How to use your Rolex GMT Master II as a compass.

This could save your life, is a great conversation starter and is a neat little trick to show your mates down at the pub on a sunny day.

To use your watch as a compass is simple, this can be done with a Rolex GMT Master II, a Rolex Explorer II or any other watch in fact. However, it is much easier to do with watches that have a 24-hour hand like the two I have mentioned.

If you have set the 24-hour hand to the correct time zone, it is simply a matter of holding the watch flat, pointing the small hour hand towards the sun and noting which way the 24-hour hand is pointing, as this is the hand which is pointing North. If you are in the southern hemisphere or it’s daylight saving time, it works slightly differently. But as we are in Britain and you are only going to use this trick in the summer (when/if the sum comes out), I will just keep it simple with these four easy steps:

Step One

Make sure your 24-hour hand is set to the correct time zone.

Step Two

Check the weather, make sure it is sunny.

Step Three

Point the small hour hand in the direction of the sun whilst holding your watch flat.

Step Four

The 24-hour hand will be pointing North.

Cheers everyone, mine’s a pint.