Rolex GMT-Master ‘Concorde’ (1675)

Vintage 40mm Rolex GMT-Master ‘Concorde’ (1675)

The Rolex GMT-Master was initially developed in 1954 in collaboration with Pan American Airways, with the aim of providing pilots with a watch that could display multiple time zones simultaneously. Today, the Rolex GMT-Master II remains one of the most popular and sought-after luxury watches in the world

In what became an iconic advertisement, Rolex included photos of a solid gold GMT-Master and a Concorde plane with a banner that read, “If you were flying the Concorde tomorrow, you’d wear a Rolex.”  The beautiful gold watch included in the photo soon became known as the GMT-Master Concorde.

Besides its association with the iconic plane, the GMT-Master Concorde stands out in several ways. This GMT-Master came with straight hands instead of the iconic Mercedes hands. The minute hand is extremely thin on the real ones, as compared to watches that have been modified. The GMT hand is also a small arrowhead, which Rolex increased in size over the years. These early hand-sets normally were paired with early cases that did not include crown guards, whereas the Concorde includes both the early hand-set with crown guards.  Also, the brown dial included applied conical shapes that were nicknamed “nipple markers”, which are not often used by Rolex. And of course, the 40mm case was made entirely of yellow gold.

This single owner watch truly has a look of its own, which is part of what makes it so collectible. As if this watch weren’t cool enough already, it also has military provenance as noted on the case back. The reference presented here came from the family of the original owner, who was presented the watch by his parents upon his graduation, after which he wore it throughout his military career. While in working condition, we’ve left it as untouched as possible, to allow its next owner to chart its path.