GMT 16710 Anomalies - Which calibre and which Dial?

[Suhail]

Part 1: Which Calibre?


A small number of 16710s have surfaced with the new 3186 calibre from the new ceramic-bezel GMT 116710.

These GMT 16710's have serial numbers ranging from Z9xxxxx to M2xxxxx and have an unusual dial---the "II" of "GMT-Master II" is in "non-roman," or "stick" font.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=51&d=1240305026

The "stick II" on GMTs have been bantered about regarding the GMT's collectability and possible dial printing error. However, there are many GMTIIs with the same dial but with the 3185.

A Rolex representative at Basel 2008 confirmed that the dials with the stick II is not a misprint, but intentional to designate which 16710s have the 3186 movement

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It was initially stated that the Mega-case of the 116710 was larger to accomodate the 3186 movement, which itself is taller than the 3185.

However, this picture shows that the 3186 fits easily in the 16710 case.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=52&d=1240305072

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There is no mention of the calibre used on the documentation and, as mentioned above, many 3185 models also have the "stick" II dial.

However, when compared side-by-side, there is a little more hand-slop when setting the hour hand of the 3185 movement than on the 3186 movement. The crown on a 16710 with a 3186 movement is also said to be more stable. This is one of the very noticable methods to distinguish between a 3185 and a 3186 movement while inside a GMT case.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=53&d=1240305116

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Part 2: Which Dial?


The "stick II" font on the dial (as opposed to the traditional "roman II") has already been discussed above but there is also a 3rd type of font that looks more like a rectangle.

The "rectangular II" dial is very interesting; it is not either "old" or "new" and its appearence seems very random.
While it was found on a M23XXXX with 3186, it was also found on a Z77XXXX with 3185.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=54&d=1240305212

Variations noted so far are:

Commonly seen on older 16710 - Roman II
Z77XXXX - 3185 Rectangular II
Z96XXXX - 3186 Stick II
M23XXXX - 3186 Stick II
M23XXXX - 3186 Rectangular II
M30XXXX - 3186 Stick II
M30XXXX - 3186 Stick II
M36XXXX - 3186 Stick II
MXXXXXX - 3186 Stick II

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Besides the difference in numeral "II" there are also the following several differences on the two different dials:

1. All other fonts are slightly different.

2. "-" is shifted to one side on Rectangular II

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=55&d=1240305262

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3. "Oyster Perpetual Date" has larger spacing in between on Rectangular II.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=56&d=1240305304

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4. "Swiss Made" is smaller on Rectangular II.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=57&d=1240305345

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5. The rim on hour markers are thicker on Stick II.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=58&d=1240305401

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Photos/text: Ozlanka

While everyone knows that the II is a sans serif font in the very short run (Z and M serial) GMT Master final batch, not many have focused on other sections of the dial.

On a very close examination, on the Z series GMT, I was surprised to find that the Five Minute markers were also sans serif type fonts with no Top or Bottom lines.

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=520&d=1245661063

http://www.newturfers.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=521&d=1245661063

The paint used for printing on the dials of the two watches is also very different. In the older GMT the paint is shiny and raised.

On the Z serial GMT the paint shines a very little, hardly at all and is not raised very much. Just a tad.

The thickness of the letters is clearly diffent and you will see from the photos that the Z serial has a light feel to the fonts and is less cluttered.

[harb]

Photo: triple7

Z6... serial, 3185 movt. (click here (http://www.stockholm.bonet.se/chris_h/GMT2StickZ6.jpg)for large size high-res pic)

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