Reference:16713
GMT-Master → 16713
The 16713 is the two-tone GMT-Master II branch inside the long 16710 era. It carries GMT-Master II movement logic into a steel-and-yellow-gold case, but it inherits enough of the older Root Beer vocabulary that it is easy to misread as just another nickname watch. It is not. The black branch is real, the brown branch is real, and the package is already strong enough to keep both visible.
That duality is the reason the reference matters. The 16713 is the two-tone GMT-Master II where collector shorthand starts to fight the actual watch.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 16713 |
| family | GMT-Master II |
| production | roughly 1989-2007 |
| movement | caliber 3185, with late 3186 noted in the Field Manual |
| case | 40mm steel-and-yellow-gold Oyster case |
| crystal | sapphire with Cyclops |
| water resistance | 100m |
| bezel | black or brown in the direct branch examples; wider color assumptions remain unresolved |
| main dial split | brown Root Beer and black-dial branches |
Where it sits in the line
The 16713 belongs inside the 16710 generation rather than the older GMT-Master one.
- it follows the earlier two-tone GMT-Master references in spirit
- it uses GMT-Master II movement logic rather than the older linked-hand system
- it sits alongside the steel 16710 and the solid-gold 16718
That mechanical move is the key difference from the 16753. The watch may still look close to the older Root Beer lineage, but mechanically it has crossed fully into GMT-Master II territory.
Production outline
The broad production window is good enough at 1989-2007, but the cleaner way to read the watch is by branch.
Brown Root Beer branch
This is the branch that keeps the strongest visual continuity with the earlier two-tone GMTs. Brown dial, brown bezel, and the warm Root Beer look carry straight through into the GMT-Master II era.
Black branch
The black branch matters just as much because it stops the reference from collapsing into a single nickname. The package already has direct brown and black examples, and they look like genuinely different watches even though the underlying reference is the same.
The branch map is not fully clean, though. The Field Manual table treats the reference more like a black-bezel LN, while the wider family literature tries to broaden the color story. The current direct examples support black and brown, and that is the safest line for the article.
Movement notes
The reference uses GMT-Master II movement logic, which is the main thing separating it from the older two-tone GMT-Master references.
- caliber 3185 for most of the run
- late 3186 examples listed by the Field Manual
- independent GMT-hand function rather than the older linked-hand system
This is enough to make the 16713 a real GMT-Master II even when the colors pull it backward into the Root Beer tradition.
Dial map
The dial story is simpler than on the steel 16710, but the branch split still matters.
Brown Root Beer
The direct brown example from Sotheby’s is the cleanest current branch anchor, and the Bob’s Root Beer page helps with image density and Oyster presentation.
Black dial
The direct black example from Sotheby’s and the image-richer Bob’s black page keep the branch from being buried as a minor variant.
Transitional visual detail
The Field Manual gives the strongest short line here. The 16713 is the last GMT branch with nipple indexes and the first with a gilt coronet, which makes the watch feel transitional in its own way even without the extreme dial taxonomy of the 1675.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes
The case is the expected two-tone Oyster shape of the 16710 era: steel with yellow-gold bezel ring and crown. Sapphire is part of the package and one of the simplest ways to keep the reference on the GMT-Master II side of the family line.
The bezel story is the part that still needs care.
- brown and brown-and-gold Root Beer is directly supported
- black is directly supported
- any wider color reading beyond that still needs better direct examples
Enough for a first article pass without pretending the bezel map is cleaner than it is.
Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes
The package now shows more than one useful surviving presentation.
- brown branch on Oyster in the image-rich Bob’s page
- black branch on Jubilee in the image-rich Bob’s page
- direct brown and black Sotheby’s retail pages with box context
This is the right level of confidence for a first article: bracelet presentation clearly varies within the reference, but we are not yet at a full born-with delivery chart.
Special branches
Root Beer branch
The brown 16713 is the most obvious continuation of the earlier two-tone GMT identity into the GMT-Master II era.
Black branch
The black branch is the correction to the nickname trap and one of the reasons the article needs to exist at all.
Historical market and auction record
The package is not auction-deep yet, but it is already strong enough to write the market story honestly.
- direct Sotheby’s brown and black retail pages anchor both branches
- the Bob’s pages add better image and bracelet coverage
- the current market layer is enough to show that the reference is not one-color and not one-bracelet
A true auction-house 16713 lot would still improve the reference, but the article is already usable in deliverable form.
Sources
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual, Chevalier Edition — unknown, Morning Tundra
- A Closer Look at the Rolex Root Beer — Christina Bohn, Sotheby's
- Master Stroke — The Rolex GMT-Master: Part II — Ross Povey, Revolution
- GMT-Master II 'Root Beer' (Reference 16713). A 40mm yellow gold stainless steel automatic wristwatch with date and dual time. 1991-1992 — unknown, Sotheby's
- GMT-Master II (Reference 16713). A 40mm yellow gold stainless steel automatic wristwatch with date and dual time. 1991-1992 — unknown, Sotheby's
- Rolex GMT Master 16713 Root Beer Dial — unknown, Bob's Watches
- Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 16713 Black Dial — unknown, Bob's Watches
- WatchUSeek 16713 thread bundle — WatchUSeek community, WatchUSeek