Early 1960s GMT-Master

[Haywood_Milton]

I bought this little treasure today. It joins other 1675s in my collection but this one is in some ways a tad more interesting:



Note the pointed crown guards:







Some parts replaced at service ("boooo....")





...but then this is an early bird. I record the earliest 1675s around 5xx,xxx case numbers. This one is from a batch of around 1,600 manufactured shortly after that, having II.61 (2nd quarter of 1961) case-backs, probably sold circa 1962:



I do like the provenance which case-backs can provide. Watch-makers' service marks can not only be decoded (this watch was booked in for service number 614xxx by Rolex UK in September 1992) but also checked against a register of others, to see that they fall into place / contemporary style of application.

1560 calibre looks to be in decent order



but look how crudely marked is its number :



"D" showing it was a movement with DATE feature, of course.

Now, have a look at the case number :



It would appear to have been applied not just by hand, but by the hand of Oliver Reed after a big night out. This is quite correct for this small batch and, indeed, if one compares two together one finds that the idiosyncrasies, errors and re-strokes of the same numerals are perfectly matched, proving that the numbers must have been applied by a machine, no matter how imperfectly it was set up.

An old watch is just an old watch, until you start listening to what it has to say!



H

[FTX I]

Looks wonderful. Congrats.

[Fabrice M]

I am so jealous. Hard to find... enjoy.

[lee fowler]

Nice catch Haywood.

[scooba]

Thanks for sharing , lovely macro shots

[rootbeer7]

Beautiful shots and a great history lesson. Slightly more positive feedback than that FB site!!

[BigBlue1]

That is a beauty. I am currently looking at these GMTs along with the Rootbeer.
Very nice looking.

Can we see a wrist Picture?

[pts1956]

What a gem, stunning, congratulations


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[seattleal]

Hi Haywood-

Very nice- congratulations!

I am especially drawn to the asymmetrical pointed crown guards. I have a 5512 dated 1/61 with similarly asymmetrical GC's, and have seen pictures of other 5512's and 1675's from this era with similar CG's. I believe they came from the factory that way, although many people will argue that the asymmetry is a result of over-polishing. Do you have an opinion on this?

Here is a pic of the CG's on my 5512

[yoniman]

Awesome macro shots!
Thanks for sharing.

[Pacha]

Very informative and interesting post, thank you. Congrats on the wonderful find.

[Bladeshot]

Great example!


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[Wiener48]

Very cool pice, great pics. May I ask, any papers? What did you pay, or, where is such a beauty now?

[Wiener48]

Hm, question, hands and dial are not a later version?

[KarlFr]

Congrats on the PCG! To bad about the hands/dial but althesame cool piece

Have seen the same style hand-engraved on different Bond subs from the same era, that shaky old engraving guy was probably near retirement

[lhanddds]

Very nice


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[Cheutc]

Congrats!! nice watch!!!

[datejust24]

Great info and awesome pics, thanks for sharing

[Timrolexnl]

congratulations

[Wiener48]

I would try to find the correct dial and hands, not easy, bit it’s worth

[c41006]

Congrats!

[Haywood_Milton]

I have been asked an unusual question both here and by pm.

Is what I paid for it anyone else’s concern?

[05carbondrz]

Originally Posted by Haywood_Milton

I have been asked an unusual question both here and by pm.

Is what I paid for it anyone else’s concern?

Nope.The Market is evolving so quickly that Buyers are looking to get any price points they can(My Random guess)

[Richard Carver]

Originally Posted by seattleal

Hi Haywood-

Very nice- congratulations!

I am especially drawn to the asymmetrical pointed crown guards. I have a 5512 dated 1/61 with similarly asymmetrical GC's, and have seen pictures of other 5512's and 1675's from this era with similar CG's. I believe they came from the factory that way, although many people will argue that the asymmetry is a result of over-polishing. Do you have an opinion on this?

Here is a pic of the CG's on my 5512

Of course, it's impossible to know what happened to a watch once it left the mothership but there are period ads that show asymmetrical CGs and that's good enough for me.

[Haywood_Milton]

Originally Posted by seattleal

Hi Haywood-

Very nice- congratulations!

I am especially drawn to the asymmetrical pointed crown guards. I have a 5512 dated 1/61 with similarly asymmetrical GC's, and have seen pictures of other 5512's and 1675's from this era with similar CG's. I believe they came from the factory that way, although many people will argue that the asymmetry is a result of over-polishing. Do you have an opinion on this?

Here is a pic of the CG's on my 5512

I believe that this was an experimental period for crown guards, that variants were not necessarily tried in a linear progression and that more than one style --- including these apparently imbalanced "horns" --- was indeed correct.

H

[The Argonaut]

It cost what it cost. It’s a beautiful watch. Well done.


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[KateB]

Wow absolutely gorgeous


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[Bladeshot]

I think it’s lovely! And the asymmetrical CGs are very cool. I imagine they were that way from factory. Can’t see over polishing doing that.l, imho.


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[Dr.Smellody]

Very cool! Love the details of this early example!

[Boaters]

Lovely piece and enjoy reading your posts!