GMT Master 16700, 2 Watches Need help to pick one

[russ86]

Hello, I am buying a GMT Master 16700 and have a choice between two.

The one on a left is from 1991 and has original unpolished clasp
The one on the right is from 1995 and has clasp feom 16710 but he is willing to swap them places so it can have an original 16700 as well.

Price diffreeence between the too is very narrow.
Which one you would reccomend?
Thank you

[havingagoodtime]

I like the one on the right with the faded bezel insert and I'd take the original clasp.

[russ86]

Originally Posted by havingagoodtime

I like the one on the right with the faded bezel insert and I'd take the original clasp.

Did Rolex do “Swiss-T <25” writing on the bottom in 90’s? I though they only wrote that on the modes from the 80’s only.

[037]

The one with the faded bezel has been highly polished. You can see the springbar protruding from the upper right lug. I'd pass on that one.

The one with the bright bezel has been replaced. It has luminova service dial, hands, and insert. I'd also pass on that one unless the replacement parts are okay with you.

If you have to choose between these two, I'd take the one with service parts and select the Oyster clasp covered in the green tape. This looks like it would get you a combo in better overall condition.

Originally Posted by ruslan1987

Did Rolex do “Swiss-T <25” writing on the bottom in 90’s? I though they only wrote that on the modes from the 80’s only.

Yes, up until circa 1997-1998.

[HKS724]

Originally Posted by 037

The one with the faded bezel has been highly polished. You can see the springbar protruding from the upper right lug. I'd pass on that one.

The one with the bright bezel has been replaced. It has luminova service dial, hands, and insert. I'd also pass on that one unless the replacement parts are okay with you.

If you have to choose between these two, I'd take the one with service parts and select the Oyster clasp covered in the green tape. This looks like it would get you a combo in better overall condition.


Yes, up until circa 1997-1998.

I was going to say right with the faded bezel, but in light of the above insights, I would say: wait? Nothing worse than staring at your "new" watch and seeing uneven, overpolished lugs, over and over and over again. Cheers.

[russ86]

Originally Posted by 037

The one with the bright bezel has been replaced. It has luminova service dial, hands, and insert. I'd also pass on that one unless the replacement parts are okay with you.

.

Are you sure that bezel, dial, hands and insert were replaced?

[037]

Originally Posted by ruslan1987

Are you sure that bezel, dial, hands and insert were replaced?

100%. "Swiss" dials with luminova weren't original on the 16700 until 1998. Both of these watches should have tritium parts.

The font on the bright colored insert also isn't correct for 1991. It's a service replacement.

[NKflyer]

The 1991 vintage with the bright bezel has a service replacement dial and hands, as other posters have mentioned.

Also, what makes you think that the clasp is wrong on the 1995 faded bezel watch? Are you going by the date stamp? Because the 78790 bracelet with fliplock clasp was being phased in right around this time, maybe even a bit earlier. Is that what's on it?

[russ86]

Originally Posted by 037

100%. "Swiss" dials with luminova weren't original on the 16700 until 1998. Both of these watches should have tritium parts.

The font on the bright colored insert also isn't correct for 1991. It's a service replacement.

What do you think about this one? This is from another seller

[NKflyer]

^^ The 6 o'clock endlink is aftermaket and looks like hell. Besides that, probably the best of the three.

[037]

Yup. NKflyer is correct on the endlink. Thankfully that's easier to replace. The rest of the watch looks good. Insert looks correct. If the holes on the endlinks are still crisp then the sides might be unpolished. The crown guards look good, as do the tops of the lugs. Bracelet looks good other than not being able to see condition of the crown on the clasp.

My vote would be towards that one the most. The other two are a solid pass in my book.

[russ86]

Originally Posted by 037

Yup. NKflyer is correct on the endlink. Thankfully that's easier to replace. The rest of the watch looks good. Insert looks correct. If the holes on the endlinks are still crisp then the sides might be unpolished. The crown guards look good, as do the tops of the lugs. Bracelet looks good other than not being able to see condition of the crown on the clasp.

My vote would be towards that one the most. The other two are a solid pass in my book.

Yes the seller did mention that I would need to replace one end link. I am happy to hear that everything else seems fine, I will most likely then will go with this one then. Few more pictures of it.

[lee fowler]

Yes number three looks to be a much better watch, what are the first three of the serial?

[matches]

Hi, a few things I noticed from the pictures:

1) First picture you posted: faded bezel insert one looks to be an aftermarket/non official Rolex bezel insert (possibly chemical treated to achieve that look, but this is purely a guess on my part). The font on the 22 seems too much like the coat hook hangers which generally are part of the poor replicas out there.

2) First picture: Agree with the earlier post that said the watch on the left (non-faded bezel insert) looks like a replacement or service dial based on Lume.

3) Last one does look better than the first two, but make sure you do open the inside and check the movement properly.

4) Also - why are you looking at the first two in a kebab shop??

M.

[slickrick68]

I would find elsewhere to look, none of these examples impress me unless they are very cheap.