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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 16718 GMT-Master II}}
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex GMT-Master II 16718 — BezelBase
|title=Rolex GMT-Master 16718 (1989–2007) — Production & Dial Guide | BezelBase
|description=The `16718` is the solid yellow-gold GMT-Master II of the `16710` era. It takes the independent GMT-hand system inherited from the `16760` and puts it…
|description=The 16718 is the all-yellow-gold GMT-Master II of 1989 to 2005. Caliber 3185 with rare late cal 3186, four documented dials (black, brown sunburst, white, champagne / silver serti), black or brown ("rootbeer") aluminium bezel, 18K Oyster or Jubilee bracelet.
|keywords=Rolex, 16718, GMT-Master, specifications, reference guide
|keywords=Rolex, 16718, GMT-Master II, yellow gold, caliber 3185, serti dial, rootbeer
|type=article
|image=Ref 16718 hero.webp
|image_alt=18k yellow-gold GMT-Master II
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|published_time=2026-04-18T03:22:37Z
|modified_time=2026-08-04T00:09:56Z
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}
}}


<small>[[Reference:gmt-master|GMT-Master]] -> '''16718'''</small>


<small>[[Reference:gmt-master|GMT-Master]] → '''16718'''</small>
The 16718 is the all-gold member of the 16710 generation, the 18K case-and-bracelet sister to the steel [[Reference:16710|16710]] and the two-tone [[Reference:16713|16713]]. Production runs 1989 to approximately 2005, and the 116718LN succeeds it with a ceramic Cerachrom bezel and the 50th-anniversary green dial. Caliber 3185, the 40mm Oyster case, and the flyer-GMT mechanic all carry over from the steel sister. What changes is the metal, and a dial palette weighted toward the evening-dress configurations a Cellini buyer would recognise, alongside the standard sport variants.


[[File:Ref 16718 hero.webp|thumb|right|340px]]
<span id="core-facts"></span>
 
 
The [[Reference:16718|16718]] is the solid yellow-gold GMT-Master II of the [[Reference:16710|16710]] era, produced from 1989 to 2007. It took the independent 24-hour hand inherited from the [[Reference:16760|16760]] and put it in a full-gold case, well before ceramic rewrote the look of the family. It is the gold GMT-Master II of the five-digit period, and it is a serious collector reference on its own terms rather than a dressed-up version of the steel watch.


Documentation is uneven across the two retail configurations. The black-dial watch is well attested in dealer listings and auction cataloguing. The brown-dial Root Beer configuration is named as period-correct in the major collector references but surfaces less often in direct sale material.
[[File:Ref 16718 hero.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=18k yellow-gold GMT-Master II|18k yellow-gold GMT-Master II]]


<span id="core-facts"></span>
== Core facts ==
== Core facts ==


Line 28: Line 32:
|-
|-
| family
| family
| GMT-Master II
| GMT-Master II (all-yellow-gold variant)
|-
|-
| production
| production
| roughly 1989-2007
| 1989 to approximately 2005. Replaced by the 116718LN at Baselworld 2005 alongside the GMT-Master 50th-anniversary green-dial release. The "2003" reading sometimes cited for end of production is wrong — that date traces to the steel 116710LN launch, not the gold version
|-
|-
| movement
| total examples
| caliber 3185, with late 3186 noted in the Field Manual
| no published Rolex production figure
|-
|-
| case
| case
| 40mm solid yellow-gold Oyster case
| 40mm 18K yellow-gold Oyster with crown guards, 100m water resistance
|-
|-
| crystal
| crystal
| sapphire with Cyclops
| sapphire with Cyclops; laser-etched coronet at 6 o'clock from approximately 2003
|-
| movement
| caliber 3185 across most of the run (Nivarox flat hairspring with Breguet overcoil); rare late-production caliber 3186 with Parachrom blue hairspring on end-of-run examples. The 3186 is documented inconsistently for the 16718 specifically — the bulk of the documented record reads cal 3185 throughout
|-
|-
| water resistance
| GMT mechanic
| 100m
| flyer GMT — independently adjustable local hour hand, 24-hour hand tracks home time independently
|-
| dial generations
| four documented configurations: glossy black, brown sunburst ("rootbeer"), white, champagne / silver serti gem-set with diamond hour markers and ruby accents at 6 / 9. (GMT serti dials use rubies, not the Submariner's sapphires.)
|-
|-
| bezel
| bezel
| black in the surviving market examples, with brown branch support in collector literature
| 24-hour aluminium insert in two factory configurations: black or brown ("rootbeer"). No factory pavé-diamond bezel surfaces in major-house lots — diamond-set bezels on 16718 cases circulate as aftermarket conversions
|-
|-
| key identity
| bracelet
| solid-gold GMT-Master II with stronger black-branch documentation than the current direct brown layer
| 18K Oyster (sport-leaning, more often paired with black-dial) or 18K Jubilee (more often paired with serti and rootbeer). Bracelet codes: 78368 Oyster, 8386 Jubilee — both stamped on the largest centre link
|}
|}


Line 55: Line 65:
== Where it sits in the line ==
== Where it sits in the line ==


The [[Reference:16718|16718]] is the solid-gold partner to the steel [[Reference:16710|16710]] and the two-tone [[Reference:16713|16713]]. Within the gold branch, the direct predecessor is the [[Reference:16758|16758]], which still carried the old linked-hand logic. The [[Reference:16718|16718]] replaces that behavior with a separately adjustable 24-hour hand while keeping the classical five-digit case shape. The later ceramic gold GMTs push the look toward overt luxury; the [[Reference:16718|16718]] is the gold watch that fully crosses into GMT-Master II behavior without crossing into the modern idiom.
Within the five-digit GMT-Master II line the 16718 runs in parallel with the all-steel [[Reference:16710|16710]] and the two-tone [[Reference:16713|16713]] Rootbeer, and from 2005 with the ceramic 116718LN that replaced it. What it replaced in turn was the [[Reference:16758|16758]], built from 1979/80 to 1988 on caliber 3075, whose local hour moved only with the 24-hour hand in the synchronized manner of the original GMT-Master line.
 
The gold case-and-bracelet positioning carries over from the 16758. The flyer mechanic and the 1989-onward sapphire-crystal Oyster case with crown guards are new. The next-generation gold GMT is the 116718LN, from 2005, running caliber 3186 under a Cerachrom ceramic bezel with a Maxi dial, Super Case, and solid-centre-link Oyster bracelet.


<span id="production-outline"></span>
<span id="production-outline"></span>
== Production outline ==
== Production outline ==


Rolex ran the [[Reference:16718|16718]] from 1989 to 2007, an 18-year span that straddles the transition from late-1980s retail into the early ceramic era. Both the black-dial and brown-dial Root Beer configurations ran alongside each other through that window.
Launch year is unanimous at 1989. The 16718 entered the catalog as the gold partner to the new flyer-GMT 16710, retiring the 16758 it succeeded. The end year reads 2005 across editorial coverage and major-house lots, lining up with the Baselworld launch of the 116718LN as the 50th-anniversary green-dial replacement. A "2003" end date sometimes circulates; it traces to the steel 116710LN launch year, since the all-gold 116718LN is a 2005 release.
 
<span id="black-branch"></span>
=== Black branch ===
 
The black-dial watch with black 24-hour insert is the configuration that dominates surviving examples and contemporary dealer inventory. Early and late examples are both readily found, and the black branch is what most buyers encounter when they look for a [[Reference:16718|16718]] today.
 
<span id="brown-branch"></span>
=== Brown branch ===


The brown Root Beer configuration with bronze-tinted bezel insert is documented across the major collector references. Revolution's two-part GMT-Master II survey treats the brown solid-gold watch as a period-correct retail option alongside the black version. The Vintage Rolex Field Manual places the brown solid-gold [[Reference:16718|16718]] inside the Root Beer continuity that runs from the 1675/8 through the [[Reference:16758|16758]]. Sotheby's Root Beer guide does the same. None of these sources publish reference-specific hammer-price data, but all three treat the brown branch as genuinely produced and genuinely scarce.
A case-stamp transition runs c.2002–2003 alongside the steel and two-tone sisters, when the lug holes drop and the laser-etched coronet appears on the sapphire crystal at 6 o'clock. The 16718 follows the same case-revision sequence as the 16710 and 16713, although the gold case stamp is sometimes catalogued without the "T" suffix the steel sister carried.


Direct sale evidence is thinner than for the black watch. A brown [[Reference:16718|16718]] offered today deserves archive papers and dial-foot photography rather than trust by catalogue claim.
No total-production figure surfaces in the documented sources. The gold variant is much rarer than the steel 16710, and the run is certainly smaller given the case material, but nobody has put a number on it.


<span id="movement-notes"></span>
<span id="movement-notes"></span>
== Movement notes ==
== Movement notes ==


Caliber 3185 powered the reference through most of the run, with late examples documented on the updated 3186 in the Field Manual. Independent-hour GMT-Master II functionality is present throughout. Mechanically the [[Reference:16718|16718]] is not a transitional watch. The interest sits elsewhere, in branch survival and in how lightly the surviving population was worn.
Caliber 3185 powers most of the run, carrying over unchanged from the 16710 and 16713. It is a 31-jewel COSC chronometer beating at 28,800 vph with a 50-hour reserve, hacking seconds and a quickset date, a Glucydur balance regulated by four Microstella screws, and Kif Elastor shock protection. Its hairspring is flat Nivarox with a Breguet overcoil; the blue Parachrom arrives later, on caliber 3186. The flyer mechanic with its independently adjustable local hour is the architectural break from the linked-hand 3075 that ran in the 16758.
 
Late-production examples may carry the upgraded caliber 3186 with its Parachrom blue hairspring and the spring-loaded date mechanism that cured the 3185's GMT-hand creep. Where that changeover falls on the 16718 specifically is documented inconsistently, and the bulk of documented examples read cal 3185 throughout the run. A 3186 in a 16718 case is worth checking against the serial before money changes hands.


<span id="dial-map"></span>
<span id="dial-map"></span>
== Dial map ==
== Dial map ==


[[File:Ref 16718 early-black.webp|thumb|right|280px|Early black 16718]]
[[File:Ref 16718 early-black.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Early black 16718|Early black 16718]]


<span id="black-branch-1"></span>
Four documented dial branches across the run.
=== Black branch ===


Black dial with black 24-hour bezel. An early-run and a later-run example cover most of what a buyer needs to see. The applied hour markers sit inside fine gold surrounds, with a gilt coronet that matches the case colour.
<span id="black-glossy-nipple"></span>
=== Glossy black ===


<span id="brown-branch-1"></span>
Black is the standard sport configuration: glossy black lacquer carrying nipple markers in earlier production and applied indices with yellow-gold surrounds later. A nipple marker is a precious-metal cone with a tritium plot at its centre. It pairs most often with the all-black aluminium insert. The black lacquer is the more stable of the two 16718 formulations, and black dials age more cleanly than the brown sunburst.
=== Brown branch ===


Brown Root Beer dial with bronze-tinted bezel insert, period-correct alongside the black watch according to Revolution, the Field Manual, and the Sotheby's Root Beer guide. It appears less often in direct sale material than the black configuration, and a period-correct brown example should be matched carefully against the collector literature on dial printing and bezel colour.
<span id="brown-sunburst-rootbeer"></span>
=== Brown sunburst ("rootbeer") ===


<span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown-notes"></span>
The signature gold-rootbeer configuration is brown sunburst lacquer with applied yellow-gold nipple markers, paired with the brown-and-cream "rootbeer" insert. The lacquer uses the period formulation that flakes on 16713 and 16753 brown sunburst dials, with the damage concentrated around the circumference of the indexes, so the condition check is the same one. Italian and Middle-Eastern collector demand drove much of the regular 16718 brown market through the 1990s.
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes ==


[[File:Ref 16718 bezel-closeup.webp|thumb|right|280px|Black 24-hour bezel close-up]]
The term "Sundust" belongs to a different surface treatment, the one on modern Everose Daytona, Datejust, and Day-Date production. Applied to a 1989–2005 yellow-gold GMT it reads wrong to collectors, who call this dial brown sunburst or rootbeer.


The case is the full-gold five-digit Oyster case with sapphire crystal, Cyclops, and a 24-hour aluminum insert. The bezel branch map is where the sources diverge. The Field Manual table leans toward a black-bezel LN reading as the standard fitment. Revolution states the watch came in both a black-dial with black-bezel form and a brown-dial with bronze-bezel form. The conflict is real and unresolved in the published record.
<span id="white-dial"></span>
=== White ===


Gold GMT-Master II dials evolved across the run in a way buyers should know. Early [[Reference:16718|16718]] dials carry a narrower gold surround around each lume plot, inherited from the [[Reference:16758|16758]], with a more pronounced bevel and a warmer gilt coronet. Later dials widen the surround slightly and move toward a flatter, more uniform baton geometry. The change is gradual, and no service-parts catalogue line pins it to a specific year. Side-by-side images in Revolution and the Sotheby's Root Beer piece show the two styles clearly. When dating a specific watch, the surround style, coronet tone, and dial-foot printing should track the serial range before any late-period attribution is accepted, because service dials occasionally turn up on earlier cases.
The white dial is a factory configuration on a white ground, with applied indices in yellow-gold surrounds under a yellow-gold coronet, paired with the all-black insert. It surfaces less often than the black or brown branches and has its own following.


<span id="bracelets-end-links-clasps-and-packaging-notes"></span>
<span id="champagne-silver-serti"></span>
== Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes ==
=== Champagne / silver serti ===


[[File:Ref 16718 gold-oyster.webp|thumb|right|280px|Gold Oyster bracelet]]
The serti is a factory gem-set variant on the standard 16718 architecture, a champagne or silvered ground carrying diamond hour markers and triangular rubies at 6 and 9 in place of the nipple markers and luminous plots. The 16713 and 16718 are the only two GMT references to receive serti dials, and the stones separate a GMT serti from a Submariner serti at a glance: rubies on the GMT, sapphires on the Submariner. Serti 16718s most often turn up on the 18K Jubilee.


Surviving black-dial examples lean Oyster in dealer inventory, which is a market tendency rather than an original-delivery rule; Jubilee fitment existed as a retail option through the run.
<span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown"></span>
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==


Late-production examples from roughly 2000 onward are the ones most likely to surface today with a full set. A well-kept late example usually carries the outer card sleeve, the green-and-gold inner presentation box, the punched warranty card with a matching five-digit serial, the product booklets in the appropriate language, the hang tag with its red Rolex seal, and the anchor-crown chronometer swing tag. Earlier examples more often arrive with card and booklets but without the outer sleeve or hang tag, because owners discarded those layers sooner. Auction catalogues consistently note a full-set premium on late gold GMTs without publishing reference-specific numbers. Buyers chasing strict originality usually prioritise the punched warranty card, which ties directly to the watch and can be cross-checked against dealer stamps and country of delivery.
[[File:Ref 16718 bezel-closeup.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Black 24-hour bezel close-up|Black 24-hour bezel close-up]]


<span id="special-branches"></span>
The case is the standard 40mm Oyster of the 16710 era in 18K yellow gold throughout, mid-case, lugs, bezel ring, crown, and outer bracelet links all gold. A sapphire crystal with Cyclops covers the date on the usual sapphire-era crown-guard architecture, and from approximately 2003 the laser-etched coronet appears at 6 o'clock. Water resistance is 100m.
== Special branches ==


<span id="black-dial-branch"></span>
The bezel itself is solid 18K yellow gold and the colour comes from the insert, a bidirectional 24-hour aluminium ring in one of two factory finishes, black or brown-and-cream "rootbeer." Pepsi (red and blue) is a steel 16710 option and never reached the gold case.
=== Black-dial branch ===


Black dial, black 24-hour bezel, gold Oyster bracelet. The configuration that dominates surviving examples and the first image a buyer encounters searching for a [[Reference:16718|16718]].
No factory pavé-diamond bezel for the 16718 surfaces in major-house lots, and no primary catalog or Rolex archive citation supports one. Diamond-set bezels do turn up on 16718 cases, common enough in the gold-watch market to expect, but they circulate as aftermarket conversions rather than factory configurations.


<span id="brown-branch-2"></span>
<span id="bracelets-end-links-and-clasps"></span>
=== Brown branch ===
== Bracelets, end links, and clasps ==


Revolution, the Field Manual, and the Sotheby's Root Beer guide treat the brown solid-gold [[Reference:16718|16718]] as a period-correct retail configuration with a bronze-tinted bezel insert. Direct sale examples are sparse in auction catalogues. A 1993 brown Root Beer example with Rolex CPO papers, listed in dealer inventory with caliber 3185 and yellow-gold case, is the cleanest recent anchor for the brown branch on the direct market.
[[File:Ref 16718 gold-oyster.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Gold Oyster bracelet|Gold Oyster bracelet]]


<span id="scarcity-angle"></span>
Two factory 18K bracelets fit the 16718. The Oyster 78368 is the three-link, sport-leaning option and turns up most often under black dials. The Jubilee 8386, sometimes with the hidden "Super Jubilee" clasp, is the five-link dress option and pairs most often with serti and rootbeer dials.
=== Scarcity angle ===


Gold GMT-Master II watches sold slowly at retail through the 1990s and early 2000s. The pattern is consistent with what auction cataloguers report for late-run precious-metal sports Rolexes across the era: light in-period demand followed by light wrist time on the examples that did sell. The result is twofold. Unpolished [[Reference:16718|16718]] examples with sharp lugs and crisp bezel-fitment gaps are easier to find than an equivalent [[Reference:16710|16710]]. And the installed base is smaller than the 18-year production span suggests, which is why clean examples can disappear from dealer inventory quickly. Rolex has never published production totals for the reference, so the scarcity read remains a market observation rather than an archival figure.
Clasps are 18K Fliplock Oyster or hidden-crown Jubilee. The bracelet codes date the bracelet and not the watch head, so a clasp dating later than the case points to a swap or a service replacement. Both bracelets run across the whole 1989–2005 window with no clean delivery split by year.


<span id="historical-market-and-auction-record"></span>
<span id="historical-market-and-auction-record"></span>
== Historical market and auction record ==
== Historical market and auction record ==


Direct-market anchors now cover both branches. A 1994 black-dial [[Reference:16718|16718]] on yellow-gold Oyster with caliber 3185, offered by a major CPO dealer at $40,000, anchors the mid-1990s black watch with current retail context. A 1988 solid-gold example fitted to a Horween leather strap and carrying a blue insert sits in documented inventory as well; the blue-insert claim is unusual enough to be read as a data point rather than a normal production branch. A 1993 brown Root Beer example with Rolex CPO papers closes the longest-standing gap, giving the brown branch a direct-sale reference alongside the collector literature.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Sale !! Lot !! Year of watch !! Configuration !! Result
|-
| Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XIV || 148 || 2021 || rootbeer dial with brown insert, full Rolex service April 2021, engraved-Rolex caseback intact || not publicly listed
|-
| Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction SEVEN || 956 || 2018 || c.1990 18K yellow gold, early production || not publicly listed
|-
| Sotheby's Watches || — || 2020 || yellow-gold automatic dual time || not publicly listed
|-
| EveryWatch aggregate || Rare Watches lot 207 || — || 1989 champagne dial || not publicly listed
|-
| EveryWatch / Watches Online: The Geneva Edit || — || — || c.1989 (catalog "1985" likely typo) || not publicly listed
|}
 
The 16718 trades on the gold-watch dealer market more than at major auction, and Phillips Geneva XIV lot 148 from 2021 is the strongest single auction-house anchor on the documented record. Standard black or rootbeer examples on the Jubilee sit well above the steel 16710, which the gold content alone accounts for. Serti gem-set examples occupy their own tier above that. Of the two GMT references to carry the factory serti option, the gold one draws the most documented demand.
 
== Related references ==


Every current anchor is a retail or CPO listing. A hammered Phillips, Sotheby's, or Christie's result would strengthen the record further, particularly on the brown branch, where collector literature has run ahead of sale documentation for years.
* [[Reference:16710|GMT-Master 16710]] — Pepsi, Coke & Black (1989–2007)
* [[Reference:16713|GMT-Master 16713]] — 1989–2007
* [[Reference:16700|GMT-Master 16700]] — 1988–1998
* [[Reference:16760|GMT-Master 16760]] — "Fat Lady", Coke Bezel (1983–1988)
* [[Reference:116718LN|GMT-Master 116718LN]] — 2005–2019
* [[Reference:16750|GMT-Master 16750]] — 1979–1988
 
See also the [[Reference:gmt-master|GMT-Master family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* The Vintage Rolex Field Manual, Chevalier Edition — unknown, Morning Tundra
 
* [https://revolutionwatch.com/masterstroke-the-gmt-master-part-ii/ Master Stroke — The Rolex GMT-Master: Part II] — Ross Povey, Revolution
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/history-rolex-gmt-master-and-gmt-master-ii-1955-2024-iconic-traveller-watch-in-depth-review/ In-Depth: The History of the Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II] (Monochrome)
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/a-concise-guide-to-the-rolex-gmt-root-beer A Closer Look at the Rolex Root Beer] — Christina Bohn, Sotheby's
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-rolex-gmt-master-the-complete-collectors-guide The Rolex GMT-Master: A Complete Collector's Guide] — Stephen Pulvirent (Sotheby's)
* [https://www.vrfm.io/gold-gmt-masters.html The Vintage Solid Gold Rolex GMT Master] — MORNINGTUNDRA, VRFM.io
* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/tbt-rolex-gmt-master-16718/ #TBT Rolex GMT Master 16718] (Fratello)
* [https://hairspring.com/blogs/finds/16718-rolex-gmt-master-ii 16718 Rolex GMT-Master II] — Erik Gustafson, Hairspring
* [https://watchbase.com/rolex/gmt-master/16718 Rolex GMT-Master 16718 reference page] (Watchbase)
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/used-rolex-gmt-master-ii-ref-16718-18k-yellow-gold.html Used Rolex GMT-Master II Ref 16718 18k Yellow Gold] — unknown, Bob's Watches
* [https://www.chrono24.com/magazine/golden-boy-with-retro-flair-the-new-rolex-yellow-gold-gmt-master-ii-p_114312/ Golden Boy with Retro Flair: The New Rolex Yellow Gold GMT-Master II] (Chrono24 Magazine)
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-gmt-master-ii-ref-16718-black-dial.html Rolex GMT-Master II ref 16718 Black Dial] — unknown, Bob's Watches
* [https://watchesoff5th.com/blogs/news/closer-look-at-the-discontinued-rolex-gmt-master-ii-in-yellow-gold Closer Look at the Discontinued Rolex GMT-Master II in Yellow Gold] (Watches Off 5th)
* RolexForums 16718 thread bundle — RolexForums community, RolexForums
* [https://www.swisswatchexpo.com/thewatchclub/2024/01/02/rolex-gmt-master-ii-yellow-gold-and-rolesor-yellow-gold-editions/ Rolex GMT-Master II Yellow Gold and Rolesor Yellow Gold Editions]
* [https://www.grayandsons.com/blog/the-history-and-evolution-of-the-rolex-gmt-master-ii/ The History and Evolution of the Rolex GMT-Master II]
* [https://www.grayandsons.com/blog/watch-talk-what-are-rolex-serti-dials/ What Are Rolex Serti Dials?]
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/watch-review/5-unforgettable-examples-serti-dial.html 5 Unforgettable Examples of Serti Dials]
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/rolex-gmt-master-ii-steel-yellow-gold-two-tone-rolesor-126713grnr-hands-on-review-price/ Rolex GMT-Master II 126713GRNR hands-on review] (Monochrome)
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080221/148 Rolex 16718 rootbeer — Phillips Geneva XIV lot 148] (Phillips, 2021)
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/HK080218/956 Rolex 16718 c.1990 — Phillips Hong Kong SEVEN lot 956] (Phillips, 2018)
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/watches/rolex-gmt-master-ii-ref-16718-a-yellow-gold Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 16718 — Sotheby's Watches] (Sotheby's, 2020)
* [https://everywatch.com/rolex/16718/watch-9016154 1989 16718 champagne dial Rare Watches lot 207] (EveryWatch)
* [https://watch.the1916company.com/videos/rolex-gmt-master-ii-jubilee-16718-review Rolex GMT-Master II Jubilee 16718 review]
* [https://www.bernardwatch.com/Rolex/GMT-Master-II/RLX5804 Rolex 16718 champagne Serti dial] (Bernard Watch)
* [https://thekeystone.com/products/rolex-yellow-gold-gmt-master-diamond-ruby-watch-ref-16718 Rolex Yellow Gold GMT-Master Diamond Ruby Ref. 16718] (The Keystone)
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-gmt-master-ii-16718-jubilee-18k-yellow-gold.html Rolex GMT-Master II 16718 Jubilee 18K Yellow Gold]
* [https://www.bobswatches.com/pre-owned-rolex-gmt-master-ii-16718-serti-dial.html Rolex GMT-Master II 16718 Serti Dial]
* [https://www.swisswatchexpo.com/watches/rolex-gmt-master-rootbeer-18k-yellow-gold-vintage-mens-watch-16718-32175/ Rolex GMT-Master Rootbeer 18K Yellow Gold 16718]
* [https://www.jaztime.com/rolex-gmt-master-ii-yellow-gold-black-dial-oyster-bracelet-116718ln 116718LN Yellow Gold Black Dial] (Jaztime)
* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra


[[Category:GMT-Master]]
[[Category:GMT-Master]]
[[Category:Working Draft]]

Latest revision as of 23:53, 9 August 2026


GMT-Master -> 16718

The 16718 is the all-gold member of the 16710 generation, the 18K case-and-bracelet sister to the steel 16710 and the two-tone 16713. Production runs 1989 to approximately 2005, and the 116718LN succeeds it with a ceramic Cerachrom bezel and the 50th-anniversary green dial. Caliber 3185, the 40mm Oyster case, and the flyer-GMT mechanic all carry over from the steel sister. What changes is the metal, and a dial palette weighted toward the evening-dress configurations a Cellini buyer would recognise, alongside the standard sport variants.

18k yellow-gold GMT-Master II
18k yellow-gold GMT-Master II

Core facts

detail value
reference 16718
family GMT-Master II (all-yellow-gold variant)
production 1989 to approximately 2005. Replaced by the 116718LN at Baselworld 2005 alongside the GMT-Master 50th-anniversary green-dial release. The "2003" reading sometimes cited for end of production is wrong — that date traces to the steel 116710LN launch, not the gold version
total examples no published Rolex production figure
case 40mm 18K yellow-gold Oyster with crown guards, 100m water resistance
crystal sapphire with Cyclops; laser-etched coronet at 6 o'clock from approximately 2003
movement caliber 3185 across most of the run (Nivarox flat hairspring with Breguet overcoil); rare late-production caliber 3186 with Parachrom blue hairspring on end-of-run examples. The 3186 is documented inconsistently for the 16718 specifically — the bulk of the documented record reads cal 3185 throughout
GMT mechanic flyer GMT — independently adjustable local hour hand, 24-hour hand tracks home time independently
dial generations four documented configurations: glossy black, brown sunburst ("rootbeer"), white, champagne / silver serti gem-set with diamond hour markers and ruby accents at 6 / 9. (GMT serti dials use rubies, not the Submariner's sapphires.)
bezel 24-hour aluminium insert in two factory configurations: black or brown ("rootbeer"). No factory pavé-diamond bezel surfaces in major-house lots — diamond-set bezels on 16718 cases circulate as aftermarket conversions
bracelet 18K Oyster (sport-leaning, more often paired with black-dial) or 18K Jubilee (more often paired with serti and rootbeer). Bracelet codes: 78368 Oyster, 8386 Jubilee — both stamped on the largest centre link

Where it sits in the line

Within the five-digit GMT-Master II line the 16718 runs in parallel with the all-steel 16710 and the two-tone 16713 Rootbeer, and from 2005 with the ceramic 116718LN that replaced it. What it replaced in turn was the 16758, built from 1979/80 to 1988 on caliber 3075, whose local hour moved only with the 24-hour hand in the synchronized manner of the original GMT-Master line.

The gold case-and-bracelet positioning carries over from the 16758. The flyer mechanic and the 1989-onward sapphire-crystal Oyster case with crown guards are new. The next-generation gold GMT is the 116718LN, from 2005, running caliber 3186 under a Cerachrom ceramic bezel with a Maxi dial, Super Case, and solid-centre-link Oyster bracelet.

Production outline

Launch year is unanimous at 1989. The 16718 entered the catalog as the gold partner to the new flyer-GMT 16710, retiring the 16758 it succeeded. The end year reads 2005 across editorial coverage and major-house lots, lining up with the Baselworld launch of the 116718LN as the 50th-anniversary green-dial replacement. A "2003" end date sometimes circulates; it traces to the steel 116710LN launch year, since the all-gold 116718LN is a 2005 release.

A case-stamp transition runs c.2002–2003 alongside the steel and two-tone sisters, when the lug holes drop and the laser-etched coronet appears on the sapphire crystal at 6 o'clock. The 16718 follows the same case-revision sequence as the 16710 and 16713, although the gold case stamp is sometimes catalogued without the "T" suffix the steel sister carried.

No total-production figure surfaces in the documented sources. The gold variant is much rarer than the steel 16710, and the run is certainly smaller given the case material, but nobody has put a number on it.

Movement notes

Caliber 3185 powers most of the run, carrying over unchanged from the 16710 and 16713. It is a 31-jewel COSC chronometer beating at 28,800 vph with a 50-hour reserve, hacking seconds and a quickset date, a Glucydur balance regulated by four Microstella screws, and Kif Elastor shock protection. Its hairspring is flat Nivarox with a Breguet overcoil; the blue Parachrom arrives later, on caliber 3186. The flyer mechanic with its independently adjustable local hour is the architectural break from the linked-hand 3075 that ran in the 16758.

Late-production examples may carry the upgraded caliber 3186 with its Parachrom blue hairspring and the spring-loaded date mechanism that cured the 3185's GMT-hand creep. Where that changeover falls on the 16718 specifically is documented inconsistently, and the bulk of documented examples read cal 3185 throughout the run. A 3186 in a 16718 case is worth checking against the serial before money changes hands.

Dial map

Early black 16718
Early black 16718

Four documented dial branches across the run.

Glossy black

Black is the standard sport configuration: glossy black lacquer carrying nipple markers in earlier production and applied indices with yellow-gold surrounds later. A nipple marker is a precious-metal cone with a tritium plot at its centre. It pairs most often with the all-black aluminium insert. The black lacquer is the more stable of the two 16718 formulations, and black dials age more cleanly than the brown sunburst.

Brown sunburst ("rootbeer")

The signature gold-rootbeer configuration is brown sunburst lacquer with applied yellow-gold nipple markers, paired with the brown-and-cream "rootbeer" insert. The lacquer uses the period formulation that flakes on 16713 and 16753 brown sunburst dials, with the damage concentrated around the circumference of the indexes, so the condition check is the same one. Italian and Middle-Eastern collector demand drove much of the regular 16718 brown market through the 1990s.

The term "Sundust" belongs to a different surface treatment, the one on modern Everose Daytona, Datejust, and Day-Date production. Applied to a 1989–2005 yellow-gold GMT it reads wrong to collectors, who call this dial brown sunburst or rootbeer.

White

The white dial is a factory configuration on a white ground, with applied indices in yellow-gold surrounds under a yellow-gold coronet, paired with the all-black insert. It surfaces less often than the black or brown branches and has its own following.

Champagne / silver serti

The serti is a factory gem-set variant on the standard 16718 architecture, a champagne or silvered ground carrying diamond hour markers and triangular rubies at 6 and 9 in place of the nipple markers and luminous plots. The 16713 and 16718 are the only two GMT references to receive serti dials, and the stones separate a GMT serti from a Submariner serti at a glance: rubies on the GMT, sapphires on the Submariner. Serti 16718s most often turn up on the 18K Jubilee.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Black 24-hour bezel close-up
Black 24-hour bezel close-up

The case is the standard 40mm Oyster of the 16710 era in 18K yellow gold throughout, mid-case, lugs, bezel ring, crown, and outer bracelet links all gold. A sapphire crystal with Cyclops covers the date on the usual sapphire-era crown-guard architecture, and from approximately 2003 the laser-etched coronet appears at 6 o'clock. Water resistance is 100m.

The bezel itself is solid 18K yellow gold and the colour comes from the insert, a bidirectional 24-hour aluminium ring in one of two factory finishes, black or brown-and-cream "rootbeer." Pepsi (red and blue) is a steel 16710 option and never reached the gold case.

No factory pavé-diamond bezel for the 16718 surfaces in major-house lots, and no primary catalog or Rolex archive citation supports one. Diamond-set bezels do turn up on 16718 cases, common enough in the gold-watch market to expect, but they circulate as aftermarket conversions rather than factory configurations.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

Gold Oyster bracelet
Gold Oyster bracelet

Two factory 18K bracelets fit the 16718. The Oyster 78368 is the three-link, sport-leaning option and turns up most often under black dials. The Jubilee 8386, sometimes with the hidden "Super Jubilee" clasp, is the five-link dress option and pairs most often with serti and rootbeer dials.

Clasps are 18K Fliplock Oyster or hidden-crown Jubilee. The bracelet codes date the bracelet and not the watch head, so a clasp dating later than the case points to a swap or a service replacement. Both bracelets run across the whole 1989–2005 window with no clean delivery split by year.

Historical market and auction record

Sale Lot Year of watch Configuration Result
Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XIV 148 2021 rootbeer dial with brown insert, full Rolex service April 2021, engraved-Rolex caseback intact not publicly listed
Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction SEVEN 956 2018 c.1990 18K yellow gold, early production not publicly listed
Sotheby's Watches — 2020 yellow-gold automatic dual time not publicly listed
EveryWatch aggregate Rare Watches lot 207 — 1989 champagne dial not publicly listed
EveryWatch / Watches Online: The Geneva Edit — — c.1989 (catalog "1985" likely typo) not publicly listed

The 16718 trades on the gold-watch dealer market more than at major auction, and Phillips Geneva XIV lot 148 from 2021 is the strongest single auction-house anchor on the documented record. Standard black or rootbeer examples on the Jubilee sit well above the steel 16710, which the gold content alone accounts for. Serti gem-set examples occupy their own tier above that. Of the two GMT references to carry the factory serti option, the gold one draws the most documented demand.

Related references

See also the GMT-Master family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

Sources

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