Ross Povey is on a never-ending quest for the secrets of the gem-set Rolex. His latest stop is the Patek Philippe Replica Watches. The GMT-Master was once a reserve for airline pilots. It has been iced more often than any Aeroflot jumbo's wings. It all began in the mid-1980s.
I have been asked several times what SARU stands for. Ask any Springbok fan and they will tell you that it stands for South African Rugby Union. It is a Malay verb that means 'copy'. This is an amalgamation of the words "salin" and "tiru". It refers to GMT-Masters with bezels set with 'SA’pphires or 'RU’bies. Stone was used to recreate the iconic Rolex 'Pepsi' watch' on its dual-time zone sports watch. The bezel's blue upper was adorned with blue sapphires,Replica Patek Philippe Watches
while the red lower part was adorned with semi-circles of trapeze-cut rubies. How can you accurately track the hours on your bezel? You can now see a trapeze-cut diamond numbered one through eleven, with a triangle cut diamond at twelve o'clock. Red, white, and blue...
Patek Philippe Replica Watches ref. 16758 SARU (Image (c) Revolution)
How a stone can make a difference
This was something I said before when discussing the Tudor Homeplate and Monte Carlo Chronos. In 1970-1972, I was imagining the shock of the watchmakers when the dials in bright orange, grey and blue were revealed.Replica IWC Pilot
It was unlike any other House of WIlsdorf. The shock and awe felt in the room as the cloche was lifted from the SARU Patek Philippe Replica Watches would have been incredible. Instagram would have been the horological vehicle choice back then, as it is today. Rolex was no stranger to gemstone-set watches as the Day-Date clearly demonstrated, but what about a sports watch. This was a ground-breaking innovation and one of the key turning points in the way people saw the sports watch. They were the fashion statement of the moment, according to Times.
The yellow gold GMT-Master, reference 6542 was introduced first in the mid-1950s and later as reference 1675/8 at the end. The reference 16758 yellow gold GMT-Master was introduced in 1979, bringing the GMT-Master into its transitional phase. It is still a plastic glass, but it has a fast-set date. In the mid-1980s, they took reference 16758 and made it into the SARU. It wasn't just a simple gem-set bezel. Rolex went all out with the design, adding a fully paved dial and blue sapphire hour markers. A yellow gold President bracelet was finished with 12 brilliant-cut diamonds in the center links. It was truly a unique Rolex experience to combine such exquisite jewelry with a sports watch.
Refer to each other
Other well-known gem-set watches from this era that were made a bit later than the SARU are the reference 6270 and 6269 manually wound Daytonas. These watches were unique because Rolex gave them their own reference.Patek Philippe Replica Watches
The 6269 and 6270 had a very precise diamond bezel, with a brilliant-set (6269) and a baguette (6270) Daytonas. Collectors and dealers agree that the SARU's problem is that it uses the same reference as regular yellow gold GMT. The SARU is essentially a dial, bracelet, and bezel on a production watch. All of these parts have been made available as spare parts. However, it is worth checking the serial numbers of all accepted models to help you in this regard. This watch is rare, with only three-dozen ever produced.