The Rolex 1675 "Blueberry"

At some point in the watch world, many of us have stumbled upon the 4 handed tool/pilots watch that is the GMT Master and GMT Master II. The GMT Master is one of the most collected Rolex timepieces and has made a mark in the horological world through its looks, its soda inspired names for their bezels and colour ways, plus the rarity of some reference numbers. Today, we are looking at one of the rarest timepieces with a not so rare reference number, the GMT Master 1675 "Blueberry".

Rolex GMT Master Reference 1675 "Blueberry"

The 1675 Blueberry is such a rare timepiece with a substantial amount of mystery behind it. The 1675 Blueberry is your standard 1970's GMT Master that was fitted with a Blueberry coloured bezel. The blue bezel was a colour option that was not offered to the public, but was created for special orders or military groups. Examples of this piece can be seen with the UAE Airforce emblem on the dial. The number of watches that were put through production are completely unknown, and there are very few that have been found and physically exist today.

1675 Blueberry on an Oyster Jubilee Bracelet

An extremely small amount of timepieces had been fitted with the original Blueberry coloured bezel. There are a vast array of reproduction Blueberry bezels available through online retailers today; however, a large amount of GMT Master's that have the genuine all-blue bezel are not the original bezel for that specific timepiece, but were later put on during a service or repair by Rolex. 

1675 Blueberry Detailed Shot

With the all-blue bezel being such a defining feature of the 1675 Blueberry, the price for all-blue GMT bezel inserts have increased drastically. Since the bezel colour is such a rarity, the bezel (if its an original) alone can be worth more than the entire timepiece itself. When a Blueberry comes up at auction, or you are given the opportunity to purchase one of these beautiful works of art, the authenticity of the bezel insert is going to be there determining factor for the overall price of the watch.

1978 Mark III GMT Master 1675 Blueberry

The Rolex GMT Master 1675 Blueberry is the rarest and most desired variation of the 1675.  Since the all-blue bezel insert was not intended for public sale, production numbers are extremely low which makes official records or any kind of information about these pieces non-existent. This makes the Blueberry GMT bezel insert the most rare and collectable bezel insert of all time.

1978 Mark III GMT Master 1675 Blueberry