The GMT-Master story kicks off when Pan American Airways (Pan Am) and another major aviation player teamed up with Rolex. They wanted Rolex to craft a watch for their pilots that could easily display two different time zones simultaneously. Rolex introduced the GMT-Master in 1959 with the reference 6542 and later with reference 1675. They remained in production until the late 1970s, when Rolex introduced the reference 16750.

The GMT-Master 16750 was produced from the late 1970s to the late 1980s.

A key divergence lies in the movement, with the 16750 featuring the caliber 3075, an improvement over the earlier model's caliber 1575 movement. The 3075 movement introduces a quickset date function and a hacking seconds feature, allowing precise time setting down to the second.

During its eight-year production span, the GMT-Master ref. 16750 exhibited two distinct dial variations within its steel case. The initial generation featured matte black dials like this specific watch without white gold surrounds on the hour markers, while later versions sported glossy black dials with indexes inclusive of white gold surrounds.

Locating a vintage GMT-Master ref. 16750 with matte dials proves challenging, as they were frequently replaced by glossy ones during servicing. Naturally, the rarity of matte dials lacking white gold surrounds adds to their desirability compared to their glossy counterparts.