Newbie to Rolex. Advice appreciated

For all vintage Rolex, (or heck all vintages), originality is key.

The 1016 is the most idea choice based on budget if you're looking for a vintage. The later non-gilt, matte dial 1016 can be found around 5-6k.

Rolex case and movement is king to me. They are some of the best build watches in my opinion for their price point (esp the modern ones)

On the GMT, the matte dial 16750 is trading at a good value versus the 1675 models.

One plus point of the 16750 is that they have quickset dates. That's why I settled on my 16750.

My usual place is nothing but the forums and eBay (watch carefully)

I don't usually buy from a dealer unless I'm after a very rare watch

I prefer the Pepsi. Of course the new "in-thing" would be the all blue (nicknamed blueberry bezel insert) which cost like a freaking 8k on its own. The all red is rare as well.

For the rest, the Coke or the all black looks too modern to me so it does nothing for me.

I do think 6g might be on the lower end.

I have two GMT's, an all original 1675 from 1969 (brother birth year) which is a jewel and a 16710T 2004 ( son birth year)that I got because I liked the other one a lot and wanted a version of it that I could swim and even dive with and that had all the shock absorbing powers . Basically wear proof version as the 1675 while durable is fragile compared to more modern iterations. I have worn the 16710 on trips in the mountains me beach and business and it always feels
At home.

If you go Vintage as has been mentioned before condition and originality are relevant , otherwise the price points are not justified IMO. If you go more modern but still within the slimmer case profile then you can benefit from the quick set dates, stronger movements and similar profiles if you seek late nineties to 2007 or so. There are small variations that I posted on some previous GMT thread.

My 1675 is a Pepsi, the 16710 was a black bezel at purchase but I got a Coke bezel from the Rolex Boutique $45 and then sorted an original 2004 Pepsi. I like both versions ( Coke and Pepsi) and switch the bezel insert from time to time.

On the Explorer 1 I have a modern 39mm and love it, although I will eventually get a 1966 of 67 completing family birth year watches. ( I have a 5512 for my year)

Look into Bob's watches, they have a great selection, they are nice and Rolex certified for servicing and repairs. Sometimes they make small errors on their listings but are always responsive on the phone. I highly recommend them.

For $6k I would rather look at a 16570 Expl2 polar for $4k plus get an Airking or OP with the balance. But thats just me 😀

Love the Polar Express but I have to disagree, if you're getting into Rolex and want to start with iconic, relevant and universal pieces the E1 and the GMT are difficult to beat. That and of course the subs.

The E2 is a cool departure to form. An acquired taste for many. I sold mine and whish I hadn't, specially coming into sky season as I loved it in the mountain

Some GMT info:


Fist Gen GMT have the GMT hand (24 hour hand) fixed to the hour hand, with no way of independently setting it. Also no hacking mechanism. The only way to set up the date is to rotate the hours full 24 hour increments which is a pain in the ass. The GMT function is achieved only by setting the bezel in the desired place to mark the GMT time. this is true for the

Around 70/71 they came up with the hacking mechanism with eh 1575 cal

In the eighties the introduced the quickset feature (16750) also introduced the much more advance 3075 cal that had 28800 a/H before that the cals beat at 18000 and 19600 i believe. also they moved into 100m (330ft pressure/water resistance from the prior 50m

In the mid eighties they introduced the sapphire Crystal, this is the birth of the Master II (16760 "fat lady") , before that it's Master. So when you see a circa 1960's and 1970's gmat master II at bob's watches it is a mislabeled master. Also with the 16760 in mid eighties they started the applied white gold markers, some people see 16760 with applied markers as transitional..they are, sort of. also they had the independent hour function

late eighties though nineties they transitioned into Luminova from Tritium

sort of overlapping into the new millennium you have the 6710 returning to a slimmer design and with the independent hour hand the 16700 didn't have the independedn hour hand for some weird reasin since the 16760 had it). this one changed to no holes around the F series on 2004. They had the 3185 caliber up to late 2007 when you can find the 2 stick version as they transitioned into the 3186 cal. by the M serial the 3186 was mostly transitioned9Circa 2008/9 So when you find a 2004 F serial with cal 3186 cal at Bob's watches it's an error

Lastly the modern 116710 has the ceramic bezel and shares the thicker and less elegant sub case. loosing IMO the elegance and grace the GMT had through it's history. Not that I don't like big divers or watches, but I liked the proportions of the GMT pre ceramic.

There are transitional between all these series.

wow, nice! that's a watch that aged beautifully! 👍