
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Rolex GMT-Master PCG Gilt Dial, ref. 1675, 1963
- Maker / attribution
- Rolex (maker)
- Date
- 1963
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- Stainless Steel
- Stock no.
- GMT36
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Watches of Knightsbridge (GMT36)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1963 Rolex GMT-Master 1675 PCG Gilt Dial (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Watches of Knightsbridge (dealer), London (stock number GMT36), this is a wristwatch by Rolex, made in Switzerland, dated 1963. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Stainless Steel. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Watches of Knightsbridge
A stunning example of Rolex’s golden era, this 1963 Rolex GMT-Master 1675 features the broad Pointed Crown Guards, original small arrow GMT hand and early Chapter Ring gloss black gilt dial. The dial has remained in perfect original condition, the best we have seen for some time. The watch features its original early bezel with grooves that span the entire vertical portion of the bezel (featured until 1963) and original “Pepsi” insert that has beautifully faded over time. The case back retains the original Rolex case back sticker. The watch is paired with a later Rolex USA Jubilee folded-link bracelet, offering style and comfort. A true collector’s piece, rarely found in this condition.
Specifications — Watches of Knightsbridge
Reference: 1675; Metal: Stainless Steel; Movement: Automatic
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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