Rolex Submariner vs. GMT Master II: Nuances, Difficult Choices

zelin0802 / June 10, 2023

Rolex Submariner or GMT Master II? It’s not an easy question, and everyone will have their own opinion on which of these two iconic high quality fake watches is their favorite. I think many people who consider owning a Rolex will start with these two models. This is the same whether you are new to watches or considering your next purchase.

Despite their many similarities, there are some differences between the two that are worth highlighting.

I’d love to have either, but my head and heart are pulling me in two different directions.

Background and Specifications
Both the Submariner and the GMT Master were created as tool watches with express professional use (hence the name Rolex Professional). The Submariner was designed for divers, while the GMT was designed for pilots.

Originally released in 1953, the Submariner featured 100-meter water resistance and a 60-minute rotating bezel. The watch also features luminescent technology on the dial to maximize legibility in low light (especially underwater).

The Submariner was originally a time-only stainless steel watch with a black dial and bezel. Since then, Rolex has continued to improve the design, adding crown guard (1959), date function (1969), precious metal (1969), steel from 316L to 904L (1988) and Cerachrom bezel (2010 year) and so on.

GMT Master was developed in cooperation with Pan-Am. The aim was to create a watch that could tell the time in multiple time zones at a glance.

Rolex realizes the second time zone function through the fourth hand on the dial and the 24-hour bezel. Pilots would set this fourth hand to the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) time zone, resulting in the GMT name. fake watches for men

In 1972, pilots switched to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) as a reference, but the watch’s GMT designation continued. Released a year after the Submariner, the first model (model 6542) was based on the Turn-O-Graph, although it had a different bezel and movement.

Like the Submariner, there have been several updates since the GMT was introduced, such as aluminum bezels (1956), crown guards (1959), precious metals, Oyster and anniversary bracelets, and bezels in different colors. Not to forget the even bigger jump from GMT Master I to GMT Master II, which brought a new movement that allowed the GMT hand to be set independently of the others.

When you consider it’s almost 70 years old, the modern iteration looks remarkably close to the original! This is a testament to how well designed they are, but is also a big reason why they are iconic. While the similarities between the Submariner and the GMT Master II are not hard to spot, I would like to draw attention to the very small details that differentiate these watches.

What’s the difference?
Despite looking extremely similar, there are some differences between the Submariner and the GMT Master II. Let’s start with the most obvious and then dig deeper.

The GMT Master II is defined by its GMT function – this requires a different movement to include a fourth hand, the color of which depends on the model you choose. Also, the bidirectional bezel shows a 24-hour scale instead of 60 minutes, and on some models (blue and red, black and red, etc.) splits the color in half to reflect day and night.

This gave the GMT Master II its distinctive look and earned it iconic nicknames such as “Pepsi”, “Coca-Cola” and “Batman”.

The GMT Master II is also available in two different bracelets – the Jubilee and the Oyster – which have polished center links, making the copy watches for sale feel less solid than the Submariner.

Both watches, both in Rolex’s Super Case, were launched at GMT in 2005 and 2008, respectively. These cases have a larger profile than the classic case thanks to wider lugs, a wider Cerachrom bezel and a thicker profile.

The Submariner was updated for 2020 with a new case size of 41mm compared to 40mm for the GMT. Since the introduction of the Super Case, which eliminated the larger case differences, Rolex has worked to more clearly differentiate the two watches. On GMT, you’ll only find Jubilee bracelets, more precious metal styles, more color options, and even a left watch case for 2022.

Start with the dial. There are four lines of text on the Submariner, including the classic “1000ft = 300m”. The text on the dial is a touchy subject, as some find it too busy, but I don’t mind.

The hands of the Submariner are slightly different. The hour hand is slightly sharper than GMT’s, the minute hand is narrower, and the lollipop second hand is slightly less luminous.

The differences are subtle, but once you notice them, you can’t ignore them.

Considering the main purpose of the watch is to be visible in the depths of the ocean, I found the Submariner to have less lumens on the minute and second hands, but on the wrist it was a very small change that surprised me.

The bezel (aside from the more obvious difference mentioned above) has smaller, squarer numerals on the Submariner, separated by batons at the 5-minute mark, similar to the baton indices on the dial.

Again, I’m surprised when you consider that given bezel legibility is a key aspect of the Submariner – you’d think it would have the larger number of the two models.

Moving on to the bracelet, the Submariner’s lugs were recently updated and are now narrower. Still, the strap is 1mm wider on the Submariner at the clasp and slightly larger than on the GMT.

Finally, since the Submariner is three times more water-resistant than the GMT, it has a slightly thicker caseback. This all contributes to a solid feel to the Submariner, bringing it closer to a pure tool watch.

At first glance, the two luxury fake watches seem remarkably similar, but closer inspection reveals a few different details. Taken individually, these differences are insignificant, but taken together they further characterize the two models.

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