Buying vintage Rolex – Utilitarian ideal without waiting list ordeal

James Robinson

For almost every watch enthusiast, the first sojourn into the world of the vintage watch market is two things: fun and inexpensive. The thrill of owning something that was created and worn several decades ago, the history, the gorgeous patina and, in most cases, the value for money – it just seems like there are zero downsides.

My first vintage piece was a gold-capped Tudor Oyster Prince from the early ’60s. It wasn’t a minter by any means, with scratches and swirls galore adorning both the plexi and the case. But I didn’t care one bit, because in my humble eyes it was completely and utterly gorgeous! High off this perceived value, it wasn’t long before my collection had swelled rapidly with other vintage pieces from the likes of Omega, Universal Genève and IWC. They all varied greatly in appearance, style and condition, but they had one thing in common – they were cheap.

With my most recent soirée into the buying of watches from yesteryear, however, I have strayed rather far from the path of my usual modus operandi. Essentially, I’ve gone from procuring timepieces worth a couple of hundred bucks each, to buying a single watch worth more than a car. And why, you may ask? Well, because it’s a vintage Rolex, and a pretty special one at that.

You see, it’s a GMT-Master Ref. 1675 or, as it’s more commonly known in loupe-wielding legions across the globe, a Pepsi. Not just any old Pepsi either, this one is sporting a glossy black “gilt dial” and the far smaller 24-hour hand that was fitted to 1675s from the late 1950s to mid ’60s. What’s more, like most vintage timepieces, it’s got a seriously cool story to tell.

It was bought new locally by an Aussie doctor, who also happened to be a pilot, and he needed a watch with a GMT complication because he was a flying doctor, back in the ’60s! That’s right, the absolute legend that bought this watch, to use for its intended purpose, not only flew across the country every day, he also saved lives while wearing it. The fact that this watch, my watch, was depended upon, come rain, hail or shine, in quite literally life-and-death situations, is just amazing, and testament to what these kinds of watches used to represent. Rolex professional models were tools used to measure time by pioneers that flew, dived and explored around the world. Nowadays it seems that almost all of the Rolex Professional models are only used to measure one thing … and it ain’t the time.

Buying a vintage Rolex sports model isn’t without its potential perils however, and my Pepsi suffers from some of the common afflictions that affect a great many vintage watches. For a start, as is the way with most vintage Rolex watches that went back to the manufacturer for a service in the 1970s and ’80s, all the parts are not original. The dial, for example, has almost certainly had the lume replaced at some point in time. The bracelet, too, while still being a genuine Oyster job, is most likely a couple of decades newer than the watch itself. And it is very evident that the watch has been used every day since it was first sold, with the two-tone blue and red aluminium bezel suffering from a hefty amount of fade.

But when it’s on my wrist I really couldn’t care less, because what this watch has that modern ones don’t is character. And though I am wary of not wanting to sound like some old codger teetering on the precipice of senility, opining the loss of the way things once were … you have to admit, they don’t make ’em like they used to.