Now Live: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tadao Ando Limited Edition, Ref. 103245, Sandblasted Titanium
Now live: a Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tadao Ando Limited Edition, ref. 103245, in sandblasted titanium. Created with the celebrated Japanese architect an...
Now live: a 1958 Rolex GMT-Master ref. 6542, the very first GMT-Master. Developed with Pan Am so its crews could track home time across time zones, the 6542 wore a Bakelite bezel Rolex soon abandoned, which makes an original insert like this one, still deep red and blue with cream numerals, genuinely difficult to find. Gilt chronometer dial, red 24-hour hand, no crown guards.
In the mid 1950s, Pan American’s long-haul crews needed to read two time zones at a glance. Rolex’s answer was the GMT-Master: a fourth, 24-hour hand paired with a rotating 24-hour bezel, so a pilot could keep home time and local time on one dial. The 6542 was the first reference, and every GMT-Master since descends from it.
Its bezel insert was Bakelite with luminous numerals, a material that proved fragile and cracked easily. Rolex moved to aluminum, and many early watches lost their originals at service. A surviving Bakelite insert is the detail that separates a great 6542 from a good one.
The reference also has a screen credit. Pussy Galore wore a 6542 in Goldfinger in 1964, which is why some collectors still use her name for it. Around 1959 the crown-guard 1675 took over, leaving the 6542 as a short, slim, unguarded first chapter.
Serial 397,xxx with a matching 1958 caseback. The gilt dial reads “Officially Certified Chronometer,” correct for the period and predating the later “Superlative” wording, and it has aged to a warm tone with chocolate hints in certain light. The red GMT hand and red and black roulette date wheel are present, and the watch rides on a scarce riveted Oyster bracelet with 58 end links and a Big Logo clasp. Most important, the Bakelite bezel and insert are original, with deep color and cream numerals.
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