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 Rolesor case, but it inherits enough of the older Root Beer visual vocabulary that collectors routinely misread it as just another nickname watch. The black branch is real. The brown branch is real. Both belong to the reference in equal measure, and the article has to carry both.
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 Rolesor 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, not the older linked-hand GMT-Master world. The colors look back to Root Beer, but the movement logic is already fully GMT-Master II.
Production outline
The broad production window runs from roughly 1989 to 2007. Inside that window the watch reads cleanest as two branches, brown Root Beer and black, rather than a single run with colour variants.
Brown Root Beer branch
The brown branch keeps the strongest visual continuity with the earlier two-tone GMTs. A brown dial paired with a brown bezel insert carries the warm Root Beer look straight through into the GMT-Master II era.
Black branch
The black 16713 is not a curiosity. It is the workhorse side of the reference and the configuration Rolex itself pushed hardest in period imagery.
The branch map is not fully clean. The Field Manual table treats the reference more like a black-bezel LN, while the wider family literature tries to broaden the colour story. Revolution's GMT-Master II survey leaves room for brown-bezel and black-bezel production, and the Sotheby's Root Beer guide backs that. Direct examples on record support black and brown, and that is the safer 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 powers most of the run, and the Field Manual lists late 3186 examples for the final years. Both calibers drive the independent hour hand that defines the GMT-Master II, rather than the older linked-hand system carried by the 16753.
Within this reference, the 3185 to 3186 changeover lands late. Most surviving watches are still 3185 examples, so a claimed 3186 should be backed up clearly.
Dial map
The dial story is simpler than on the steel 16710, but the branch split still matters.
Brown Root Beer
The brown example in Sotheby's retail inventory is the cleanest branch anchor, and a parallel Bob's Watches Root Beer listing reinforces it with heavier image coverage and a full Oyster presentation.
Black dial
The black branch holds up on the same pair. A Sotheby's retail example and an image-richer Bob's Watches listing together keep the black 16713 from being buried as a minor variant of the Root Beer.
Transitional visual detail
The 16713 is the last GMT branch with nipple indexes and the first with a gilt coronet, per the Field Manual. The combination makes the watch feel transitional in its own way, even without the extreme dial taxonomy of the 1675.
For spotters, the early 16713 bridge look comes from two things together: nipple markers and a warmer gilt coronet. That is what ties the first watches back to the 16753 Root Beer vocabulary. Later examples lose that look and move to the flatter applied-baton dial.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes
The case is the expected two-tone Oyster shape of the 16710 era, with a steel mid-case and yellow-gold bezel ring and crown. Sapphire with a Cyclops lens over the date 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 still needs discipline. Brown Root Beer and black are directly supported. Wider colour claims, especially Coke or Pepsi two-tone readings, still need stronger proof and should be treated cautiously.
Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes
The surviving market shows more than one useful bracelet presentation. Brown-branch watches turn up on Oyster; black-branch watches turn up on Jubilee. The Sotheby's retail pages for both branches include box context, so the pairing is not a dealer-only reading. The package is not deep enough yet to support a full born-with delivery chart, but bracelet presentation clearly varies within the reference.
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. It is the branch the Root Beer nickname actually points at, and the one most buyers picture first when they hear the reference number.
Black branch
The black branch is the correction to the nickname trap. It is what a buyer expecting Root Beer brown often finds when they shop the reference by number, and the reason the article has to treat the black watch as a first-class configuration rather than an outlier.
Historical market and auction record
The auction record for the 16713 is still thin, but the retail side is enough to make the basic point: the watch is not one-colour and not one-bracelet.
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