Gilt Dial 1675 Rolex GMT-Master

Immediately after the wild success of the 6542, Rolex’s GMT-Master really entered its own. The dial wasn’t going to kill you with radium, the bezel wasn’t going to shatter by coughing on it, and crown guards had entered the chat. The 1675 is undoubtedly one of the great pillars of vintage sport Rolex. But the gilt dial GMT-Master will always hold an extra dimension of glossy appeal to serious collectors. It’s cask strength dial-making that eclipses anything made after, with a warm that never ceases to entertain the eyes.

The 1675 was born with a gilt dial in 1959. Most of Rolex moved to matte dials around 1966-67, which leaves us with about 7 years of gilt dial production. The actual end of that run is pretty fuzzy and not an exact date. This example hails from the very end of that timeline. Of these, the greatest distinctions are the chapter ring and crown guards. This example comes from later in that range, with unpointed or rounded crown guards and an opened chapter ring. It’s technically a later Type B, non-underline single Swiss, but that’s getting into the weeds here. For all practical purpose, all that’s required knowledge here is that there’s an enticing deep glossy sheen to the dial and not many have survived in this condition. By that I don’t just mean an unperturbed dial, ghosted bezel, and strong case, but even its original chronometre certification.

The GMT-Master has always perfectly blurred the line between offering the no-nonsense professional, tool-oriented presence that vintage Rolex fulfilled so well and the opulent, luxurious attitude of the mid-century air travel. The 1675 is the one you don’t have to worry about as much, that still retains all that vintage charm. While overall production spanned 1959-80 and some 18 dial variants, just a few categories really stand out as obviously a cut above: the Concorde, Fuchsia, and gilt dials (of course, all the crazy Oman/UAE/etc dials too). Gilt is a far harder find in this condition than anything ever made with white gold surrounds. It is not a travel watch, it’s the travel watch, and one of the most charming iterations that exists.

This 1675 is sporting a very full case, with papers dating it to 1968. The 6251H bracelet is pretty polished, going by the clasp coronet, so note that data point. It’s also worth noting that this dial type (B) is more commonly seen in PCG or Cornino cases, but it was also made toward the very end in rounded guards. Also, we would expect a Type C given the date listed. But it’s possible the listed date here is the sale and not the case serial, so we’ll give it a pass. Its dial is pure tritium with a lovely tan, small pointer hand intact. The bezel is ghosted. It comes with its chronometre certification and box, from a well-regarded London retailer.