Replacing the first generation of the GMT-Master ref. 6542, Rolex introduced the ref. 1675 in 1959 featuring a newly upgraded metallic bezel replacing the delicate bakelite bezel as well as upgrading its case by incorporating crown guards to enhance its protection of the crown. Designed as a tool watch and worn by pilots to keep track of various time zones during their travels, majority of the production were encased in stainless steel, making gold examples extremely rare and desirable.
However, early gold examples of the ref. 1675 differed from its stainless steel counterpart as it features a case without crown guards and only added on a few years later. Furthermore, the present example features a desirable dial with leaf hands only witnessed in early examples, cup-shaped luminous markers deemed by collectors as “bicchierini”. As yellow gold examples of the ref. 1675 is already rare, the present early example of the reference with no crown guards and preserved in excellent overall condition with an attractive dark brown metallic bezel insert is a grail. With tremendous presence on the wrist, the present example is certainly one of the nicest GMT-Master ref. 1675 in yellow gold to appear in recent times.
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.