Reference:16700: Difference between revisions

Line 9:

[[Reference:gmt-master|GMT-Master]] → '''16700'''

[[File:Ref 16700 hero.webp|thumb|right|~~340px~~]]

[[File:Ref 16700 hero.webp|thumb|right|300px]]

[[File:Ref 16700 black-branch.webp|thumb|right|300px]]

[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bezel.webp|thumb|right|300px]]

[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bobs.webp|thumb|right|300px]]

The [[Reference:16700|16700]] is the last GMT-Master, which is exactly why it matters. It keeps the older GMT-Master operating logic while living well into the GMT-Master II era, which makes it the cleanest late option for a buyer who wants sapphire crystal and modern case refinement without stepping into the independent-hour-hand mechanics of the GMT-Master II.

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The watch has a loyal following for exactly that reason. It is the late, sapphire-era way to stay on the original side of the family split.

A subset of collectors specifically chases the [[Reference:16700|16700]] over the contemporary [[Reference:16710|16710]]. The reasoning is consistent across forum threads and the Monochrome retrospective. The linked-hand mechanism means the local hour hand jumps in one-hour steps when travellers set the date, which is the original travel logic that the GMT-Master was designed around. The [[Reference:16710|16710]] trades that for an independent 24-hour hand aimed at tracking a second timezone from a fixed home base. Neither is objectively better. The [[Reference:16700|16700]] is the one that still behaves the way the 1950s patent drawings behave, and for a certain kind of buyer that is the whole purchase.

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* Monochrome and Sotheby’s extend the watch through 1999

The safest article line is that the reference belongs to the 1988-1999 transition zone ~~at the end of the GMT-Master story~~, with the ~~exact~~ final year ~~depending~~ on ~~source~~.

The Sotheby’s complete GMT-Master guide states plainly that the [[Reference:16700|16700]] was produced for 20 years and that the line was retired in 1999. The Field Manual holds to 1998 in its reference table. Both numbers appear regularly in auction catalogues and dealer pages, and neither side has published a case number or archive extract that settles the question publicly. The safest article line is that the reference belongs to the 1988-1999 transition zone, with the final year dependent on which reference work the buyer trusts. Serial ranges from the late 1990s are consistent with either read, and most late examples in the surviving market are sold simply as “1998” or “1999” with an accompanying papers date.

The watch stays steel-only in the current source set and is directly supported in two bezel branches.

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== Dial map ==

~~[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bobs.webp|thumb|right|280px|Late Pepsi 16700]]~~

~~[[File:Ref 16700 black-branch.webp|thumb|right|280px|Black-bezel 16700]]~~

The current source set supports a simple but real branch split.

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* Monochrome says the watch moved from tritium to Super-LumiNova in 1997 and skipped Luminova

~~That contradiction should stay~~ in the ~~article rather than being blurred away~~.

The gap is real and worth explaining. The Field Manual reads the late [[Reference:16700|16700]] as following the broader Rolex rollout pattern in which non-radioactive Luminova replaced tritium first, with Super-LumiNova taking over after roughly a year of overlap. Monochrome treats the [[Reference:16700|16700]] as a watch whose transition happened late enough that it went straight to Super-LumiNova without the intermediate Luminova batch. Collectors who buy late tritium examples (T SWISS T dial foot) rarely have any dispute. The friction sits on the 1997-1998 boundary, where a SWISS or SWISS MADE foot may be read as Luminova by one reference and Super-LumiNova by another. The practical collector workaround is to treat the lume on a late non-tritium [[Reference:16700|16700]] as “post-tritium luminescent” and let the dial foot printing and lume colour speak for themselves. Buyers who need certainty tend to look for early-1997 or earlier tritium dials, where both sources agree.

== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes ==

~~[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bezel.webp|thumb|right|280px|Pepsi bezel close-up]]~~

The case is the familiar 40mm steel Oyster shape of the late five-digit period. Sapphire and a Cyclops crystal immediately separate the watch from the acrylic [[Reference:16750|16750]] it replaces.

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* black is directly supported

The Field Manual also adds one smaller detail that still matters~~: open~~ 6/9 date wheels are said to run until about 1992, with closed-style date wheels following after that. It is ~~not enough yet for~~ a ~~full~~ date-wheel ~~chronology~~, ~~but it belongs in~~ the ~~note set~~.

The Field Manual also adds one smaller detail that still matters. Open 6/9 date wheels, where the numerals on the date disc are drawn with open loops, are said to run until about 1992, with closed-style date wheels following after that. The detail is worth more than it first looks. A late-serial [[Reference:16700|16700]] presenting an open-6/9 date wheel is a signal to examine the dial and hands more carefully, because service departments occasionally swapped date discs during movement work, and a wheel that does not line up with the expected production year is one of the easier authentication tells on an otherwise clean watch. The rule is not airtight. Overlap at the boundary is plausible, and no public Rolex service record nails the switchover to a month. Treat the 1992 line as a guideline for flagging, not a verdict.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 <small>[[Reference:gmt-master|GMT-Master]] → '''16700'''</small>
-[[File:Ref 16700 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px]]
+[[File:Ref 16700 hero.webp|thumb|right|300px]]
+[[File:Ref 16700 black-branch.webp|thumb|right|300px]]
+[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bezel.webp|thumb|right|300px]]
+[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bobs.webp|thumb|right|300px]]
 The [[Reference:16700|16700]] is the last GMT-Master, which is exactly why it matters. It keeps the older GMT-Master operating logic while living well into the GMT-Master II era, which makes it the cleanest late option for a buyer who wants sapphire crystal and modern case refinement without stepping into the independent-hour-hand mechanics of the GMT-Master II.
@@ Line 62: / Line 64: @@
 The watch has a loyal following for exactly that reason. It is the late, sapphire-era way to stay on the original side of the family split.
+A subset of collectors specifically chases the [[Reference:16700|16700]] over the contemporary [[Reference:16710|16710]]. The reasoning is consistent across forum threads and the Monochrome retrospective. The linked-hand mechanism means the local hour hand jumps in one-hour steps when travellers set the date, which is the original travel logic that the GMT-Master was designed around. The [[Reference:16710|16710]] trades that for an independent 24-hour hand aimed at tracking a second timezone from a fixed home base. Neither is objectively better. The [[Reference:16700|16700]] is the one that still behaves the way the 1950s patent drawings behave, and for a certain kind of buyer that is the whole purchase.
 <span id="production-outline"></span>
@@ Line 71: / Line 75: @@
 * Monochrome and Sotheby’s extend the watch through 1999
-The safest article line is that the reference belongs to the 1988-1999 transition zone at the end of the GMT-Master story, with the exact final year depending on source.
+The Sotheby’s complete GMT-Master guide states plainly that the [[Reference:16700|16700]] was produced for 20 years and that the line was retired in 1999. The Field Manual holds to 1998 in its reference table. Both numbers appear regularly in auction catalogues and dealer pages, and neither side has published a case number or archive extract that settles the question publicly. The safest article line is that the reference belongs to the 1988-1999 transition zone, with the final year dependent on which reference work the buyer trusts. Serial ranges from the late 1990s are consistent with either read, and most late examples in the surviving market are sold simply as “1998” or “1999” with an accompanying papers date.
 The watch stays steel-only in the current source set and is directly supported in two bezel branches.
@@ Line 92: / Line 96: @@
 == Dial map ==
-[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bobs.webp|thumb|right|280px|Late Pepsi 16700]]
-[[File:Ref 16700 black-branch.webp|thumb|right|280px|Black-bezel 16700]]
 The current source set supports a simple but real branch split.
@@ Line 114: / Line 116: @@
 * Monochrome says the watch moved from tritium to Super-LumiNova in 1997 and skipped Luminova
-That contradiction should stay in the article rather than being blurred away.
+The gap is real and worth explaining. The Field Manual reads the late [[Reference:16700|16700]] as following the broader Rolex rollout pattern in which non-radioactive Luminova replaced tritium first, with Super-LumiNova taking over after roughly a year of overlap. Monochrome treats the [[Reference:16700|16700]] as a watch whose transition happened late enough that it went straight to Super-LumiNova without the intermediate Luminova batch. Collectors who buy late tritium examples (T SWISS T dial foot) rarely have any dispute. The friction sits on the 1997-1998 boundary, where a SWISS or SWISS MADE foot may be read as Luminova by one reference and Super-LumiNova by another. The practical collector workaround is to treat the lume on a late non-tritium [[Reference:16700|16700]] as “post-tritium luminescent” and let the dial foot printing and lume colour speak for themselves. Buyers who need certainty tend to look for early-1997 or earlier tritium dials, where both sources agree.
 <span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown-notes"></span>
 == Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes ==
-[[File:Ref 16700 pepsi-bezel.webp|thumb|right|280px|Pepsi bezel close-up]]
 The case is the familiar 40mm steel Oyster shape of the late five-digit period. Sapphire and a Cyclops crystal immediately separate the watch from the acrylic [[Reference:16750|16750]] it replaces.
@@ Line 127: / Line 128: @@
 * black is directly supported
-The Field Manual also adds one smaller detail that still matters: open 6/9 date wheels are said to run until about 1992, with closed-style date wheels following after that. It is not enough yet for a full date-wheel chronology, but it belongs in the note set.
+The Field Manual also adds one smaller detail that still matters. Open 6/9 date wheels, where the numerals on the date disc are drawn with open loops, are said to run until about 1992, with closed-style date wheels following after that. The detail is worth more than it first looks. A late-serial [[Reference:16700|16700]] presenting an open-6/9 date wheel is a signal to examine the dial and hands more carefully, because service departments occasionally swapped date discs during movement work, and a wheel that does not line up with the expected production year is one of the easier authentication tells on an otherwise clean watch. The rule is not airtight. Overlap at the boundary is plausible, and no public Rolex service record nails the switchover to a month. Treat the 1992 line as a guideline for flagging, not a verdict.
 <span id="bracelets-end-links-clasps-and-packaging-notes"></span>