Rolex GMT-Master Ref. 16750 - Transitional Matte 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 shorting 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 worldimers 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 Yorks 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.

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. That being said - it did have one minor flaw - no quickset date. Enter the very rare (1-2 Year Production Window) Ref. 16750 Transitional Matte Dial. Matte Dial is the way to go, but the 1675 never had quickset date making this rare bridge model the perfect in-between piece. It has a 1675s Matte Dial, with the upgraded high beat and quickset Rolex Calibre 3075. This is rare because the 16750 would ultimately be one of the first sport Rolex models to move to a high gloss dial and white gold lume surrounds marking Rolex’s transition from tool watch to luxury watchmaker - and this is the last vestiage of that Tool-Watch time.

Furthermore - this example has absolutely stunning dial patina and one of the most beautifully faded Aluminum Bezels we have ever seen on a GMT-Master. Finished off on a period (and generally preferred) solid link Oyster, you have the absolute best of both worlds!

*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.