Lot 160
A rare, new old stock, and exceptional stainless steel dual time wristwatch with rare dial type, bracelet, original guarantee and...
Sold
$21,420
Est $8,000 - $12,000
Live Auction
THE NEW YORK WATCH AUCTION: SEVEN
ARTIST
Rolex
Size
40mm Diameter
Description
...presentation box

Year: 2005
Reference No: 16710
Case No: D303’590
Model Name: GMT-Master II
Material: Stainless steel
Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3185, 31 jewels
Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, endlinks stamped 78790A and MA, overall max length 210mm
Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp stamped 78790A and MA4
Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex Guarantee stamped Otap Istanbul, green leather fitted presentation box, two hang tags, product literature and outer packaging.

One doesn’t need to know very much about watches to recognize the distinctive flash of red and blue that announces a watch as a Rolex GMT-Master. Amongst the most iconic colour pairings in the world of watches, and one that is still going strong some 65 years on from its debut on Rolex’s game-changing pilot’s watch. With the introduction of the sapphire crystal in the 1980s, Rolex took the opportunity to upgrade the GMT-Master with an independently set hour hand allowing access to three time zones simultaneously and earning a new, “II”, designation. Marking this transition from the vintage to the modern era did not mean Rolex would resist the small tweaks and upgrades that made the 4-digit reference number GMT-Master models so endlessly collectable and fascinating. Indeed, the 5-digit era gave us the strangely vestigial 16700, the voluminous “Fat Lady”, with subtle changes to dials, luminous material, bracelets, bezels and calibers. Towards the end of the reference 16710’s production, Rolex began making these changes more feverishly than before, likely workshopping and testing ideas for the yet-to-be-revealed 116710. The most collectable of these dial variants is the so-called “stick” dial as found on the present lot, in which Rolex eliminated the heavy adjoining serifs that sandwiched the Roman numeral II for a sleeker, lighter, more minimal layout. Only appearing in the very final years of production, these “stick” dials marked the final aesthetic upgrade in the GMT-Master’s lineage before the Cerachrom era began. The perfect showcase for one of Rolex’s most collectible modern dials, this example is found in pristine, untouched condition, still retaining the original factory applied stickers from 2005 and its full suite of accessories including the punched certificate.

Signature
Case, dial, movement and clasp signed