Watches that are able to track time across multiple continents are increasingly becoming recognised as a vital component within the hectic modern day lifestyle. With more people crossing time zones than at any other point in history, ‘travel friendly’ timepieces are an invaluable aid when it comes to keeping a record of time across different areas of the world. Once a relatively exclusive feature, more and more luxury watch companies are now manufacturing wristwatches which exhibit these capabilities. Typically, these wristwatches are branded as GMT, dual time or world timer models, and these variations are becoming progressively more prominent in stature.
Horological brand names have been providing travel friendly capabilities since 1930, although it was during the 1940s and 1950s that these watches began to increase in standing; largely due to the extensions within aircraft range. The GMT Master, by Rolex, was one of this wave of aviator specific timepieces, and its successor, the Rolex GMT Master II, is still an enormously popular model to this day. However, the market has rapidly expanded away from watches aimed merely at pilots, and is now firmly targeting frequent travellers as well. Many contemporary jobs require a great deal of worldwide commuting, and so a timepiece that can seamlessly exhibit the time between countries is a decidedly useful aid. Even people who might not travel regularly have relatives living overseas, and so the function still commands widespread appeal.
Various aptitudes are displayed by different timepieces. GMT watches typically possess an extra 24 hour indicator, dual time wristwatches come with twin dials to track two separate time zones, and world timers allow their user to observe the time within many different time zones at a glance. GMT watches are probably the most popular of these myriad different versions, and leading timepieces such as the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 8 Grande Date GMT and the Breitling Chronomat GMT watch have swiftly taken advantage of this demand. GMT, dual timers and world timers all need to conform to particular requirements, including premium standards of clarity to suit wearers who are practicing pilots, and also quicker adjustments to avoid further irritants within an already unsettled lifestyle.
A notable benefit of travel focused timepieces comes from the consistent innovations that these designs are liable to pioneer. Breitling’s sister company, Breitling for Bentley, has fashioned a dual-time zone wristwatch that can be easily adjusted to local time using simple twist of the crown, and the Bentley B05 Unitime chronograph enables its user to monitor the time across all 24 world time zones. Rolex boasts an especially illustrious history relating to travel friendly timepieces, and the recent Rolex Sky-Dweller represents another concerted effort from the brand name to advance the functions of these watches. The Sky-Dweller contains 14 separate patents, and makes use of a rotating ring command bezel to effortlessly navigate between three totally different time displays.
Here at Banks Lyon, we welcome the consistent advances in horological technology which are being brought about by this renewed focus upon multi-time zone watches, and we are proud to stock a wide range of these exceptionally useful timepieces. This assortment contains GMT, dual time and world timer wristwatches and, with further enhancements in technology occurring all the time, this collection is expected to expand in order to include ever more exciting luxury Swiss watches. For more information about any of our watches that are geared for travel, please do not hesitate to call us on 01524 38 48 58.
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