The Most Popular Complications: Second-Time Zone
The GMT watch, as the watch with a second-time zone, also called, shows the time in another time zone and the local time. The abbreviation GMT stands for “Greenwich Mean Time.” Initially, it was considered the time standard from which all local times worldwide were derived. Today, GMT is a time zone based on UTC, the coordinated universal time. UTC was introduced in 1972; it is based on the measurement of high-precision atomic clocks. Since Greenwich Mean Time has a UTC difference of +/- zero, GMT and UTC are the same.
Why Is The Watch With A Second-Time Zone Also Called A GMT Watch?
The original purpose of a watch like rolex watch (นาฬิกา โรเล็กซ์ which is the term in Thai) with a second-time zone was to display Greenwich Mean Time and the respective local time even if it is up to each wearer which time zone to choose a local or home time and which as the second time zone, the term GMT has remained.
In some models, such as the Rolex GMT-Master II, ‘GMT’ is even an integral part of the model’s name. This watch shows the second time zone with a second hand, and the associated 24-hour scale is on the bezel.
Why Are There Time Zones At All?
The story began in 1876 in a rainy country train station in Ireland. The Canadian engineer and railroad director Sandford Fleming stood there, waiting in vain for his train. Because his clock showed a different time than the station clock, he became aware that the world had not yet agreed on uniform times. The clocks were aligned from place to place according to the sun’s highest point.
It was no accident that Sandford Fleming encountered this problem at a train station. Only when steam power and the railroad made it possible to travel quickly did the different local times become a problem. Sandford Fleming wanted to end this and suggested that the times should be standardized. With like-minded people, he campaigned for the global definition of time zones. It was based on a simple calculation: jumping in time in total hours seemed the easiest. Therefore, dividing the 360 degrees of the earth by 24, the number of hours in a day got the value 15 and suggested that the same time applies within a zone of 15 degrees of longitude.
