Rolex GMT-Master Ref. 16753 - Sunburst Brown 'Nipple' Dial Unpolished

The Rolex GMT-Master is one of the most historic and iconic watches the brand ever produced. Its origin dates back to a commission request by Pan American World Airways in the early 50’s for their fleet of pilots who needed access to different time zones.

These pieces would feature a similar design to another watch that Rolex was developing around that time, the Submariner, but would include a fourth hand running on 24-hr time, and a bi-colored bezel insert to represent AM/PM times. Those colors, naturally, would be the PanAm colors: Red & Blue. Thus, in 1953, the Ref. 6542 GMT-Master was born. These early pieces were ultimately, fragile arguably flawed in some ways, and were therefor succeeded by the updated Reference 1675 in 1959.

This Reference introduced a larger case size with crown-guards and a bi-colored blue + red bezel insert made of aluminum. The Ref. 1675 underwent many small changes over its 21-year production run, with a slew of dial, bezel, bracelet, and hand variations. You know, Rolex stuff. And eventually, the 1675 would evolve into the 5-digit GMT-Master, one of which, we have here. These pieces, at a glance, retain the look and feel of a 1675, but now utilize a 'quickset' date function with the updated Calibre 3075 movement.

The piece that we have here is a two-tone stainless steel and yellow gold example known to collectors and enthusiasts as a 'Root Beer.' Dating to circa 1984, this example comes to us in fantastic overall condition. The case remains unpolished, with clear factory finishing visible throughout and shows normal signs of wear. The yellow gold bezel, also unpolished, shows matching wear and houses an attractive brown/cream bi-color insert. The dial with is brown in color with a captivating sunburst finishing, rather than matte finishing like its predecessors. It carries over the applied 'nipple' indices, which exhibit a rich and even patina, with a handset to match. This piece comes fitted to its correct two-tone stainless steel and yellow gold Jubilee bracelet with a blade clasp.

Overlooked for many years, these early 5-digit Professional models carry over virtually everything that collectors love about its predecessor, but have that added functionality of a quickset date. And though not quite as old as their predecessors, these are becoming very difficult to find in honest, untouched condition like the example that we have here.