Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: XIII Geneva Saturday, May 8, 2021 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1974
    Reference No: 1675
    Movement No: D561577
    Case No: 3'672'913
    Model Name: GMT-Master
    Material: 18K yellow gold
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1570, 26 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold bark-finished Rolex President bracelet, max length 205mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold bark-finished Rolex deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 39mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed

  • Catalogue Essay

    Today, Rolex is renowned for some of the most iconic and treasured “tool watches” of the 20th century with models such as the Submariner, Daytona, and GMT-Master. First released in 1954, the GMT-Master reference 6542 was designed for pilots, and travellers to use while traversing the globe. With the rise of international travel in the 1940s and 1950s, Rolex and Pan American Airlines realised the need for a timepiece that would allow pilots to keep track of dual time zone while traveling, and developed an ingenious design with Bakelite bezel with 24-hour luminous numerals, and secondary GMT hour hand on the dial. The reference 6542 was replaced in 1959 with the introduction of the GMT-Master reference 1675, now sporting a metal bezel replacing the fragile Bakelite bezel, and crown guards for added protection. The reference 1675 was in production until approximately 1980, with the majority produced in stainless steel. Like the ref. 6542 before it, luxurious 18 karat gold examples of the ref. 1675 were produced in exceedingly small quantities.

    The present watch is without a doubt one of the most striking examples of this restricted gold production to ever resurface. It is well known that sometimes the paint used on watch dials changes color over time, giving rise to what is today known as a “tropical” dial. Brown tropical dials are well known from Rolex to appear on Daytona timepieces, with hues ranging from dark chocolate to terra di siena bruciata. On gold GMTs, some dials are known to sport a similar effect, with areas turning violet. The present example, however, sports an incredible even, dial-wide, iridescent purple/indigo/violet color - ranking this watch as one of the most appealing and collectible tropical gold 1675 to ever appear on the market.

    The unusual and highly collectible bark-finished President bracelet is a more than deserved touch of additional finesse and collectability to this mind-blowing timepiece.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

    One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.

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Ref. 1675
An extremely rare, attractive and unusual yellow gold automatic dual time wristwatch with center seconds, date, purple tropical dial and bracelet

Circa 1974
39mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and clasp signed

Estimate
CHF15,000 - 30,000 
€13,600-27,200
$16,300-32,700

Sold for CHF49,140

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

41 79 637 1724
aghotbi@phillips.com

 

 

The Geneva Watch Auction: XIII

Geneva Auction 8 - 9 May 2021