The Rolex GMT-Master was introduced in 1954.
Rolex developed the watch in collaboration with Pan American Airways for pilots and navigators flying long-distance routes. Its defining feature was a fourth, 24-hour hand paired with a rotating 24-hour bezel. That arrangement allowed a wearer to read a second time zone while the regular 12-hour hand showed local time.
The name GMT refers to Greenwich Mean Time, the aviation reference standard used when the watch was created. Modern aviation generally uses Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, but Rolex retained the familiar GMT name. The original watch is often discussed alongside the later GMT-Master II, which added an independently adjustable local-hour hand.
A common confusion is the date. Some references describe the commercial Rolex GMT-Master as a 1955 model, reflecting early production or sales timing, while the standard historical account gives 1954 as its launch year. For this quiz’s wording—when it was introduced—1954 is the accepted answer.