Rolex GMT-Master Ref. 1675 - Mk4 Dial
Straight Facts
Let’s rewind the clock to the 1950s. Pan American World Airways, is in talks with Boeing to launch the worlds first passenger jetliner, massively shortening the time between American and European Nations. It does however, present an interesting dilemma. Pilots need to be able to tell time in two places at the same time with a very quick glance. Who does Juan Trippe turn to? Rolex. While worldtimers and GMTs were not a new invention - the way Rolex chose to answer it was incredibly novel AND simple. The addition of a ‘slow’ 24 hour hand that made one revolution per day and a simple change of the bezel to a military 24 hour time would allow the wearer to quickly read time in two places at once. Points awarded here for mechanical simplicity, and execution. The bezel would be in two different colors to represent AM/PM times, and those colors would be the PanAm colors of Red & Blue (naturally). While the watch was developed rather quickly and the first generation 6542 released in the mid 50s, the Boeing Jetliner (the 707) took a little longer to develop. That being said, when PanAm flew the 707 on its maiden flight from New York’s Idlewild Airport (not yet JFK!) to Paris (with onboard catered food from Maxim’s of Paris!) it was the Rolex GMT-Master on the flight crews wrist.
Which leads us to the present example GMT-Master, a second generation 1675. While the 6542 GMT was a great watch, it was not without its flaws. To many in the collector community the 1675 is the de rigueur of GMT-Masters. This present example being a Mk V variant. The bezel is in excellent condition with only slight fading to its signature blue/red color palette (thanks PanAm) and the case is well preserved and shows signs of a life well lived - but not overpolished or abused. The dial is in excellent condition and the lume has maintained a more ‘white’ coloring that gives us a good indication as to what this watch looked like when it left the factory. Fitted to a Rolex Oyster - and as an extremely attractive price, this might just be the ultimate vintage daily-wearer!
*Some marks or spots on the dial are reflections or dust on the crystal and are due to high intensity strobe lighting used while photographing. They are not actually on the watch or visible in natural lighting.
Condition Report & Details
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Every Oliver & Clarke timepiece comes with a one-year mechanical warranty starting from the date of delivery. We ensure all watches are in wonderful working condition and are ready for daily wear. Many have been fully serviced by our team of watchmakers.
Please note:
- Due to the vintage or antique nature of many of our watches, they may not keep time as accurately as when new, nor as precisely as quartz or electronic devices.
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- Internal or external damage caused by accidents, mishandling, abuse, modifications, or services performed by anyone other than our authorized personnel.
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