GMT Master 1675 - Did they all come in a box?

[StanGMT]

When I bought my 1675 GMT Master in 1967 - from a well known high street AD in Liverpool - no mention was made of there being a box for it. I paid the full recommended retail price for the watch and I was provided with all the documentation, including the COSC Certificate. When I enquired about a box I was told I would have to pay extra - around £150 sterling at today's prices. I was only 21 years old and as I intended always wearing the watch anyway I declined the box.

But, as I have matured I am beginning to wonder if I was ripped off all those years ago. Can anyone confirm whether or not a storage/display box should have come as a standard accoutrement with my GMT at no extra cost? Is it worth me trying to obtain one now?

Stan.

[Vincent65]

It should have come with a box, at no extra charge, and they lied to you, sorry! Probably gave the box away with another watch, or something similar, and thought they'd string you a line. Give them a call and complain! You can get one, but it will cost more now than the watch cost you then.

[StanGMT]

Originally Posted by Vincent65

It should have come with a box, at no extra charge, and they lied to you, sorry! Probably gave the box away with another watch, or something similar, and thought they'd string you a line. Give them a call and complain! You can get one, but it will cost more now than the watch cost you then.

Hi Karl,

Ummm - just as I guessed!! Unfortunately this was all 47 years ago and although the shop was a well known AD (Watches of Switzerland) they ceased to trade many years ago. As you say, even if they were still trading it would now be far too late to expect them to remedy the matter.

As it happens the watch is rarely off my wrist and I would never have used the box anyway, but that's not really the point. Still, there's no point in fretting about it now - thanks for the reply . . . . .

Stan.

[CrownMe]

Damn....that's just cold. Paid full retail and didn't even give him a box. Un believable.

Kind of hard to file a complaint now considering it was purchased in 1967. Then again it would be interesting to hear that conversation

[Tools]

I disagree.. When I bought my first GMT back in the early 70's the box was optional and considered a "gift box". It didn't bother me as they sized it and I wore it out of the store..

The bracelet was also rung up separately since I could have had it with strap, Jubilee, Oyster clasp or flip-lock extension Oyster, or several of the other Rolex bracelet offerings of the day..

[RC2]

All interesting. Must have been nice to have options then


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lol-x]

Rolex were more flexible in those days in terms of options.
Now you just pay a fixed price and get a plastic box

[southtexas]

Originally Posted by StanGMT

Hi Karl,

Ummm - just as I guessed!! Unfortunately this was all 47 years ago and although the shop was a well known AD (Watches of Switzerland) they ceased to trade many years ago. As you say, even if they were still trading it would now be far too late to expect them to remedy the matter.

As it happens the watch is rarely off my wrist and I would never have used the box anyway, but that's not really the point. Still, there's no point in fretting about it now - thanks for the reply . . . . .

Stan.

Just tell yourself you woulda lost it over the years anyways

[watchcrank]

:-). Live and learn! Interesting. M

[Lamone]

Originally Posted by StanGMT

When I bought my 1675 GMT Master in 1967 - from a well known high street AD in Liverpool - no mention was made of there being a box for it. I paid the full recommended retail price for the watch and I was provided with all the documentation, including the COSC Certificate. When I enquired about a box I was told I would have to pay extra - around £150 sterling at today's prices. I was only 21 years old and as I intended always wearing the watch anyway I declined the box.

But, as I have matured I am beginning to wonder if I was ripped off all those years ago. Can anyone confirm whether or not a storage/display box should have come as a standard accoutrement with my GMT at no extra cost? Is it worth me trying to obtain one now?

Stan.

Stan,

Two similar stories happened to my dad, once in late 60s and once in mid 70s. He bought two 1675 in two different countries. He was told that boxes were extra and the he too would have to pay for them. He of course declined each time, as he did not care about boxes. Watches are still running and now we both wish we'd have their respective boxes. Indeed boxes should have come with watches at no extra charge. It may have been a French and/or British "policy"

[Vincent65]

I stand corrected, sorry. Seems it was an 'option'. Hard to believe! Good news is, you got what you paid for, Stan.

[StanGMT]

Originally Posted by southtexas

Just tell yourself you woulda lost it over the years anyways

Thanks for all the replies everyone - perhaps I wasn't ripped off after all. And you're absolutely right Southtexas - because I would never have used it anyway, I possibly could have lost the box by now - the documents don't take up any space and are easy to store, but a box . . . . ?!

Stan.

[iclick]

Interesting info here, as I never thought a box would be an option. I bought my 1675 in 1971 from the U.S. Navy Exchange in Hong Kong for a tad less than $140 (U.S.) and it came with the box and all the trimmings. No one mentioned that it was extra, so I would suspect that providing the box with the watch was at the discretion of the AD.

I still have the watch but I stupidly packaged the box with a 1675 I purchased later from a pawn shop, which was sold on Ebay about 10 years ago. Thus, I'm currently looking for another one (inner and outer) on Ebay. These come up fairly often and I'm just waiting for the right deal. I won't sell this watch, as we have too many experiences together to separate now, but I still would like to have the box set. In my quest for that and an outer box for a Daytona I purchased recently I've noticed some recent-model boxes sold by jewelry stores on Ebay, so maybe they're pulling the same shenanigans to this day. Sell the watch without a box and sell the box for $100 on Ebay. Nice racket.

I don't know if this is the correct box for the OP's 1967, but mine was made in 1969 and the boxes for it look like this: