FOLLOWER REVIEW: Nick’s Rolex GMT II ‘Coke’

Felix Scholz

Name: Nick
Watch: Rolex GMT II, dates from the early / mid 90’s. It has a “Coke” bezel (red & black).

What’s the story behind your Rolex GMT II?

I had a gold & steel Rolex GMT II for a couple of years, but it I didn’t like as much as I’d hoped, and after not wearing it for some time I sold it and bought a Rolex Submariner.

When – did you get this watch?

I was in Tokyo on holiday a couple of years ago and went looking for second hand watches. I didn’t have anything particular in mind, and if I hadn’t bought this watch I would have happily come home with my credit card intact, but something about this watch caught my eye.

In my experience half the fun of buying a watch from a second hand dealer is the negotiating. But not in Japan where they set a price and stick to it. I ended up going back to the shop twice over a couple of days to try to get his price down, and when I realised he wasn’t going to budge I had to make a decision: do I want the watch, or do I want to haggle? I bought the watch.

Where – has this watch been?

If I’m heading to a different time zone, even if it’s Queensland when we’re saving daylong and they’re not, it’s the first thing I reach for. The way the main hour hand adjusts, in hour jumps, makes it ideal for travel.

And if I’m not getting on & off ‘planes, it gets worn for a day or two each month.

But really it’s travelled with me to a number of places, and it’s water resistance means I can swim with it on … which is exactly what I did in Mykonos last August.

Why – do you love this watch?

It’s solid, dependable, and the way the GMT complication works is simple: it lets me change the ‘main’ hour hand in hour sized jumps, so no fiddling with the minute hand as you’re landing somewhere.

What does this watch say about who you are?

Other than the bloke in a Rolex store in Los Angeles…I was thinking about upgrading to the newest GMT, he said to hang on to mine even if I did buy a new one, Coke bezels being reasonably rare …. I can’t remember anyone commenting on it.

So I guess it doesn’t say a lot about me, except maybe that I’m reasonably rare and will increase in value over time.

If you could buy any watch tomorrow what would it be, and why?

I’m a sucker for a GMT or worldtime complication – so whatever I buy next, the chances are I’ll be able to tell exactly where in the world it’s five o’clock.

(Image courtesy of uhrforum.)