Rolex GMT-Master

Why We Love It The Rolex GMT-Master line is a perennial favorite amongst us here at Analog/Shift and is truly an icon of design that transcends the mere category of “tool watches”. The Reference 1675 is to the GMT-Master what the reference 5513 is to the Submariner. The quintessential version of an iconic watch. Despite the fact that the 1675 is the second iteration of Rolex’s famed GMT-Master, it was in production for over twenty years spanning the 1960s into the 1980s and undergoing numerous improvements in that time. However, as with all designs, the original is always the truest to its form, and that is exactly what we have here. Featuring a professionally restored case, beautifully patinated dial and handset, and a vibrant "Pepsi" bezel insert, this example is ready to wear and enjoy daily, and is exactly what we visualize when we talk about Rolex GMT-Masters.  The Story With the emergence of jet travel in the early 1950s, there arose a need for travelers, and more importantly pilots, to have a wristwatch that could display two timezones at once. As a pioneer of transatlantic and transcontinental flight, Pan American Airlines approached Rolex with that conundrum. Rolex’s solution was the GMT Master. Not long after the debut of the GMT Master at the Basel World Fair in 1954, Pan Am adopted the GMT Master as its official wristwatch. Other airlines soon followed, making the GMT Master synonymous with aviation. In 1960 Rolex released a new reference of GMT Master, the Reference 1675. The 1675 featured crown guards and was powered by the Caliber 1565 movement, and later, the Caliber 1575. With a production run of over two decades, it’s the Reference 1675 that many collectors view as the GMT to own.