BezelBase

Rolex GMT-Master II 6-digit family


The 6-digit family is the current GMT-Master II generation, running from the 2018 reset through to today's catalogue. It starts with the steel Pepsi 126710BLRO and the Root Beer pair in 2018, adds the Jubilee Batman in 2019, the left-handed 126720VTNR in 2022, the yellow-gold GRNR pair in 2023, the steel GRNR in 2024, and the Tiger Iron stone dials in 2025.

The platform is simple: caliber 3285, a slimmer 40mm case than the Super Case, and a two-colour Cerachrom catalogue that now runs across five colourways.

Core map

  • 126710BLRO (2018-2026): first steel ceramic Pepsi; first Jubilee GMT since 1675 era
  • 126711CHNR (2018-present): Rolesor Everose Rootbeer revival; first two-colour Cerachrom
  • 126715CHNR (2018-present): solid Everose Rootbeer; Tiger Iron dial added 2025 as -0002
  • 126710BLNR (2019-present): Batman transition to Jubilee and caliber 3285
  • 126720VTNR (2022-present): left-handed green-and-black Destro; first modern left-crown Rolex sports watch
  • 126713GRNR (2023-present): Rolesor yellow-gold GMT with grey-and-black Cerachrom
  • 126718GRNR (2023-present): solid yellow-gold GMT; Tiger Iron dial added 2025
  • 126710GRNR (2024-present): steel grey-and-black ceramic GMT; "Bruce Wayne"

Robb Report has the steel Pepsi dropped from the catalogue at Watches & Wonders 2026, with the white-gold Pepsi going at the same time. The rest of the family is current production.

Where the family changes

Caliber 3285

Every 6-digit reference uses caliber 3285. The important upgrades over 3186 are the Chronergy escapement, 70-hour reserve, and the tighter Superlative Chronometer standard. The movement itself does not branch inside this family.

The architecture does not change for the left-handed 126720VTNR either. Rolex reorients the case, dial, and date-wheel printing rather than mirroring the movement internally: the date numerals are set for a 9 o'clock window, but the plate underneath is the standard 3285.

Case proportions vs. 5-digit ceramic

The most immediately visible generation change is the case. Fratello puts the 126710-generation case at 40mm wide and 12.5mm tall against the Super Case geometry of the 116710 references, with narrower lugs and less blocky crown guards. Across the family the figures run roughly 11.9 to 12.5mm thick depending on case material and reference, all of it under the Super Case height.

The dimensional change is the reason the 126710BLNR launched on Jubilee rather than Oyster in 2019. A slimmer case drapes differently on the five-link bracelet, and that bracelet was the headline at launch. Time+Tide's 2020 Batman versus Batgirl comparison reads the drape difference as the main thing the generation shift changed on the wrist.

The case architecture is otherwise shared: a monobloc middle case with screw-down caseback, a Triplock screw-down crown, 100m water resistance, and a sapphire crystal with Cyclops over the date window. The only reference that departs from this layout is the 126720VTNR, which mirrors the crown and date window to the left side without changing the underlying dimensions.

The Jubilee return

Jubilee had been absent from the GMT-Master II Professional line since the 1675 era. The 2018 steel Pepsi brought it back, and the 2019 Batman extended the same choice to the blue-black watch.

The community named the Jubilee-bracelet 126710BLNR "Batgirl" in 2019. When Rolex reintroduced an Oyster option on the same reference in 2021, the split held: Batman stayed the Oyster-bracelet configuration, Batgirl stayed the Jubilee. Sotheby's adopted the Batgirl name in cataloguing by 2020.

The Jubilee is fitted with the Oysterlock folding clasp and the Easylink 5mm comfort extension. It drapes differently from the Oyster on every reference that offers both, and launch coverage split on whether that was the headline or the complaint. Bracelet choice is now the main configuration decision inside the family.

The 2023 pair, the Rolesor 126713GRNR and the solid-gold 126718GRNR, ship on Jubilee only. The 126718GRNR is the first full-gold Jubilee on a GMT-Master since the early 1980s. The predecessor 116718LN shipped exclusively on Oyster across its fourteen-year run.

Two-colour Cerachrom iteration

The 6-digit generation extended the two-colour ceramic catalogue. The 5-digit ceramic era had shipped two combinations — blue-and-black on the 2013 116710BLNR, red-and-blue on the 2014 116719BLRO. The 6-digit family added three more.

The 2018 CHNR Root Beer pair was the first two-colour Cerachrom after BLNR and BLRO. Its brown-and-black insert and Everose numerals give the old Root Beer idea a colder, more modern look than the vintage yellow-gold versions.

The green-and-black VTNR insert on the 2022 126720VTNR added the fourth colour pair, echoing the 2007 Fiftieth Anniversary green bezel announcement on the 116710LN. The combination is exclusive to the left-handed reference.

The grey-and-black GRNR insert added the fifth modern two-colour Cerachrom pairing, its code taken from gris noir. In practice the grey half often reads almost black indoors and shifts warmer in direct sun, which is why the bezel photographs less clearly than it wears.

The full modern two-colour Cerachrom catalogue now runs across BLNR (blue-black), BLRO (red-blue), CHNR (brown-black), VTNR (green-black), and GRNR (grey-black). Rolex has never released a two-colour red-and-black Coke insert; Robb Report noted that the long-rumoured ceramic Coke simply never arrived.

Branch map

The 6-digit family splits by case material and by bezel colourway, and the nickname catalogue tracks both.

By metal

  • Steel (Oystersteel): 126710BLRO Pepsi, 126710BLNR Batman/Batgirl, 126720VTNR Sprite/Destro, 126710GRNR Bruce Wayne/Ghost. The 2026 discontinuation removed the steel Pepsi from the current catalogue.
  • Rolesor Everose: 126711CHNR Rootbeer. The only modern two-tone ceramic reference in Everose rather than yellow gold.
  • Rolesor yellow gold: 126713GRNR Zombie/Bumblebee. Returned yellow Rolesor to the GMT-Master II after a four-year absence.
  • Solid Everose gold: 126715CHNR solid Rootbeer, with 2025 Tiger Iron dial variant.
  • Solid yellow gold: 126718GRNR, with 2025 Tiger Iron dial variant.

By colourway

  • Red-and-blue (BLRO): 126710BLRO steel, 2018-2026. The 2026 discontinuation without announcement is the collecting event of the generation.
  • Blue-and-black (BLNR): 126710BLNR steel, 2019-present. Jubilee (Batgirl) and Oyster (Batman) configurations both current.
  • Brown-and-black (CHNR): 126711CHNR Rolesor Everose and 126715CHNR solid Everose, both 2018-present. The Tiger Iron 126715CHNR-0002 from 2025 is the only catalogued dial variant inside the pair.
  • Green-and-black (VTNR): 126720VTNR left-handed, 2022-present. Exclusive colourway; no right-handed VTNR exists in the catalogue.
  • Grey-and-black (GRNR): 126713GRNR Rolesor, 126718GRNR solid yellow gold, 126710GRNR steel. The Rolesor and solid-gold variants launched in 2023; the steel followed in 2024.

Gem-set and precious-metal branches

Rolex never catalogued the jewellery GMT-Master II, which is why it is missing from the branch maps above. It exists anyway, and it runs across both six-digit generations: the caliber 3186 references of the ceramic era first, then the current 3285 platform.

The 116769TBR is the extreme case. Nicknamed "Ice", it takes the 40mm GMT-Master II case in solid 18k white gold and buries it in stones — pavé diamonds across the dial, baguette-cut diamonds around the bezel in place of the 24-hour Cerachrom insert, and further diamond setting on the case, lugs and bracelet. Underneath all of it sits a standard caliber 3186 GMT-Master II, date at three, 24-hour hand working as it does on the steel references. The documented record puts the introduction at 2007 and surviving examples between 2008 and 2014. Because the reference was sold off-catalogue, no Rolex-published production figure or specification sheet exists for it.

Two further gem-set references sit below the Ice. Sotheby's GMT-Master collector's guide records the 116759SANR and the 116758SANR as white-gold and yellow-gold cases respectively, each set with diamonds and black sapphires. Sotheby's is the only documented source for the pair, and it gives no production dates or caliber for either — a thin record for two references that plainly exist.

The branch continues in current production with the 126755SARU, an Everose GMT-Master II carrying pavé diamonds on the dial, lugs and bracelet and a bezel of blue sapphires above red rubies that reproduces the Pepsi split in precious stones. It is the direct descendant of the 16758 SARU of the mid-1980s, where Rolex first set a sapphire-and-ruby Pepsi bezel on a GMT-Master. The SARU idea skipped a generation and came back.

Nicknames

The 6-digit family carries an unusually dense nickname catalogue. Most names are collector-press shorthand rather than Rolex-official terminology.

Reference Nickname(s) Origin
126710BLRO Pepsi Descends from the 1950s 6542; applies only to red-and-blue
126710BLNR Jubilee Batgirl Coined in 2019 enthusiast coverage for the Jubilee-bracelet launch
126710BLNR Oyster Batman Carried from the 116710BLNR; applied to the Oyster variant after 2021
126720VTNR Sprite, Destro Sprite for the green bezel; Destro (Italian for "right-handed") for the left-crown case
126711CHNR Rootbeer, Cough Syrup Rootbeer carries from the 1970s; "Cough Syrup" is Fratello's 2019 framing
126715CHNR Rootbeer Inherited from the 1970s solid-gold 1675/8 and 16758
126710GRNR Bruce Wayne, Ghost Bruce Wayne reads the grey bezel as Batman's alter ego; Ghost reads it as the blue half disappearing
126713GRNR Zombie, Bumblebee, Dark Knight Time+Tide's April 2023 reader poll returned "Dark Knight" as the winner; enthusiast copy circulates "Zombie" and "Bumblebee"
126718GRNR — No dominant nickname yet

"Bruce Wayne" is a collector nickname, and so is every other name in the table; none of them appear in a Rolex catalogue or product page. Rolex's own reference suffixes parse as French colour codes: BLNR for bleu-noir, BLRO for bleu-rouge, CHNR for chocolat-noir, VTNR for verte-noir, GRNR for gris-noir.

Collecting context

The 6-digit family is still mostly current production, so the market is driven by waitlists and allocation rather than by classic vintage scarcity.

The 2018 steel Pepsi set the pattern. Waitlists ran for years, auction-house examples appeared almost immediately, and the 2026 discontinuation pushed prices up again.

The Batman/Batgirl pair has held the steadiest active-production demand. Precious-metal auction footprint belongs to the Root Beer references, where the Rolesor watch trades more actively than the solid Everose. The yellow-gold GRNR pair launched hot in 2023, and the steel Bruce Wayne reached the market in 2024 without much auction history behind it yet.

The Destro is in the same position, with little auction history and a market that still runs mostly through dealers and private sales.

Related references

Sources

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