A FACE FOR ADVENTURE

Retooling the iconic Rolex GMT-Master II for fresh explorations.

- Jessica Diamond

Before the all-pervasive mobile phone became king, the watch was the only personal accessory accompanying 20th-century explorers. The mechanical timepiece was on hand during many globetrotting firsts and, in a stroke of fortuitous timing, "tool" watches-with functions beyond telling the time-became more robust. Often present was the Rolex GMTMaster (latterly the GMT-Master II), launched in 1955 just as commercial long-haul aviation was taking off. Suddenly, knowing the time in another time zone became