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What on earth is a ‘Nipple Dial’?
Let’s rewind the clock to the 1950’s. 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 it's flaws. The 1675 saw the introduction of crown guards, aluminum bezels … and the continuation of a full gold GMT-Master. While the 6542 was also available in all-gold, the 1675 reference gave us the ‘Nipple Dial’ variant.
With a timeless black-and-gold color palette, these rare and early 1675 all-gold models came with a few types of dials - this one having a matte black dial with gold ‘nipple’ indices, called that for their generally small round appearance, punctuated by little plot of lume. These matte black dials with gold printing dials were often prone to chipping - but the one housed in this case is in perfect condition throughout with no signs of any degradation.
Coming directly from the family of the original owner, this watch spent the last 25 years or so in a drawer and the overall condition matches that of a watch that was hardly worn. Dial aside, the fat-font bezel is in excellent condition and presents nearly perfectly. The well preserved 18K Yellow Gold case is is in excellent overall condition, and every last piece of lume is the same perfectly even cream color that us collectors look for in these period watches. The only thing better than a GMT, is a solid gold GMT, and after trying this on we think you’ll agree.
*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.
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Returns (accepted within 3 days of initial delivery of your purchase) must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. For payments via Credit Card, a 5% restocking fee will be in place for any returns or cancellations in order to cover our processing fee. Of course, watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.
If you happen to trade a watch with us, which we welcome, trades are final, except of course if the watch is grossly misdescribed or misrepresented.
We back each Oliver & Clarke timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty starting at the date of first delivery. We service or perform necessary maintenance to the extent necessary to all of our watches, unless otherwise noted. All watches are listed and sold running and functioning as intended.
*Please note that due to the vintage or antique nature of many of our watches, these machines may not run as accurately as they did when new, nor will any mechanical timepiece keep time as accurately as a quartz or electronic device.
We do not guarantee water resistance, thus do not warranty against moisture incursion or water damage.
*We also do not recommend deliberate exposure to water or worse - steam!
Our warranty is voided under the following circumstances:
Our warranty is non-transferable.
Through rigorous vetting of each watch offered, we’re able to guarantee authenticity of our pieces. Ultimately, your satisfaction is our mission, as is helping you get YOUR perfect watch. If you have any questions at all, we will get back to you ASAP.
Each of our timepieces are vetted, evaluated, authenticated, and approved by our experienced team prior to sale. We guarantee the period-correctness of all components unless otherwise disclosed. We guarantee the authenticity of each watch in perpetuity.
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From Rolex & Patek Philippe, to Cartier & Audemars Piguet. As collectors first, we love the small details that separate the Submariner from Daytona and Calatrava from Royal Oak. This is why you'll find our curated assortment spans decades of generations of models and brands. We believe that watches don't just tell time, they tell history - and life is too short to wear a boring watch.
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