BezelBase

Rolex 116719BLRO GMT-Master

Revision as of 23:53, 9 August 2026 by Admin (talk | contribs) (Fix: flatten 4 self-link(s) that MediaWiki was rendering as bold text (hard rule #8))
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)


GMT-Master -> 116719BLRO

The 116719BLRO is the white gold ceramic Pepsi — the watch that put the red-and-blue bezel back in the GMT-Master II catalogue after a seven-year absence, and the first production Rolex to carry a two-colour Cerachrom insert. Rolex launched it at Baselworld 2014. It remained the only ceramic Pepsi on sale for four years, until the steel 126710BLRO arrived in 2018.

Restricting the first ceramic Pepsi to 18k white gold was the story. Collectors had been waiting for a ceramic red-and-blue since the 16710 left the catalogue in 2007, and Rolex answered in a metal most of them were not going to buy.

White-gold, red-and-blue Pepsi
White-gold, red-and-blue Pepsi

Core facts

detail value
reference 116719BLRO
family GMT-Master II
production 2014-2019
movement caliber 3186 with blue Parachrom hairspring
case 40mm 18k white gold
crystal sapphire with Cyclops
water resistance 100m
bezel two-colour red-and-blue Cerachrom
bracelet white gold Oyster with Oysterlock
dial black lacquer (-0001, 2014-2018), then blue (-0002, 2018-2019)
key identity first ceramic Pepsi in the Rolex catalogue; white gold only

Where it sits in the line

The 116719BLRO is the bridge between the five-digit Pepsi tradition and the modern ceramic era. The 16710 carried the red-and-blue aluminum bezel through to 2007. When the 116710LN replaced it, Rolex went all-black — no Pepsi option in the new case and bracelet platform. That absence shaped collector expectation for years. The 2014 launch resolved it on Rolex's terms, in precious metal only, at a price that thinned the buyer pool to a fraction of the people who had been asking for it.

Sotheby's places the reference in the Pepsi lineage that runs from the 1950s 6542 through to current ceramic production.

Production outline

Rolex introduced the reference at Baselworld 2014 and kept it in the catalogue through 2019. The original 116719BLRO-0001 carried a black lacquered dial with Maxi markers. At Baselworld 2018, Rolex added the 116719BLRO-0002 with a matte blue dial. Everything else carried over unchanged.

Rolex retired the reference in 2019 and replaced it with the 126719BLRO, which carried the white gold Pepsi identity onto the new caliber 3285 platform. The steel 126710BLRO had arrived in 2018, so the two overlapped in the catalogue for a year. The white gold reference did not step aside when steel appeared, though collectors sometimes read it that way.

Movement notes

Caliber 3186 powers the full run. It is the late-generation five-digit-descended GMT movement, launched in the yellow-gold 116718LN at Baselworld 2005 and carried into the 116719BLRO from launch. The blue Parachrom hairspring gives it better antimagnetic and shock resistance than the earlier 3185. The local hour hand adjusts independently, the date is quickset, and the movement beats at 28,800 bph.

Rolex upgraded to caliber 3285 when the successor 126719BLRO arrived in 2019. The Chronergy escapement, the 70-hour reserve, and the tightened -2/+2 sec/day Superlative Chronometer spec all belong to the 3285. The 116719BLRO has none of them.

Dial map

Two dials, one after the other. The -0001 runs 2014 to 2018 with black lacquer, white gold applied Maxi markers, and Chromalight lume. The -0002 takes over in 2018 with a matte blue dial in the same furniture layout. Both carry the green GMT-Master II text that marks post-2007 GMT-Master II dials.

Nothing else varies. Chromalight lume runs from the start, with no lume transition inside the production window, and no documented printing or typographic changes divide the run the way they divide the five-digit references.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

 
Dial and red-and-blue Cerachrom Pepsi bezel

The case is 40mm in 18k white gold, in the wider "Maxi" architecture that the six-digit sports lineup adopted at the 2008-2010 generational break. The profile matches the 116710LN and the later 126710BLRO exactly. Only the material differs, and white gold makes it substantially heavier than steel.

The bezel is the story. The 116719BLRO was Rolex's first ceramic Pepsi GMT and the first red-and-blue Cerachrom insert the brand brought to market. Rolex had already proved two-colour ceramic with the black-and-blue 116710BLNR in 2013, but red was the harder problem. Firing red Cerachrom takes different kiln chemistry from blue, and getting both colours into one insert without a muddy join at the boundary is the patented part of the process. Solving it here is what made later ceramic Pepsi production possible.

The crystal is sapphire with a Cyclops over the date window at 3 o'clock. The crown is a standard Triplock screw-down with crown guards. Water resistance is 100m, unchanged from the five-digit GMT-Master II and consistent across the whole modern ceramic GMT family.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

 
White-gold Oyster bracelet and Oysterlock clasp

White gold Oyster bracelet with polished centre links and brushed outer links, fitted with the Oysterlock clasp and Easylink extension system. No Jubilee option was offered on the 116719BLRO; the Jubilee return to the GMT-Master II arrived in 2018 with the steel 126710BLRO. Anyone who wanted a Pepsi on Jubilee between 2014 and 2018 had no production option.

Full delivery set includes the standard Rolex presentation box, guarantee card, and period hang tags. Sotheby's lots at Fine Watches 2023 and Important Watches 2025 both came up with the full box-and-papers set, which is how most auction examples survive.

Special branches

Black-dial -0001 (2014-2018)

The launch configuration, and for four years the only ceramic Pepsi Rolex sold. Sotheby's has moved circa-2014, circa-2016, and circa-2017 examples through its rooms, which anchors the black dial firmly to the first production window.

Blue-dial -0002 (2018-2019)

One year in the catalogue. It launched alongside the steel 126710BLRO at Baselworld 2018 and went when the 126719BLRO took over. Collector preference splits between the two dials, the black carrying the launch configuration and the blue the shorter production window.

Pepsi nickname

"Pepsi" refers to the red-and-blue bezel and nothing else. The nickname predates this reference by decades, having attached to the 6542, 1675, 16750, 16700, and 16710, and it carries straight through the 116719BLRO into the 126710BLRO. The green-and-black 126720VTNR is the "Sprite" in enthusiast press, a separate nickname for a separate bezel.

Historical market and auction record

Sotheby's has catalogued the 116719BLRO repeatedly across its Fine Watches and Important Watches sales. A circa-2014 -0001 sold for EUR 35,560 at Fine Watches in 2023. Important Watches carried a circa-2017 example with full box and papers in 2025, and a circa-2016 specimen has been offered through the house's Buy Now channel.

The secondary market has traded the 116719BLRO well above original retail through the post-discontinuation period, consistent with the broader precious-metal ceramic GMT-Master II pattern. Direct 2014 retail was about GBP 25,600, roughly five times what a steel Pepsi would have cost.

Related references

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

Sources

Retrieved from "https://bezelbase.org/index.php?title=Reference:116719BLRO&oldid=7106"