Signed Rolex, Oyster Perpetual, GMT-Master, Ref. 1675, Case No. 503’740, Manufactured in 1961

The present timepiece is one of the earliest representative of the iconic 1675 GMT-Master model. An evolution of reference 6542, the main difference with its predecessor consists in the presence of the crown guard. Very early examples, such as the present watch, feature a pointed crown guard, markedly different from the later ones. These pointed crown guards were allegedly designed to make this feature as unobtrusive as possible. Furthermore, the dial presents the attractive gloss/gilt combination, as expected in these early specimens. The glossy black dial, likely a service replacement, has wonderfully tropicalized to an intense tobacco hue perfectly harmonizing with the luminous material, which also tropicalized to a similar tone. The small arrow tip of the 24 hours hand was the standard for early 1675. It was soon changed to the big arrow tip in an effort to improve legibility, and many of the original small arrow tips were exchanged for the later version during service. Thankfully, this is not the case with this attractive timepiece.