2015 Rolex GMT II (Ref. 116710 BLNR) "Batman" with Box and Papers

The Rolex GMT is the jet-setting icon of the Rolex sports watch family. Like the Rolex Submariner, the Rolex GMT is sophisticated, rugged, and versatile.

In 1954 Pan Am started using the newly designed Boeing 707 which allowed for Pan Am to fly transcontinentally and is said to have started the commercially available jet age. In the same year, Rolex received a request from Pan Am to create a technical pilots watch which indicated two time zones simultaneously that could be issued by the airline to their crews on long-haul transcontinental international flights. UTC is the time zone that is required for all aviation planning, weather forecasts, schedules and other paperwork.

The original Rolex GMT Master has a fourth 24-hour hand directly displaying the same time zone as the standard 12-hour hand but on a 24-hour scale. This GMT hand enabled the crews to set the watch to GMT or another time zone, and, using the rotatable 24-hour scale bezel, set to the correct offset thus displaying a second-time-zone on the 24-hour scale.

The original Rolex GMT has always had a two-tone bezel specifically designed for easy indication of day and night, the GMT has never had a bezel that was blue and black like the Rolex GMT Ref. 116710 BLNR. The nickname "Batman" comes from the obvious blue and black Rolex Cerachrom "Ceramic" insert looks like the blue and black outfit worn by the DC comics super hero Batman.  The Rolex 116710 reference range offers a triplock crown as compared to a twinlock crown found the older GMT references  and  the Rolex automatic winding caliber 3186 movement houses 31 jewels a parachrome hairspring, a Breguet overcoil and a quickset jumping hour hand.  The watch’s "Maxi" dial is black and utilizes Rolex's Chromolight lume which glows bright blue under intense light.