It is now time to unveal one of the " big " watches I was running after for a long time.
As always with watches of this importance, you need luck, a bit of comprehension from the seller, and some help from a friend.
I started my journey into this reference with this lovely specimen:
A nice T Swiss < 25 service dial from the Seventies, and an interesting and high quality after market bezel.
The charm of a no crown guard GMT, an indescriptible elegance, and an enormous pleasure to admire, and to wear.
But we are far from the real Mac Coy, like this one, complete, in awesome condition, full original:
Swiss dial, original bakelite insert from 1958. What more to ask?
So, in my mind, after having reached the first " Pussy Galore " step, it was clear that I had to find something even more attractive, something I crossed one year ago, something I was never able to forget, an obsession.
Funnily, the dial shows one detail which gave me a lot of work to verify... The exclamation dot, which is most often seen on an early 1675.
My first reaction was to reject the watch, as I found almost nothing about that dial configuration... Till I decided to go further, to ask, here and there, and to check, double check the informations, and to come back to the common sense about what we know on the 6542.
Here is the beauty:
The inside of the dial MUST NOT have feet, and MUST have a " jupe " surrounding it, which is the case, after checking it at a watchmaker.
Going deeper in my researches, I found 2 other with an exclamation dot, from 1957, and 2 from 1958. So, this one is the 5th I see coming with this configuration.
Compared to my former 6542, the dial one this one is a key point: Gilt, with awesome touches of brown, sometilmes black, sometimes reddish, this dial is as deep as can be a well polished Berluti. Time is an Artist:
I'm not sure the box is the correct one, but it will perfectly work for another watch of mine, and I will always have the pleasure to find the good one, later, but the papers are here, with an original warranty paper, from Swizerland.
The bezel is correct, not the insert, which is a decent aftermarket one.
On the wrist, this 6542 is a feast:
What else is worth saying?
As everty thing which takes time and efforts to get, once it is done, once you just can admire it as a new addiction in your collection, satsifaction and happyness come into your heart and mind.
This 6542 is the king of my GMT collection.
Best,
Nicolas.
To my beloved dog.