1675/8 Rolex GMT-Master

While the 1675 is effectively a perfect watch, the yellow gold 1675/8 can be even more perfect. Since the earliest days of the 6542, the GMT-Master has embraced gold. While there were Pre-Daytonas which already existed, it is one of the earliest Rolex sport watches to embrace precious metal. However, those were bakelite. Which means that if you breathe on them or, more relevantly, ship internationally, there’s some risk. The 1675 is aluminum, which means it fulfills the original criteria of the Rolex sport watch and can be worn without extreme care today.

The gold 1675 began with Concorde hands, i.e. batons that mirror what you’d find in a 6239 or equivalent. That name came thanks to an ad with that plane and that handset. Shortly after, it grew crown guards. Shortly after that (this one is from 1977), we wind up here: Mercedes hands, crown guards, big triangle pointer. Throughout all that evolution, one important thing remained constant: the nipple dial. The nipple dial is a hallmark of early gold Rolex sport watches from the golden era of sport Rolex. This was the brand’s way of separating the precious metal variant from standard production within the dial, all the way back to the 6542. The dials usually mirrored the print cliché of their time, however the indices were applied conical gold with tritium centers. We see them in two-tone and full yellow gold on the Submariner and GMT-Master only, from the 1970s until the 80s. They have always been delightful to collectors since discontinuation and never fail to charm. If you take a look at the modern equivalent, something like a 126715CHNR, there is very little differentiation as far as the dial.

When I say that Rolex usually used the cliché dial print of the time, that’s not entirely true. 1675/8 are divided between brown and black dials. The evolution was quick and sometimes changed within a serial range of less than 100,000 in the early marks. Black dials were all constructed with a slightly glossy lacquer layer, where only the earliest brown dials were. The print is always gold and the impression is always beautiful. Sometimes, you have to sit and explain why vintage is distinct and interesting. Other times though, the watch just speaks for itself. Nipple dials are the latter.

This example has a great case with strong edges. Maybe a very light polish, hard to say from afar, but it's still objectively great. The dial shows no signs of damage and all print is very clear. The all black bezel has ghosted just the slightest bit. It comes from a well-regarded Dutch retailer.