Quick questions about vintage GMT's. I owned a 16710 for a while before selling it.
Recently I wondered around a few stores around a mall in New York City. They had a pre-owned Rolex section. There she was a Rolex GMT Pepsi. They didn't know if they had a box or papers.

The bracelet was a Rolex bracelet but it had polished center links. It's 'all original they said.' This is a red flag but not something I haven't seen. I've seen subs and GMT's with the wrong bracelet. What bracelet could this be 'if it's authentic'. It was a smaller clasp but the center linker were polished. It's not a gmt bracelet I've seen.

Before you guys ask... NO I do not have any pictures. This is a legitimate jewelry store but I can't be 100% on that GMT.
If I do buy it I will get it checked immediately. If the watch is good but the bracelet is not, then the watch will be head only for $7,500.

What do you guys think?
Worth the risk if I have an issue?

I've been to many indoor and outdoor shopping malls in New York City, never had reason to question jewelry stores but figured I'd ramble on here with some thoughts and ask for advice.

 

Seriously, no one can help you without photos

 

Did you happen to get the reference number or year of the watch? From either of those you could cross reference pics to compare to what you saw in the store. If you didn't, call them up and ask for the model number so you can look it up.

 

Polished center suggests a ceramic GMT 116710, which is correct for that watch.

 

Okay. I was hoping for some opinions.

The watch is a vintage pre-ceramic.

 

Do you know the serial number prefix so we could figure out when it was made? The reference (1675, 16750, 16700, 16710, ...)? Could you narrow it down even a little by mentioning if it was acrylic or sapphire? Did you read any numbers off of the bracelet or endlinks?

Any opinions we would provide without information would be total guesswork.

 

I know, I'm really asking you guys to take a shot in the dark. When I left the store the first thing I thought was that I should have shot a photo.

 

@Hands90
You're only going to receive "best guesses" here since there is very little descriptive evidence and/or details to go on. If the shop has a rock solid, no-questions-asked return policy go ahead and make the purchase. You'll have a certain number of days to authenticate the watch, meaning that you'll have determine if the watch is 100% as it left the factory (minus age appropriate wear/use), if it's original with aftermarket and/or non-period correct replacement parts, or if it's a fake. But by far the easiest thing to do is, first, find out the Reference and Serial numbers and bracelet code and search for some comps...if the shop's asking price is reasonable then perhaps you'll want to move forward.

 

Well, that was a good thought

 

I wouldn't give them a cent until you at least know/have a strong idea of/ what you're buying. A modern polished center link bracelet doesn't fit on a vintage pepsi GMT (AFAIK) so at least part of it is fake/aftermarket, a bad omen.

 

Definitely genuine then...

 

Dude, this question... seriously... without photos... fuck...

Sorry for the language.

 

If you haven't looked at some of the fake to real comparison videos on youtube and other places on the web, you won't know how asking this question without detailed photos of the watch is pretty much impossible to answer. In many cases the fakes are so good that it is only minute differences that will help determine if it is real or not, especially without it being opened. On a GMT, if it is one of the lesser fakes that doesn't replicate the movement as well, the hand stack of the GMT hand and hour hand is reversed. The GMT hand should be above the hour hand on a 16750 and later.

 

The store didn’t know if they had box or papers?

Being that GMTs have come back into fashion recently there are a ton of watches that get slapped together with a heavy polish, new dial and hands, and bezel insert. It’s probably real but might not be worth the asking price. I’ve seen newer GMTs with the cerachrome bezel selling for <$7000 and I would take a look there first if I were you.

 

wandering around the diamond district?

 

Or it could simply be that someone liked the polished look and had a jeweler spend 5 minutes to polish a 78360 or other bracelet (which can be rebrushed in another 5 minutes).

 

With a ceramic pepsi bezel?

 

It fits but it’s not perfectly flush on the back of the watch. My brother and I did some experiments one night.

 

No....just the all black bezels. It’s not the same but it’ll be running great and wont be a Franken watch. That’s gotta be worth something

 

please add some pics..