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Rolex GMT – Master 6542 ALBINO

The name GMT – Master was registered by Rolex on April 21, 1955 and immediately after commercialised during the following 4 years.
During the production years many and continuing modifications and adjustments were made regarding the mechanism, engravings, winding crowns, hands and dials variations.
Usually the dials dedicated to this stainless steel reference were produced with the “galvanic” procedure.




Briefly, the dial plate was immersed in a golden galvanic solution, in the next step with the help of a tampon pad was positioned a “DECAL” or “TRANSFER” for graphics and everything which had to remain in gold.
After that, the dial was again immersed in a black galvanic solution, which covers everything except on the Decal.
At the end, to obtain a mirror glossy finishing, a very thin transparent paint, called ZAPON, was applied and, as last step, the luminous material was positioned.


All the above for the universally known dials; but the legend of the White GMT was already alive.
Everybody heard about that, but anybody has never seen it.
Somebody said there was a connection with the world famous airline company Pan-am (Panamerican Airways), which logo had the white colour as dominant, but honestly, I cannot confirm if this correlation is a truth.




What is certain, of this reference not less than 5 different guilt variations: GMT – MASTER in red, with the graphics and the depth, big luminous dots and small luminous dots, glossy silver version…
As all legends hide a little truth and, unexpectedly I had the pleasure, during my researches in the vintage watches world, to hit with a Rolex GMT – MASTER ref. 6542 produced in 1958 with the WHITE DIAL.




Unlike the above mentioned galvanic dials, this white dial was realized with the pad printing method.
The pad printing is a non direct offset print, which allows to reproduce in a not complicated way, but in high resolution, pictures, graphics and decorations, both in flat surfaces and concave, convex and in any case irregular ones.
Basically it is a system that allows to transfer images and graphics 2D on 3D items and surfaces. With a flexible and soft tampon (generally made in silicon) a small indelible ink is transferred on a metal place (copperplate cliché) directly on the surface.
This surface could also be not flat, but using the soft tampon is possible to adapt it to not regular surfaces .
The copperplate allows to obtain a very high definition print, very similar to the silkscreen, it is a very sharp definition method, in multicolour if needed, also with a “wet on wet” system.
We can resume the above in 5 main points:

1. An image is engraved on a metal made cliché, in the pad printing machine.
2. An indelible ink is put on the cliché surface, carefully cleaning the exceeding ink,.
3. A tampon (today made in silicon) is pressed on the cliché to fill the “shaped” ink.
4. The tampon is positioned on the item to be printed, until it joins perfectly the surface.
5. Removing the tampon, the item is printed.

This in a short exemplificative description is how the dials were and are today handmade.
Obviously, the graphic results are different depending on the different surfaces.
We can confirm the full dial originality comparing the small defects and variations among different clichés.




Please, note the clichés used in one of the last version of the guilt dials is substantially the same used to realize the “ALBINO” dial here illustrated.
As always, the small usual “defects” (e.g. the small flaw on the crown logo, the graphics on the engravings …) help us to confirm the indisputable originality of this piece.




Everything surrounded by an original bezel in “bakelite”, in the best conditions I have ever seen.




It is really exciting for me to have in my hands what for everybody was just a legend.
It is my great pleasure and I m proud to introduce and share with you, without any doubt and fear of contradiction, one of the rarest original Rolex GMT – MASTER reference 6542 “ALBINO”.


Stefano Mazzariol