New Watch Day -1977 GMT 1675

[Pete_mcC]

I have been after a good GMT for ages, it’s my 50th this year so the original plan was find a 1974 but after two years of looking, good ones were found lacking. ‘74 seemed to be a poor year for sports Rolex, even on Chrono the numbers are markedly down compared to other years for any sports model, so I extended the search to either way.

The other day this one popped up. The details were scant, the photos were under harsh lights, it had been attributed to the wrong year (they’d used Bobs serial number chart) but something looked good too me, good enough to buy.

I will happily admit I’m no Springer when it comes to these watches, I tried to do as much research as possible here and on the https://gmtmaster1675.com site and am hoping I am right in thinking this is all good.

Watch is early ‘77, bracelet is ‘76, dial is a Radial so fits the age and looks correct, hands are original with matching lume (and some corrosion, but nothing off-putting), insert looks right for a mid/late 70s with oval 8, lugs look solid, plexi looks original rounded one and came up a treat with a bit of Polywatch, date wheel is silver (I haven’t gone through to see the open 9s and 6s, lack of quickset means that surprise is yet to come).

It’s a British, one owner watch so creamy lume patina from our weak sun, no orange here. The bracelet and clasp have no stretch and are sharp, it just has signs of use all over and not huge amounts of over polishing.

Only thing I have replaced are the spring bars with modern replica ones just for security, although they seem a little longer at the ends than the originals.

Everything looks solid, the colours are strong, but have I missed anything? Have I actually bought a dud? Be gentle with me as I am really happy with my ‘new’ watch!