1978 Rolex GMT-Master (Ref. 1675) Mk. III "Radial Dial"

The Rolex GMT is the jet-setting icon of the Rolex sports watch family. Like the Rolex Submariner, the Rolex GMT is sophisticated, rugged, and versatile.

In 1954 Pan Am started using the newly designed Boeing 707 which allowed for Pan Am to fly transcontinentally and is said to have started the commercially available jet age. In the same year, Rolex received a request from Pan Am to create a technical pilot's watch which indicated two time zones simultaneously that could be issued by the airline to their crews on long-haul transcontinental international flights.

GMT or UTC stands for Greenwich Mean Time or Coordinated Universal Time which is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. GMT or UTC is the time zone that is required for all aviation planning, weather forecasts, schedules, and other paperwork.

The original Rolex GMT Master has a fourth 24-hour hand directly displaying the same time zone as the standard 12-hour hand but on a 24-hour scale. This GMT hand enabled the crews to set the watch to GMT or another time zone, and, using the rotatable 24-hour scale bezel, set to the correct offset thus displaying a second-time-zone on the 24-hour scale.

The Mk. III matte dial for the Rolex ref. 1675 GMT-Master, also known as the "Radial Dial" or "Mini Dial", is revered as being the rarest and most sought after variant among the matte dial range for the ref. 1675. The Radial dial is not only special among Rolex's GMT-Master models either, the Mk. III dial features characteristics not seen in any other dial produced by Rolex in the entire line up of matte dial sports models. The "Radial" or "Mini" dial nicknames come from the noticeably more centered and smaller lume plots represented as opposed to the more traditional Rolex matte dial format. The Mk. III ref. 1675 is loved by collectors not only for its rarity, but because it's characteristics offer a truly unique experience among one of Rolex's most historically significant references.