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Greetings, I inherited a 1958 GMT master ref. 6542 from my Grandfather who passed away in 2013. He purchased the watch new in 1959 In Rammstein Germany while in the Air Force. He was a career pilot and I imagine he picked this watch out because it was a useful tool for a pilot to have. In the 70’s the original bezel broke and his watch service ship installed another submariner style bezel on it( I imagine back then without the internet it was harder to source parts). He also replaced the original bracelet( may have broke or who knows). He put a JB Champion brick bracelet on it as you seen in the photos. I purchased a Bakelite replica bezel for it, And plan on getting a genuine 7206 with 58 end links (if I can find the right deal). He wore the watch for over 50 years and it has held up wonderfully. The dial and hands are original. Here are some photos of the watch, along with a picture of my Grandfather wearing it in 1965 or 66. He worked for the test flight program at Edwards Air Force base in the 60s and 70s after he retired and wore the watch daily. So the watch has some very cool Flight related history as well.

I agree w/ Jack wear it as is that is as authentic as it gets, the back story different parts put on are all part of it's history. When you have real thing no need to go crazy making it dead on you are already there.

Old thread but here is a pic of my inherited 6542

Ttt Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow that’s a beautiful thing I’m sure you’re rightly proud of it . Its just as well that there are passionate people like yourselves and others on this site that try and keep the history and dream of owning a genuine or faux Rolex alive. Don’t get me wrong I know that collectors are passionate and have a great love of these watches just the same way but we can’t all own a genuine watch and what’s wrong with coveting one whether a franken Rolex or made up . People spend lots of time and a lot of money to achieve that dream, what’s wrong with that? There’s nothing sneaky or underhanded about it and it shouldn’t be sneared at ( unless an attempt to pass one off as genuine) of course. What I’ve seen on here is a real passion of people wanting to have a beautiful timepiece on their wrist and being prepared to put in their hard earned cash to do it . It’s funny, I was thinking the same thing as you, what happens when all the originals are snapped up by collectors? I personally don’t get the fascination for patina where it’s to the point of lume flaking off and dials faded to a point that they’re almost unreadable. It’s strange you can restore a masterpiece, a vintage or classic car , furniture correctly and it will add value , but for most, but not all, if you touch the dial or hands of a vintage watch it undermined its integrity and devalued it. As I’ve said a watch is to wear and to cherish, not to lock away or be too frightened to wear in case the fragile bakelite breaks. I wonder what will happen when the supply completely dries up too, will genuine watches with refinished or restored dials be the next big thing and best option for collectors, time will tell? It’s an immotive subject which seems to divide the vintage watch community. All I know is a Rolex watch is to be worn, looked at, admired, loved and cherished. I’ll get off my soap box now! Kind regards Pete