Rolex 126718GRNR GMT-Master

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GMT-Master -> 126718GRNR

The 126718GRNR is the solid yellow-gold GMT-Master II Rolex unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2023 alongside its Rolesor sibling 126713GRNR. It ended a four-year gap in the line. Rolex discontinued the solid-gold 116718LN in 2019 and issued no yellow-gold GMT of any kind until this one.

Case, bracelet, and bezel ring are all 18k yellow gold. The grey-and-black Cerachrom insert is shared with the Rolesor sibling.

18k yellow-gold, grey-black bezel
18k yellow-gold, grey-black bezel

Core facts

detail value
reference 126718GRNR
family GMT-Master II
production 2023-present
movement caliber 3285
case 40mm solid 18k yellow gold Oyster case
crystal sapphire with Cyclops
water resistance 100m
bezel grey-and-black two-colour Cerachrom with yellow-gold-filled numerals
key identity return of solid yellow gold to the ceramic GMT-Master II line

Where it sits in the line

The 126718GRNR is the solid-gold member of the 2023 GRNR pair. The Rolesor 126713GRNR launched on the same W&W keynote, and the steel 126710GRNR followed a year later in 2024, completing the GRNR family across three case materials. It is the direct successor to the discontinued 116718LN, which carried solid yellow gold through the GMT-Master II line from 2005 to 2019.

Upstream, the 126718GRNR is the first yellow-gold GMT-Master II in the 126710-generation case. The case is slimmer than the Super Case 116718LN, caliber 3285 replaces caliber 3186, and the bezel moves from single-colour black Cerachrom to the new grey-and-black insert. Downstream, the reference is current production. No successor has been announced.

Production outline

Production began at W&W 2023 and remains current in the 2026 Rolex catalogue. A 2025 Tiger Iron dial variant added the reference’s first alternative dial configuration.

Movement notes

The 126718GRNR runs caliber 3285, shared with the Rolesor 126713GRNR and the broader 126710-generation family. It beats at 28,800 bph, delivers a 70-hour power reserve, and holds to Rolex’s Superlative Chronometer standard of -2/+2 seconds per day. The Chronergy escapement is the architectural change from caliber 3186, with blue Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock protection carrying over.

Dial map

The 126718GRNR launched with one dial configuration. Glossy black lacquer carries 18k yellow-gold applied markers, gilt-style “GMT-Master II” text, and Chromalight luminescence. The gilt typography is a deliberate vintage cue, and it parallels the discontinued 116718LN.

Tiger Iron dial (2025)

Rolex introduced a Tiger Iron dial in 2025, the reference’s first alternative dial branch. Tiger iron is a natural stone made of banded alternations of tiger’s eye, red jasper, and hematite, so every dial cut from it is unique. Neither pricing nor a production split has been published.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The case is 40mm across and 11.9mm thick in solid 18k yellow gold, with sapphire crystal, Triplock crown, and 100m water resistance unchanged from the 116718LN. The case generation is the slimmer 126710 architecture that replaced the Super Case in 2019, which makes the 126718GRNR thinner on the wrist than the reference it succeeds.

The bezel is the grey-and-black two-colour Cerachrom insert with 18k yellow-gold-filled numerals. Monochrome decodes “GRNR” as gris-noir. The grey-and-black combination had not appeared in the Cerachrom catalogue before 2023, and the insert is shared across all three GRNR references.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

The 126718GRNR ships on a solid 18k yellow-gold Jubilee bracelet with the Oysterclasp and Easylink 5mm extension. That is the first full-gold Jubilee on a GMT-Master since the early 1980s, and a departure from recent precedent, since the 116718LN predecessor shipped on Oyster only. No Oyster-bracelet 126718GRNR has surfaced.

Full-set packaging is the standard Rolex presentation box, the International Guarantee card, and swing tags.

Special branches

The 2025 Tiger Iron dial is the only alternative branch documented for the reference, offered as a factory option alongside the standard black dial. Rolex applied the same stone to the Everose 126715CHNR in the same year, and that version has drawn most of the hands-on coverage.

Historical market and auction record

The 126718GRNR has not yet appeared at Sotheby’s, Phillips, or Christie’s.

Time and Tide gave CHF 37,100 as the launch retail figure. Its May 2023 secondary-market snapshot put first-offer asks at around EUR 67,800 against EUR 39,200 retail, roughly 1.7x at first availability. The Rolesor 126713GRNR carried a roughly 2.1x premium at the same moment. Robb Report photographed Mark Wahlberg wearing a 126718GRNR in 2023.

Related references

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

Sources

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