Rolex GMT-Master 1675 'MK II'

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During its production of roughly twenty years, the Rolex GMT-Master reference 1675 has been subject to various alterations on both, an aesthetic and technological level. Especially, the dial underwent evident adjustments. This type of dial is an MKII and features thick, more-squared, wider letters on the dial. Furthermore, the 'L' and 'E' in ROLEX are closer spaced to each other than the other letters but not as close as with the MK1 (also known as 'Long E'). Finally, the lume is flat and not thick and waffled as the previous dials. We see this type of dial during the '70s with some exceptional years, like 1977, when the 'Radial Dial' appeared on the market.We are pleased to offer this example from 1971, which has taken on a creamy shade of patina. The watch is completely original with an original Pepsi bezel (with a red-back inlay) and comes on its original, stainless steel, folded Oyster bracelet. The stainless steel case measures 40 mm. The watch is powered by the caliber 1570.

Introduction

Rolex GMT-MasterFasten your seatbelts for the story of the Rolex GMT-Master. Aviation company Pan-Am requested Rolex to create a wristwatch that would display multiple time-zones simultaneously, as their flights got longer; crossing multiple time-zones. Rolex came up with the GMT-Master (‘GMT’ stands for ‘Greenwich Mean Time’) in 1954. The watch features a date-function and an extra hour hand (with triangle) that points out the second time zone on the bi-directional turning, 24hour bezel.Still linked to aviation and although meant for professional use, it enjoys a much wider fan base ever since it first saw light. Over the years it underwent some changes and there are so many wonderful variations of this all-time Rolex classic. Some GMT’s are great as a single purchase, others are a wonderful addition to any collection and some of them can be considered as the crowning glory.Reference 1675Introduced in 1959 and with a very long production run of little over 20 years: the 1675! On this model they added the ‘pointed crown guards’ (1675 with PCG AKA ‘Cornino)’ that got replaced by regular rounded crown guards in 64/65. The dial also underwent some changes from glossy gilt chapterring to a matte radial dial in the end. (with a lot of variations in between, like the rare ‘exclamation mark’, ‘underline’ and ‘Double-swiss’ dials). There was a change in the red GMT hand as well as the small arrow was replaced by a bigger one.The 1675 was mainly produced in steel, but was also available in 18k yellow gold or a combination of both materials. In the early 70s it became the first Rolex Professional watch with – optional – factory fitted jubilee bracelet.'Pepsi Bezel'The red/ blue bezel inserts on the steel GMT’s are referred to as ‘Pepsi bezels’ as it assembles the same colours, but in fact Rolex chose this combination because of the Pan-Am colours. The heritage of the Pepsi bezel starts in 1959, when the rare bakelite bezels were used. Up until 2007 aluminium Pepsi bezels were used (optional, next to an all-black or black/ red aka ‘Coke bezel’). After being discontinued for 7 years, Rolex re-launched the beloved ‘Pepsi’, yet this time made out of Cerachrom and only available on the white-gold model. In 2018 Basel world Rolex introduced the stainless steel Pepsi with Jubilee bracelet. 

Specifications

Shipping

Packages are generally dispatched within 2 days after receipt of payment and are shipped within the Netherlands by Registered Mail through the Dutch carrier PostNL and for other countries by Fedex. Consult us if you prefer another method of shipping. For most destinations tracking is available.