1958 Rolex GMT-Master Brochure

1958 Rolex 

GMT-Master Brochure

Photoshop before Photoshop

If you are a regular reader of Jake's Rolex World, your are undoubtedly likely familiar with the 1958 Rolex GMT-Master brochure pictured below, but have you ever wondered what it's genesis is? Particularly with the image of the navigator rocking the Rolex GMT-Master? Continue reading to find out below:

Nick Gould discovered the image below in the WatchLibrary.org, and it shows the original image, and from this we may infer that the GMT-Master was superimposed onto the wrist of the navigator. I asked Nick how he discovered the image and he said, "Was a random discovery". But now you know why I coined the term 'Eagle Eyes' as a nickname for Nick:

Below we see the original 1954-1955 magazine article that shows the image, which was published originally in the Revue International de l'horlogerie, which was published in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and was originally printed in French.

I translated the text from French to English and it says:

    "must then, by means of buttons on the receiver - which functions as a calculating machine - bring the two points one on top of the other until they form only one in the form of a vertical line. At this point, he will note where on the scale this line is. He will obtain a number that he will find on a special map and corresponding to one of the arcs of a circle whose center is the main transmitter.

He will carry out a similar operation with a group of transmitters located, for example, on the coast of Greenland or Iceland. The place where the plane is located will then be determined by the place where the two lines intersect, corresponding to the two numbers noted on the scale of the cathode ray screen.

WATCHES ON BOARD

As it has been possible to judge from this simplified description of two essential elements of a transatlantic flight, the flight plan and navigation, the measurement of time is an absolute necessity on board an aircraft. This is why it is equipped with several watches or chronographs. In addition to his pocket chronograph, the navigator also has a fixed watch among the flight instruments at his disposal,"

My best guess is that Rolex Director, René-Paul Jeanneret probably saw this image when it was originally published, and thought it was perfect for conveying the value proposition of the GMT-Master. In all my years of studying Rolex Magazine and Newspaper images, I have rarely seen watches superimposed like this:

One such image is the Jean-Claude Killy Rolex Explorer II (Orange Hand) Reference 1655 Rolex Magazine ad pictured below, where we see the watch appears to have been superimposed on his wrist. I could be wrong, but it this image has always looks kind of strange to me.

I am not going to go into detail on this now, but in my upcoming book series in Volume 3, which is named, "THE COMPLETE HISTORY, ROLEX MAD MEN, VOLUME 3 OF 15: 1953-1963", I do a deep dive into the real hardcore history behind the GMT-Master, and showcase some amazing never before seen or published information that sheds tremendous light on its true Genesis, which is AMAZING!!!!