Rolexopedia

Rolex 16760 GMT-Master II

This is a checked version, approved on 28 September 2026. New changes may have been made.


GMT-Master › 16760

Fat Lady GMT-Master II
Fat Lady GMT-Master II

The 16760 is the first GMT-Master II. Its caliber 3085 lets the local hour hand jump independently while the 24-hour hand keeps reference time, so the rotating bezel can show a third zone. The 6.3mm movement required a thicker case than the later 16710. Rolex historical material and specialist references date the run to approximately 1982/83–1988. Surviving factory examples are documented with the red-and-black aluminium “Coke” insert.

Core facts

detail value
reference 16760
family GMT-Master II (first generation)
production approximately 1982/83 to 1988; Rolex's historical material uses 1982 while several reference guides use 1983
total examples no published Rolex production figure
case 40mm Oyster case, thicker than the later 16710, with 100m water resistance
crown 7mm screw-down with crown guards
crystal sapphire with Cyclops; the first steel GMT-Master reference documented with sapphire
movement caliber 3085, 27 jewels, 28,800 vph, approximately 48-hour reserve, hacking, and independent local-hour adjustment
trade-off no quick-set date, date advances via the local hour hand
bezel red-and-black insert only, no other factory configuration
dial glossy lacquer with applied white-gold-surround indices in the documented factory examples; matte 16760 dials are not established as a factory branch
bracelet 78360 Oyster with 501B hollow stamped end-links, period-correct throughout the run; Jubilee 62510H with 502B optional

Where it sits in the line

The 16760 is the first GMT-Master II and introduces the flyer-GMT layout. Earlier GMT-Master references linked the 24-hour hand to the local hour hand; on the 16760, the local hour hand jumps independently while the 24-hour hand remains the reference-time hand. The 16750 was the immediate caller-GMT predecessor. The 16700 continued that caller line after 1988, while the 16710 followed the 16760 as GMT-Master II.

It ran for roughly five to six years, depending on whether the launch is dated to 1982 or 1983. The 16710 took over in 1989 with caliber 3185, a slimmer movement that restored a quick-set date and reduced the case thickness.

Production outline

Rolex's historical material dates the first GMT-Master II to 1982. Hodinkee and several specialist guides use 1982–1988 or 1983–1988 for the reference, so the page keeps both parts of the dating convention visible rather than asserting a precise first retail date.

No production total or complete serial bracket has been published by Rolex in the sources reviewed.

Movement notes

Caliber 3085 is the mechanical change that defines the reference. Published guides give 27 jewels, 28,800 vph, hacking seconds, an approximately 48-hour reserve, and independent local-hour adjustment. Auction and movement references also describe Microstella regulation and COSC certification; individual service condition still needs to be checked.

It is the first GMT-Master caliber in the line to separate the local hour hand from the 24-hour hand. The local hand jumps in one-hour increments from the crown while the 24-hour hand runs against the bezel for a third zone. The date advances through the local-hour hand rather than a separate quick-set position. The movement's thickness explains the larger case.

Rolex also used caliber 3085 in the Explorer II 16550. The 16710 moved to the slimmer 3185 generation in 1989.

The auction examples cited by Phillips, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Christie's identify caliber 3085, including lots dated 1988. A 3185 in a 16760 case should therefore be checked as a service or replacement movement unless original-delivery evidence says otherwise.

Dial map

 
Coke 16760

The documented factory dial is glossy lacquer with applied white-gold surrounds. Some examples show lacquer cracking, while others remain intact; a matte-looking surface can also result from age or service work and is not, by itself, a factory variant.

Standard glossy with WG surrounds

Black lacquer ground, applied indices with white-gold surrounds, white printing for the dial text including the GMT-Master II line. Mercedes hour and minute hands paired with a red GMT hand. The basic glossy layout is documented across the production window, although details and service history vary by example. Retailer-signed examples exist on top of that standard dial: Antiquorum catalogued a steel 16760 retailed by Tiffany & Co. in Geneva in November 2021, the Tiffany signature printed below the coronet in the standard position, with no other deviation from the factory dial layout.

Spider dial (Mark 1)

Some glossy dials develop fine lacquer cracks, called “spider” dials by collectors. “Mark 1” is collector taxonomy rather than a Rolex designation. A few early-dial descriptions omit the small “T<25” line, but “no-date” in that context refers to dial wording; the watch still has a date.

Aging and gloss-loss

Gloss can dull with age. A matte-looking surface is not proof of a factory matte dial or a refinish; the printing, surrounds, lume, case, and service history need to be assessed together.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

 
Fat Lady case profile

The case uses the 40mm GMT-Master Oyster footprint and is thicker than the later 16710, with a larger crown-guard profile. Published measurements vary slightly by method; the difference is the 6.3mm caliber 3085 and the case built around it.

The crystal is sapphire with a Cyclops over a 100m Oyster case. A 7mm screw-down crown sits between the guards. The thicker midcase and larger crown guards help distinguish it from a 16710, but they are not authentication on their own.

The cited auction examples and specialist guides document the red-and-black aluminium “Coke” insert. Other colours appear in secondary listings, but the available evidence does not establish a separate factory branch. Replacement inserts circulate, so colour alone cannot authenticate a case.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Published period examples use the 78360 Oyster with 501B end-links and the 62510H Jubilee with 502B end-links. A bracelet and endlink code dates the bracelet, not the watch head; fitment should be checked against the case and service history.

Service and replacement bracelets occur. Christie's lot 67556 and Bonhams lot 167 show later bracelet fitments on 16760 cases; those lots are useful evidence of what is present, not proof of original delivery. The 78360/501B and 62510H/502B combinations are the period references to check first.

Nicknames, Fat Lady and Sophia Loren

Collectors use “Fat Lady” and “Sophia Loren” for the 16760's thicker case. Phillips and Sotheby's use both names in later auction material; the first use of either nickname is not established.

Historical market and auction record

  •  
    1985 Coke 16760
  •  
    Tiffany & Co.-retailed 16760, Antiquorum Geneva, November 2021
Sale Lot Year Serial / config Notes
Antiquorum Geneva 344-411 2021 Tiffany & Co.-retailed, steel CHF 40,000 (est. CHF 10,000–15,000); highest result in the reviewed sample
Phillips Geneva Watch Auction X 149 2019 c.1988, case R434190, mvt 2102621, full set with Merksamer Jewelers guarantee CHF 20,000 (est. CHF 6,000–12,000)
Sotheby's Important Watches HK 2004 2021 c.1984, case 8463283, cal. 3085 27j, Coke bezel est. HKD 80,000–120,000
Christie's Watches Online (NY) 67556 2019 c.1984, bracelet 93150 SEL 501 (service-era replacement), hands later replacements
Christie's Watches Online: Geneva Edit 133994 2019 c.1988, "Fat Lady because Rolex made the cases and crown guards thicker"
Christie's New York 41 2019 c.1988, full set with two extra links, hang tags, presentation box
Bonhams Knightsbridge 28031/167 2023 c.1988, case R275863, mvt 1994435, bracelet 78790 (service replacement), 2015 service guarantee GBP 10,837.50 incl. premium

The Antiquorum Tiffany & Co.-retailed example sold for CHF 40,000 against a CHF 10,000–15,000 estimate in November 2021, the highest result in the reviewed sample. The lot's retailer signature and condition are part of that individual result; it is not a general value rule. The table is a limited auction sample, not a census of the reference's market.

The reference's defining facts are the first GMT-Master II designation, the independent local-hour hand, the thicker caliber 3085 case, the sapphire crystal on the steel GMT, and the documented Coke insert. Originality and service history still have to be established on each watch.

Related references

See also the GMT-Master family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

Sources

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