The Story of my Father's Rolex GMT Master

I suppose my obsess, uh, interest in watches stems, like most, from my father, who only ever wore one watch: the Rolex GMT Master in two tone.

I distinctly recall picking it up from the bedside table one morning and taking a closer look. I have a precise memory of being particularly interested in the cursive-evoking embellishments around the Rolex logo within the deployant clasp, which struck me as very old fashioned compared to the rest of the, at that time, futuristic and luxury object.

For years, I didn't think about the watch. In my years as a civilian (aka not an obsessive watch enthusiast), I did, however maintain a tepid interest in watches, which is to say I always wore one. Primary school: Timex Indiglo. High school: Swiss Army field. University: Tag Hauer quartz diver with a white face. Then when I finally got my first real job, I purchased myself my first mechanical piece which was a Stowa Marine Automatic 40mm, after reading about the brand in Monocle magazine.

Fast forward about 10 years and the pandemic hits. This is when I truly graduated to Watch Idiot Savant mode and I began to voraciously consume watch content. At one point, I watched the Hodinkee Reference Points episode on the Rolex GMT Master, which features the encyclopedic breakdown of the entire model history by Eric Wind, in his trademark PGA-announcer Mid-Atlantic baritone. It's fantastic.

This prompted me to write to my father to inquire about the origins of his piece since I had no idea about the date and specific reference. And sure enough, he had quite an interesting story. As a travelling business man, he was always back and forth between Canada, Europe and Asia. He explained that he first saw the watch in the airport in Paris in 1986. He said he fell in love with it on the spot and decided that one day he would buy it. Six months later, he was in Hong Kong and was traveling with a contact who spent half his time in San Francisco and the other half travelling in Asia. As such, this contact was well connected and knew a reliable jewellery store where my father was able to get a good deal. He purchased the piece for $2000 USD in 1987 and wore it daily for the next 30 odd years.

Then, tragedy stuck. During a vacation to Europe in the summer of 2016, my father fell victim to an elaborate pick pocketing in Barcelona. You know the drill: one person "accidentally" spills something on you but walks off, then another "sympathetic" person helps you clean it off decrying the state of humanity, while a third person steals your wallet and watch. When my father reported this story to me, he mentioned that the Rolex stolen was not his real one, but a homage. However, since I never saw him wear the Rolex again, I always doubted this account, assuming that he was too proud to admit he had the Rolex stolen and simply made up a white lie to cover his tracks.

Earlier this year, on the occasion of my 40th birthday, my father presented me with a small present. I unwrapped it to find an Invicta box. My internal reaction was "Ok, well, you are going to have to act impressed anyways". As I prepared to act out an impressed reaction, I popped open the aluminum Invicta can, and found the original Rolex GMT staring right back at me! I couldn't believe it. Acting assignment cancelled. Turns out my father had been telling the truth and wisely wore his Invicta two tone GMT homage in Barcelona.

Needless to say, I am thrilled with this piece, mostly due to the sentimental value. But I can also add that it is objectively a gorgeous watch. The size and design are truly spectacular. 40mm across and only 11mm tall, it wears perfectly on my 17cm wrist. Furthermore, Rolex's use of circle, baton and triangle indices, Mercedes hands and cyclops date window are all archetypal dial features that have been emulated millions of times, but begin and end with Rolex. The oyster bracelet has also been imitated ad nauseum, but never matched. I also love the gilt text and the "open 6 and 9" on the patina-ed date-wheel which add such a romantic charm to the piece.

If I'm being honest, and I am, I never thought of myself as a new Rolex person, and certainly not a two-tone person. I simply don't feel comfortable with the attention that new Rolex pieces attract from strangers, colleagues and enterprising pick-pockets.

But somehow, this is different. The fact that my father bought and wore the watch for such a long time and that it is, as a result, already scratched up makes me feel not only comfortable but proud to wear on the weekends when I'm spending time with my kids.

Thanks for reading, Crunchers. And, don't forget: wear those homages when in European capitals!