It took me a number of years to appreciate Rolex on a personal level. I’ve always been fond of the manufacturer’s reputation as being “bulletproof”, however other brands with a more refined aesthetic would be the ones I gravitated towards instead. After spending everyday for several months holding vintage Rolex watches, I would come to admire brand. Throughout this period, one of the models I would continue to encounter was the Rolex GMT-Master reference 1675. Yet, it was a distinguishing example that would remain engrained in my mind in the form of a GMT-Master 1675 with the “Fuchsia” bezel.
As the story goes, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) commissioned Rolex to create a wristwatch ideal for pilots to efficiently tell two time zones simultaneously. Introducing the GMT-Master reference 6542, a watch which famously was recalled in 1961 due to the famous claim from an American Naval officer that the luminous bezel caused him and his family’s cancer. As a result, the luminous-bakelite bezel would be changed to a non-luminous bezel, and eventually updated to an anodized-aluminum bezel by the late 1960. And for the fuchsia phenomenon, that only occurs on the bezels from the 1.8M serial range around 1967-1968
Read the full article below:
https://www.strictlyvintagewatches.com/rolex-fuchsia-bezel-gmt-master-reference-1675
Significant Watches Podcast
Episode 22: A Significant Announcement; Geneva Watch Daze
In Episode 22 the horological homies discuss the latest and greatest at Geneva Watch Days, as well as the significant news that Tony Traina is heading off to The Dink. The update comes after a recent HODINKEE article announcing the hiring of five new editors. What will this mean for Tony's role on Significant Watches? Has he decided on his first official article as an H employee? All of your questions are answered in this epic episode!
#NewDomainAlert
Don't forget to leave a written review on the Significant Watches Podcast!
A Vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Catalog Circa 1958
Over the past few weeks I have been scanning some old ads and catalogs for those who appreciate primary source material. The most recent is a German Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox catalog dating to circa 1958. The booklet contains several early Memovox models, including two waterproof references. I can’t say I have seen anyone upload the entire catalog online yet, so hope you enjoy checking it out!
Check out the catalog in the link below:
https://www.strictlyvintagewatches.com/a-vintage-jaegerlecoultre-memovox-catalog
What I am Reading
This weekend I took a look at the recent articles on Fratello and noticed a great write up by Tomas Rosputinsky on his Gallet Medigraph.
Read the full article on Fratello Watches:
