Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 2006 Reference No: 116748 Movement No: 32'183'526 Case No: Z'649'122 Model Name: GMT-Master Material: 18K yellow gold, diamonds, sapphires Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3186, 31 jewels Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold Rolex Oyster bracelet, max length 205mm Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex deployant clasp Dimensions: 40mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex guarantee dated July 13, 2012, wallet, product literature, presentation box and outer packaging.
Catalogue Essay
The GMT-Master is most famously, and typically, cased in stainless steel. While reference 6542 and 1675 were sometimes cased in precious metals, these were infrequent occurrences. Indeed, it was not until the arrival of reference 16758 in 1979, that the GMT-Master was set with rubies, diamonds and sapphires, thus inspiring its nickname, ‘SARU’.
Heavy, robust and lavishly set with either a diamond-sapphire, or diamond-sapphire-ruby bezel, reference 116748 reinterprets the original SARU, providing a dressy alternative to the classic stainless steel GMT- Master II. It is important to note that very few examples of reference 116748 were fitted with the diamond-sapphire bezel, and without diamonds embellished on the lugs.
The present watch is presented with its original guarantee dated July 13, 2012, indicating the watch was sold at The Hour Glass in Singapore. Interestingly, it sat as stock for over five years before it was original sold in 2012.
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.
