Every Rolex has a story, and there is no Rolex with more stories than the✱ GMT-Master. It was a watch born to fly, an icon of the jet-age. The first Rolex GMT-Master was designed in concert with Pan American World Airways who was entering the world’s first commercial jet-liner into service in the 1950s, and whose pilots needed a way to tell time at destination, and place of origin, simultaneously. Rolex’s answer was the signature red and blue 24-hour bezel, and a 24 hour hand, which was an elegantly simple solution to a complex issue. The GMT-Master quickly became the preferred watch of pilots and jetsetters alike and is sti🌱ll referred to by Rolex as ‘The Cosmopolitan Watch’.  

Many collectors regard the present example, a second-generation reference 1675, as the quintessential watch in the GMT-Master line. Its iconic red and blue aluminum bezel, affectionately known as the Pepsi, along with its matte black dial, exude both elegan𓆉ce and sportiness. This watch is presented in beautiful condition exhibiting a rich patina, and gently faded bezel while being accompanied by its original boxes, papers, and sales receipts from new which is no small feat for a watch dating to 1977. 

As with many vintage watches, the closer we look, the more interesting things become. The receipt (for $210.00) is made out to Mr. Charles Elwoo📖d Yeager. While we are unable to say definitively, that is also the name of Brigadier General and 'the fastest man alive' as the first person to break the speed of sound. More than just that, Chuck Yeager was famously known to wear a GMT-Mast🍸er and was later in his life a Rolex Ambassador featured in their advertising. As a highly decorated veteran and pilot, it would make sense that Yeager would have owned earlier iterations of the GMT-Master for which he was so fond. At the minimum, this adds yet another element of mystery to Rolex’s cosmopolitan jet-setting watch.