1675/8 ‘President’ Rolex GMT-Master
For what mass hysteria surrounds steel sport Rolex today, I simply cannot imagine a stronger antidote. For what is not a massive price difference compared to the current secondhand market base GMT-Master II value, this insane vintage reference is on the table: 1978 production in full gold, substantially less common, and brimming with nuance and charm. In fact, the price gap is almost entirely bridged by the intrinsic gold value from the case and bracelet itself. I therefore call you, dear readers and collectors, to question your values. You may not see yourself as a gold GMT-Master-kind-of-collector. Yet, how much more fun could life be if you challenged that perspective?
You all know the 1675 story by now, PanAm and the dawn of the jet age, etc. What you do need to know is that this brown nipple dial is precisely what dreams are made of. Only found on yellow gold and two-tone sport Rolex models in the 70s and 80s, this conical indice style is highly collected and just, well, sexy. That brown tone is matched perfectly in its correct fat font bezel, a sort of rusted Earth tone. Moreover, this example is wearing a President (or Day-Date) bracelet. Little discussed, this bracelet was available as an option to the jubilee in period. The link style is ever so slightly more modern and gives the 1675/8 a more sporting appearance to my eye. At first glance, this looks like a 1675 in gold. Upon closer study, almost every detail of this GMT is unique.
The case on this example still sports full bevels and proportion, relatively rare as 18k alloys of this era were considerably softer than today’s. The tritium applications are all a deep yellow tone and nearly match their gold surrounds. Date disc is even original with open 6 and 9s. Perhaps most impressively, however, this one comes with a full set. That’s right, stamped papers and original box to go along with an exceptional example. It comes from a well-regarded retailer in the East.
Find this 1675/8 here from S. Song for 39000 USD.