When in the late 1950s civil aviation took off, flying to different parts of the world sparked a need for watches that could display at least two time zones, allowing travellers to check the local time as well as the time back home without needing to calculate the difference manually. Rolex developed the GMT-Master already in 1955, featuring an extra hand and an additional bezel with a 24-hour scale. This extra central hand is geared to advance at half the speed of the hour hand. The hand generally points to either an internal or external rotating 24-hour bezel to measure one’s home time zone. It’s a simple but effective complication.
Enicar responded by designing the Sherpa World Time (or simply Sherpa Time in some catalogs), Steward (for him), and Stewardess (for her) for airline personnel and world travellers. These models featured a city ring (World Time) or a 24-hour scale external bezel (Steward and Stewardess) but lacked an additional GMT movement complication or extra hand. The first Enicar Sherpa to include this was the striking and oversized colorfeast that is known as the Sherpa Guide, incorporating every possible Enicar trademark: a two-crown bayonet-compressor case, external city ring, red pointer ring, GMT hand, and an internal 24-hour scale with a 360-degree rotatable bezel. Check out my post on the many colors of the Sherpa Guide if you want to know more.
The Steward, Stewardess, and Guide were exhibited at the 1960 Basel Watch Fair alongside other models such as the Sherpa Graph chronograph and the Sherpa Dive. The Sherpa GMT and Sherpa World Time appeared in Enicar catalogues around the same time.
The slim, wearable, and easily readable Sherpa GMT was a single-crown, two-timezone watch, meaning the wearer needed to rotate the bezel on top of the case to align with the arrow-shaped GMT hand. Although the double-crown, somewhat clunky Sherpa Guide with its large 42 mm case was already presented in 1960, it took a couple of years before Enicar introduced the best of both worlds: the Sherpa Jet and Super-Jet model line. As usual for Sherpa models, the base was an EPSA bayonet compressor case with domed crystal. The case measured either 36 mm (Jet) or 40 mm (Super-Jet) in diameter. As with the Sherpa Guide and mid-1960s Sherpa dive models, an inner bezel with a 24-hour scale could be operated in both directions by the upper crown. No external aluminium alloy bezels were present anymore, making these Enicars sturdier and more durable.
Sherpa Jet & Super-Jet MkI, 1963 – 1966: dauphine hands and paddle hands
The MkI models mark the beginning of it all. These early iterations are defined by their simplicity and utility. The GMT function was powered by the AR1126 automatic calibre, an adaptation of the AR1125 base movement, introduced in the late 1950s. The MkI was first shown to the watch press in 1963 and featured dauphine watch hands. Neither I nor other Enicar collectors I know have ever seen this model in the flesh, so it may have been a pre-production model. MkI models from around 1965 carry paddle hour and minute hands, either with a red-tipped needle GMT hand (Super-Jet) or a red-painted crescent moon GMT indicator (Jet). Both have a clean, no-nonsense dial layout. Bezel inserts were bi-directional, with 24-hour markers for easy tracking of a second timezone. Most MkI models I have seen for sale were offered in Japan, likely linked to Enicar’s partnership with Japan Air.
Key Variations:
- Dials: Black and silver dials with applied indices with lumed plots, some with printed and some with applied Saturn logo, 33 jewels indication, signed ‘swiss’ or ‘swiss made’ at the 6 marker. ‘Automatic’ usually located below the logo, but sometimes absent.
- Hands: Lumed paddle hands, straight GMT hand with red tip or red crescent moon GMT hand.
- Bezel: Aluminium inserts, simple 24-hour demarcations, 6-18 (daytime) silver coated, 18-6 (nighttime) black coated.
- Lug size: 20 mm for the Super Jet, 18.5 mm for the Jet (your 19 mm Tropic straps have to be squeezed in a bit).
- Crowns: Thin compressor crowns, crosshatch pattern, Saturn logo.
Sherpa Jet & Super-Jet MkII, 1966 – 1968: tuning fork hands
The MkII refined the aesthetic, introducing broader hour and minute hands and slightly slimmed-down markers at 12, 6, and 9. This generation mostly ran on the AR1146, the GMT version of the AR1145 movement, but it is not uncommon to find an AR1126 ticking inside. The dial designs do not differ much from the MkI models, although the logo appears ’rounder’ compared to the slightly compressed logo on the first generation of (Super-)Jets. On the caseback of the Jet from my personal collection is a Seapearl engraving, just like the MkI models have.
Key Variations:
- Dials: Sunburst dials in black, silver or champagne finishes.
- Hands: Tuning fork hands with larger luminous areas; slim orange- or yellow-tipped GMT hands.
- Bezel: Slightly thicker, with updated font for the 24-hour markers.
- Lug size: 20 mm for the Super Jet, 19 mm for the Jet.
- Crowns: Thin or thick compressor crowns, crosshatch pattern, Saturn logo.
Sherpa Jet & Super-Jet MkIII, 1968 – 1970: checkered GMT hand
This era saw a shift towards bolder, more modern design cues. Enter the colours! Enicar now offered a variety of inner bezel colours reflecting the broader trend towards sportier watches: black and white, yellow and white, red and white, and red and blue (Pepsi!). Another striking accent is the red and black checkered GMT hand. The AR1146 calibre powered the MkIII models, but on some occasions, you already see the AR166 at the core of the watch. For the dial, we have the choice of “regular” black, silver, and champagne, but there are also two versions of racing dials. The caseback shows the Sherpa 600 engraving.
Key Variations:
- Dials: Matte black, silver, and champagne dials, with oversized markers and Enicar’s Saturn logo either printed or applied at 12 o’clock. Two racing dial versions were available.
- Hands: Batton hour and minute hands, sometimes paired with “lollipop” seconds hands, sometimes paired with an orange triangle hand. Red and black checkered GMT hand.
- Bezel: Black and white bezel for the Super-Jet. A variety of colors was introduced for the Jet, including red and blue.
- Lug size: 20 mm for the Super Jet, 19 mm for the Jet.
- Crowns: Thick compressor crowns, crosshatch pattern with Saturn logo, or smooth with Saturn logo.
Sherpa Jet & Super-Jet MkIV, from 1970 onwards: cushion case
The MkIV models marked the final chapter of the Sherpa (Super-)Jet saga. These models are often the most recognisable due to their chunky cushion cases (42 mm diameter for the Super-Jet, 37 mm diameter for the Jet) and exaggerated bezels. Powered by the AR166 GMT calibre, the MkIV epitomised the rugged, functional style of 1970s tool watches. These pieces are now rare collector favourites (who has ever seen the Jet MkIV in the wild?) due to their distinctive look.
Key Variations:
- Dials: Matte black dials with vibrant accent colours and applied 3D-globe-shaped logo (Super-Jet), or racing dial with applied logo (Jet).
- Hands: Large baton hands, thick, orange-tipped arrow-shaped seconds hand, red and black checkered GMT hand.
- Bezel: Super-Jet features a bold, bi-directional with prominent numerals and a lumed accents, the Jet has a red and blue inner bezel, with yellow boxes at 12, 18, 24 and 6.
- Lug size: 22 mm for the Super Jet, 19 mm for the Jet.
- Crowns: Thick, smooth compressor crowns with Saturn logo.
Enicars finest hour?
The Enicar Sherpa Jet, particularly the MkIII version, has been in my personal top 3 for years. Why? Because of that endlessly cool checkered GMT hand, the perfect size (at least for my wrist), the perfectly balanced colour scheme of the inner bezel and hands, and the rarity. The latter is largely due to the limited availability of spare parts required for the GMT movements compared to the standard AR calibres. Even though it’s only four parts—good luck finding them. That makes owning a Jet or Super-Jet in good condition all the more special.
See any variations I missed? Please reach out, I appreciate it.
