This 1972 Rolex GMT Master 1675 is in very good condition and has passed our in-house due diligence and inspection criteria.
 
A rare example of an early 1970's GMT Master 1675 'Root Beer' that has been owned (and used) in a private collection for many years. Although this vintage GMT does not retain its original box and paperwork it has been inspected and authenticated by a qualified watchmaker and the Oyster bi-metal bracelet is original and correct for the year of the watch.
 
Case width 40mm (excluding crown)
Matt Brown 'Swiss only' Nipple Dial
24 hour display
Second time zone via independently adjustable hour hand
Plastic Acrylic 'Plexi' Crystal
Magnifier over date display
Rolex Calibre 1520 Automatic Movement 
Yellow Gold Bezel with 'Root Beer' insert
Stainless Steel Case
Screw-down Yellow Gold Crown
Original Yellow Gold / Stainless Steel 12-link 7836 Oyster Bracelet with 280 End LInks
Clasp with extension
3,4xx,xxx serial number indicating 1972 manufacture
TWS 12 Month Warranty / Valuation Certificate
Watch Register Certificate
 
**Price includes matching Carapaz soft brown leather watch case**
 
In 1954, Pan-Am was one of the first airlines to fly transatlantic routes non-stop and they discovered a need for a watch for pilots that could display two time-zones.
 
The solution came from Rolex in the form of the GMT-Master that displayed an extra hand which took 24 hours to complete a single rotation of the dial. By having a 24-hour indication on the watch bezel, pilots were able to see both the time zone they were flying from as well as the one they were travelling to, or the so-called Greenwich Mean Time zone that gave the GMT its name. GMT was the original time zone in which all flight plans and weather reports were issued.
 
This eliminated mistakes and made it easier for pilots to navigate through several time zones. The GMT-Master also became popular with airline passengers because if you knew the time at the place you departed from it had a positive influence on jetlag.
 
The first GMT-Master was the Reference 6242 and was introduced in 1954 with a bezel made from Bakelite. Since this was a fairly fragile material it was quickly replaced with a steel version. The sought-after Reference 1675 GMT-Master was produced from 1959 to 1980 and makes it one of the most enduring Rolex models.
 
The GMT-Master II was introduced in the early 1980’s and although it looked virtually identical to the original model the main difference was the introduction of a function in the movement that enabled the large hand to jump at a pre-set interval without stopping either the second hand or the GMT hand. This allowed a third time zone to be displayed.
 
The GMT-Master was one of Rolex’s ‘tool-watches’ that were designed to carry out a specific task to solve a specific problem. Originally available in stainless steel, gold versions later appeared and the original black bezel was joined with the famous ‘Pepsi’ (blue/red), ‘Coke’ (black/red) and 'Root Beer' (Gold/Bronze) offerings.