Rolex - The New York Watch Auction: XI New York Saturday, December 7, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1972
    Reference No: 1675; inside caseback stamped 1675 and III.72
    Movement No: D’511’553
    Case No: 3’300’118
    Model Name: GMT-Master
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1570, 26 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex folded Oyster bracelet, reference 7836, endlinks stamped 380, max overall length 210mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp, stamped 4.72
    Dimensions: 39mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

  • Catalogue Essay

    In production for more than 20 years, from 1959 to 1980, the Rolex GMT-Master reference 1675 was the highly successful and more robust replacement for the first GMT-Master model reference 6542. First produced with “glossy” dials with gilt printing, Rolex switched to the use of matte dials as early as the 1.6 million serial number (circa 1967). While it has never been confirmed by Rolex exactly why the shift was made, matte dials are believed to be less expensive to manufacture, more robust, and less reflective.


    With a perfectly matching bracelet, case, and dial – all dating to 1972 and consistent with a 3.3 million serial number – this is certainly amongst the best preserved examples of the reference Phillips has had the pleasure of offering.

    Highly collectable and remaining in hardly-worn condition with a flawless dial and, in our opinion, unpolished case, the present, fresh-to-market reference 1675 is a rare opportunity to collect one of the finest and best preserved examples to appear publicly.

  • 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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148

Ref. 1675; inside caseback stamped 1675 and III.72
An extremely well-preserved and highly attractive stainless steel dual-time wristwatch with “Mark 2” matte dial, date, and bracelet

Circa 1972
39mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

Estimate
$15,000 - 30,000 
CHF13,200-26,400
€14,100-28,100
HK$117,000-233,000

Sold for $22,860

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros
Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Americas
+1 (212) 940-1293
watchesny@phillips.com

Isabella Proia
Head of Sale, New York
+1 (212) 940 1285
iproia@phillips.com

The New York Watch Auction: XI

New York Auction 7 - 8 December 2024