Watch GlossaryGMT

What Is The Meaning Of GMT?

The definition of GMT means a watch that tells time in two time zones simultaneously. The second time zone is displayed using an additional hour hand. Many watches have ‘GMT’ written on the dial to indicate that they are dual time zone watches, and are called GMT watches. The international time system divides the world into 24 time zones, and a place is assigned to a time zone based on its longitude. Greenwich in London has the longitude of 0 degrees, thus making it the base point on the world time zone scale. Thus it is called Greenwich Mean Time. Other time zones are specified as their difference in hours from the Greenwich time, such as GMT +1 or GMT -1. For example, Madrid is in the time zone immediately after London and therefore is in the GMT +1 time zone. So, if it is 7:00am in London, it is 8:00am in Madrid.

GMT watches were initially introduced for pilots. While in the air, pilots need to check the local time in the place they are flying through. Since time zones are specified in terms of the difference with the GMT time, it is useful to be able to instantly check the current GMT time and thus quickly calculate the local time of the place. All the time, the pilot is kept informed about the home time on his watch. Dual Time Zone watches are a boon for frequent travellers who need to be aware of both their local time and home time. Such timepieces are worn by those conducting business with people across the globe and need to know the time of that particular time zone.

One can define GMT as a watch that has an additional hour hand which points to 24-hour scale. This additional hand can be set to any time zone in the world depending on the wearer’s requirement. The GMT time or second time zone can be checked by looking at the additional hour hand and the regular minute hand. These watches must feature 24-hour scale by definition so as to avoid confusion between AM and PM in the second time zone.

Some dual time zone watches feature an additional hour hand, despite not having the 24-hour scale. These watches cannot be labelled as GMT watches, though they are dual time zone watches and effectively show the time in different time zones. Such watches are produced by major watchmakers around the world including Rolex, Omega, Carl F. Bucherer, Breitling, and many others. If you are a frequent flyer or need to keep track of time somewhere else in the world, invest in a GMT watch and enjoy the convenience of viewing two time zones together.

Examples Of GMT Watches