Reference:gmt-master
The first watch Rolex ever built for airline pilots, and one of its most copied designs. Launched in 1955 for Pan Am flight crews, the GMT-Master carries a fourth hand and a 24-hour bezel so the wearer can track two time zones at once. Bakelite turned to aluminum, steel split from gold and two-tone, and the GMT-Master became the GMT-Master II when the local hour hand learned to move on its own. Color branches — Pepsi, Root Beer, Coke, black — ended up carrying as much collector weight as the reference numbers themselves.
Early GMT-Master (1955–1959)
The experimental years. The case had no crown guards, the 24-hour bezel was moulded from bakelite and cracked easily, and a gold branch with alpha hands ran alongside the red-and-blue (Pepsi) steel watch. Most surviving examples carry later service inserts; the original bakelite rarely survived daily wear.
| Reference | Production | Movement | Case | Bezel | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6542 | 1955–1959 | 1036 / 1065 / 1066 | 38mm SS or 18k YG | Bakelite Pepsi (steel), bakelite brown (gold) | First GMT-Master; no crown guards; fragile bakelite insert |
Long vintage core (1959–1980)
The reference that turned the GMT-Master from an experiment into an institution. Crown guards arrived with the 1675, along with an aluminum bezel insert (replacing the fragile bakelite) and a twenty-year production run long enough to hold several distinct watches under one number. Early pointed crown guards, known as PCG, gave way to rounded guards; gilt dials gave way to matte; and the steel watch was joined by a gold branch and a two-tone Root Beer branch.
| Reference | Production | Movement | Case | Branches | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1675 | 1959–1979 | 1565 early, 1575 later | 40mm SS, 18k YG, or two-tone | Steel, 1675/8 gold, 1675/3 Root Beer | Core vintage GMT-Master; PCG to rounded guards, gilt to matte |
Transitional GMT-Master (1979–1988)
The five-digit quick-set era on the GMT-Master side of the family split. Caliber 3075 added a quick-set date and a higher beat rate but kept the older linked-hand GMT logic, in which the 24-hour hand tracks the local hour hand rather than moving on its own. Acrylic crystals held through most of the run. The branch map also gets busier here, with steel, two-tone, and solid-gold references all in production at once.
| Reference | Production | Movement | Case | Branches | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16750 | 1979–1988 | 3075 | 40mm SS | Matte to glossy Pepsi, black, spider | Last steel GMT-Master with acrylic crystal; quick-set date |
| 16753 | 1979–1988 | 3075 | 40mm SS + 18k YG | Brown Root Beer, black | Two-tone continuation of the Root Beer line |
| 16758 | 1979–1988 | 3075 | 40mm 18k YG | Brown Root Beer, black | Last gold GMT-Master with older linked-hand logic |
GMT-Master II (1982–2007)
The functional break in the family. Caliber 3085 in the 16760 introduced an independently adjustable local hour hand, which turned the 24-hour bezel into a third-time-zone tool rather than a second-time-zone aid. The thick transitional 16760 gave way to the slimmer 16710 in 1989, and the line spent nearly two decades on that reference before the ceramic era rewrote the watch.
| Reference | Production | Movement | Case | Branches | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16760 | 1983–1987 | 3085 | 40mm SS (thick) | Coke, black | First GMT-Master II; "Fat Lady" / "Sophia Loren" |
| 16710 | 1989–2007 | 3185, late 3186 | 40mm SS | Pepsi, Coke, black | Long neo-vintage steel run; late stick-dial 3186 sub-branch |
| 16713 | 1989–2007 | 3185, late 3186 | 40mm SS + 18k YG | Brown, black | Two-tone GMT-Master II branch |
| 16718 | 1989–2007 | 3185, late 3186 | 40mm 18k YG | Black well-documented, brown thinner | Solid-gold GMT-Master II branch |
Late GMT-Master (1988–1999)
The last reference on the original side of the family split. Sapphire crystal, caliber 3175, and a choice of Pepsi or black bezel. The 16700 kept the older linked-hand GMT logic rather than adopting the independent hour hand of the GMT-Master II references running alongside it. That mechanical distinction kept the two lines separate right to the end.
| Reference | Production | Movement | Case | Branches | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16700 | 1988–1998/1999 | 3175 | 40mm SS | Pepsi, black | Last GMT-Master; tritium to Luminova transition |
Movement progression
| Caliber | Frequency | Hacking / quick-set | Used in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1036 / 1065 / 1066 | 18,000 vph | no / no | 6542 | Earliest GMT-specific movements; picture still unresolved |
| 1565 | 18,000 vph | no / no | 1675 (early) | First stable 1675 caliber |
| 1575 | 19,800 vph | hacking from ~1971 | 1675 (late) | Long-run 1675 caliber; sometimes signed 1570 |
| 3075 | 28,800 vph | yes / yes | 16750, 16753, 16758 | Five-digit quick-set upgrade; still linked-hand GMT |
| 3085 | 28,800 vph | yes / yes | 16760 | First independently adjustable local hour hand |
| 3175 | 28,800 vph | yes / yes | 16700 | Last linked-hand GMT-Master caliber |
| 3185 | 28,800 vph | yes / yes | 16710, 16713, 16718 | Long neo-vintage GMT-Master II movement |
| 3186 | 28,800 vph | yes / yes | late 16710, 16713, 16718 | Rare late Parachrom-era movement |
Color and metal logic
Recurring branch identities run across the reference numbers and sometimes matter more than the digits themselves. The red-and-blue Pepsi bezel starts with the steel 6542 and has stayed the default visual identity of the line ever since. The brown-and-gold Root Beer bezel begins on the two-tone 1675/3 and gold 1675/8 in the early 1970s, then carries forward into the 16753, 16758, 16713, and the brown side of the 16718. The red-and-black Coke bezel arrives with the first GMT-Master II, the 16760, and stays associated mainly with that reference and the early 16710. Gold and two-tone GMT-Masters have been part of the family from the earliest production onward.
Collecting context
The GMT-Master market rewards different habits than the Submariner market, even when the watches overlap in period. The Submariner collects around case shape, military use, and dial text. The GMT-Master collects just as much around bezel color, travel mythology, and branch identity.
The same caution comes up again and again across the family. Original delivery is not the same thing as period-correct fitment, and a watch that wears period parts correctly today may never have left the factory that way. Bracelet dates date the bracelet, not the watch head. Service inserts are common on every reference and nearly universal on the earliest ones, where the bakelite originals rarely survived. Nickname language is useful shorthand, but Pepsi, Coke, Root Beer, and plain black each cover a range of dial and bezel variants, and the labels can flatten real differences if used too loosely.
Sources
- In-Depth: The History of the Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II — unknown, Monochrome
- The Rolex GMT-Master: A Complete Collector's Guide — Stephen Pulvirent, Sotheby's
- A Closer Look at the Rolex Root Beer — Christina Bohn, Sotheby's
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual, Chevalier Edition — unknown, Morning Tundra