The Luxury of the Rolex GMT-Master II Ref 16718
Rolex watches for women and men typically come in the watchmaker's signature stainless-steel build. However, Rolex has an in-house foundry that produces other metals with unique properties and finishes. One of the most popular alternatives to stainless steel is Rolex gold.
The Ref 16718 is one of the earliest Rolex GMT-Master II watches to sport an all-gold case. The watchmaker only produced this watch for a few years, between 1989 and 1994. But despite its brief time in the lineup, it quickly became a sought-after reference.
Rolex's All-Gold Aviation Watch
This timepiece is part of the GMT-Master II collection. The original GMT-Master watch hit the market in 1954. The brand released several Rolex watches for women and men as part of this line. However, it received a major upgrade in 1982.
Rolex created a new movement that allowed the dedicated 24-hour hand to move independently from the others. Pair that with the bidirectional bezel, and the movement made it possible to display three time zones over the two you could get from the original GMT-Master watches. Thus, the GMT-Master line was born.
The Ref 16718 has the standard case size of 40 millimeters, but Rolex forged the entire piece out of 18-karat yellow gold. That includes the bracelet. You can find the Ref 16718 with both Jubilee and standard Oyster bracelets.
The Ref 16718 Movement
Ticking inside the yellow gold case is the Caliber 3185 movement. The automatic movement appears in numerous other GMT-Master II references. Many collectors consider it one of the most reliable of Rolex's movements, using 31 jewels and several unique elements to improve reliability. These include a Nivarox hairspring, a Glucydur balance not affected by temperature changes, and a Breguet overcoil.
Key Features of the Ref 16718 Gold Watch
There are several standout design features in the Ref 16718. Instead of using gold or champagne on the dial, Rolex went with high-contrast black.
The dial sports a black background with gold hashes and text. Like other Rolex watches, this model has the signature Mercedes-style hour hand, a pointed minute hand, and a dotted second hand. Because this is a GMT-Master II watch, you get the dedicated 24-hour GMT hand. It's gold, and it features a large triangular pointer that extends to the bezel.
The Ref 16718 contains Super-LumiNova lumes. They appear as circles, rectangles, and triangles to represent the hours on the dial. Rolex also uses the lumens on the hands for extra visibility.
Black is also the color of choice on the bidirectional bezel. However, gold appears on the aluminum insert. Rolex uses it on the hour markers, bringing the entire design language together.
Covering the dial is a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with a Cyclops lens over the date window. The sapphire paired with the Oyster case that remains water-resistant to depths of 100 meters makes the Ref 16718 watch as rugged as other Rolex timepieces.
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