GMT-Master — particularly early Pan Am-issued examples — commands stratospheric prices at auction. Beyond its dual time zone function and distinctive “Pepsi” bezel, the GMT-Master embodies the romance of an era when the jet age was new, the pace of travel quickened to turbine speed, and an airline’s influence extended from the skies to the wrists of the world’s most stylish travellers.
The Capt. Warren Rolex GMT-Master 6542
Photo: Sotheby's
One such example, a 1958 Rolex GMT-Master 6542 once owned by Pan Am Captain Clarence “Jooj” Warren Jr., was curated for auction by Sotheby's in May 2023 and sold for 177,800 CHF. Recruited straight from the military, Warren became a Pan Am Captain at just 25 and epitomised the cosmopolitan glamour of the role — piloting a Porsche 356, ferrying dignitaries, and often serving at the request of the White House. Notably, he flew President Eisenhower to Hawaii and Vice-President Nixon to Moscow in 1959.
One of the most rare and desirable vintage Rolex GMT-Masters
Photo: Sotheby's
That Moscow flight carried more than political weight: it also marked the debut of Warren’s Rolex GMT-Master 6542, gifted to him by Rolex and later immortalised in the iconic “Pan Am Flies on Rolex Time” advertisement of 1959 (pictured earlier). Preserved in original condition, the watch retained its luminous bakelite bezel, black gloss dial with luminous hour markers, and red GMT hand; features that, combined with its rarity (one of only 605 imported to the US) and impeccable provenance, make it one of the most desirable vintage Rolex GMT-Master 6542 examples in existence.
NOTE:
The vintage watch market can be a perilous airspace to navigate, with counterfeits, restorations, and questionable provenance clouding the horizon. For those seeking guidance - or a GMT-Master of their own - we recommend our Purveyor, Wind Vintage, whose scholarship and integrity ensure that every timepiece sourced is both authentic and significant.
[Click here to view the Wind Vintage Purveyor Page and learn more about the Rolex GMT-Master]