Vintage 16750 Pepsi or new Coke ?????

[geepee]

Ok all of you Rolex Gurus. I have a deposit on an un-sold 2006 Z GMT II Coke that I've negotiated down to $4,750. [we can assume the movement is the 3185]. Anyway, while at another jewelry store last week-end, I was admiring an elderly customer's early 1980's plastic crystal Pepsi with a jubilee. He said he was the original owner and that he bought it about 25 years ago. He is very wealthy and it actually turns out that his father and my father were in business together 70 years ago. In any event, he will sell for $4,000. The dial is matte finish and appears to be original. He said he just got it back from rolex servicing and I have no reason to doubt him although I was surprised that the plastic crystal had some scratches.

I am not a collector. Although I'm in my late 40's, this will be my first Rolex. I like the thinner look and weight of the old GMTs [in fact that's why I would buy a GMT II over a Submariner] and I don't have to wear it in the water, but I realize that the old one won't be as sturdy as a new one and I would probably want to change to an Oyster bracelet [what will that cost me??]. With either watch, I'll probably change the insert to all black.

So Y'all - what are the pros and cons? Which way would you decide?

Thanks!

[springer]

This is my thread, LOL. Buy vintage. here's a few shots of some of my GMT's. The first is a matt dialed 16750, circa 1981. The other is my collection of 1675's, 16750's 16710 and 16700. Go vintage, but I'm a little biased! By the way, $4000 for a nice, matt dialed 16750 is a very fair price. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a private message.

[Mrdi]

Vintage
and keep the Jubilee.

[rocco1109]

I like the movement on the GMT II better because you can jump the hour hand to your new time zone and the seconds hand keeps running, thus preserving your watch's accuracy.

I think that's a great feature.

Having said that, I sold my GMT-Master II and kept my 16750.

Gone:


Kept:


Doing it's job in Bangkok


Poolside (yes. we swam)


In fact, I have TWO 16750s! Here my other one showshoeing in Colorado.


If maintained properly, the 16750 is a great daily wearer and rugged enough to handle what ever you throw at it.

[Tools]

I would get both...they are decent deals..

But if I could only have one, then it would be the 16750. They are only going to get more difficult to find in good condition at a decent price..

Look it over and if it has truly been recently serviced, they be sure you are satisfied with the dial and hands..

[rocco1109]

Originally Posted by springer

This is my thread, LOL. Buy vintage. here's a few shots of some of my GMT's. The first is a matt dialed 16750, circa 1981. The other is my collection of 1675's, 16750's 16710 and 16700. Go vintage, but I'm a little biased! By the way, $4000 for a nice, matt dialed 16750 is a very fair price. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a private mesage.

Damn! That is a world class GMT-Master collection

[Andad]

Originally Posted by springer

This is my thread, LOL. Buy vintage. here's a few shots of some of my GMT's. The first is a matt dialed 16750, circa 1981. The other is my collection of 1675's, 16750's 16710 and 16700. Go vintage, but I'm a little biased! By the way, $4000 for a nice, matt dialed 16750 is a very fair price. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a private mesage.

I am trying my best to like you.

[gingi310]

...and they are two very different watched -as Rocco said, that jump hour hand is the key feature of the 16710 and for some, the whole point of buying a Rolex GMT - if you will miss this feature, get the 16710 (and sell ME the 16750 ).

The 16750 has a quickset date - I actually use the quickset date much more often than the jump hour, so I personally would choose the 16750.

If are agnostic about the key feature of each (i.e. jump hour vs. quickset), go with whichever one "sings" to you more.

I wouldn't really worry about the durability of the 16750 - if it was properly serviced, there is no reason that watch can't be made waterproof; you will probably want to get it checked more often than a new watch, but that is cheap. The acrylic crystal is certainly much more suseptible to getting marked up than the sapphire in the 16710 but they polish up easy and are cheap to replace.

One consideration: if the 16750 is in truly nice condition and you do purchase it but end up not liking it, you could always flip it and at least get your money back, if not make a few bucks. If you purchase the 16710 and end up not liking it, you will probably take a bit of a hit when you sell it. If you pass on the 16710, they are still quite readily available (though not a ton BNIB if that is what you want).

BTW, factor in $500 or so for a decent used Oyster and end pieces for the 16750; new ones I believe are around $1,000.

[Parachrom Blu]

I would pick pepsi for the colour but asking price is little high. The coke is the better choice both for the money and its condition(new?).

[mike]

As others have said the vintage piece would be the clear winner for me.