ROLEX 6542 18K GMT MASTER INCREDIBLY EXTENSIVE PAPERS & ORIGINAL BOX

The Rolex GMT Master is one of the legendary Rolex sport models, having been designed as a tool watch for commercial pilots. Being a Rolex, which is to say accurate and durable, the GMT Master was quickly adopted by military pilots and astronauts alike. The GMT Master allows the wearer to keep track of local time with the regular hour and minutes hands while the 24 hour hand tracks GMT (now called UTC time) which pilots use as a universal reference time. The reference 6542 is the first GMT Master model that Rolex produced and is highly collectable. The watch you are looking at is 18k gold, and while the GMT Master was designed to be a tool watch, this rare version in solid gold was obviously envisioned as a luxurious tool watch! While the steel version had a bakelite bezel insert in blue/red and a utilitarian black dial with luminous, this watch has a brown bakelite bezel insert and brown dial with gold hour markers. Take a look at the original Rolex box and papers set that accompany this watch. Remarkable! The owner was meticulous to say the least, retaining not only the original Guarantee certificate and Chronometer certificate, but also all of his service records. Original and untouched brown dial has developed a color and texture that looks like finely tanned and deeply worn in shell cordovan leather. With the gold hour markers and original hands, this watch is spectacular. Original 18k gold case measures 38mm diameter by 13mm thick and has no crown guards. The original 18k bezel features the original and clean Bakelite insert, which is extremely rare after close to 60 years of service. Crystal is plastic with cyclops date magnifier (the cyclops magnifier was an option on 6542s). Original screw down crown operates smoothly. Case is in mint condition and the lugs are thick and even with discernible bevels. Serial number 486XXX dates production to 1958. Original movement is the automatic winding Rolex Caliber 1030 with 25 jewels and adjusted to five positions and temperature. This movement has the cool butterfly winding rotor. Movement is a C.O.S.C. Certified Chronometer and is clean and running. An opportunity like this may not present itself for many years. This watch is incredible.