Reference:gmt-master-ii-5digit-ceramic-family

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The 5-digit ceramic era is the bridge between the aluminum 16710 world and the current ceramic GMT-Master II line. It runs from 2005 to 2019 across five references: 116718LN, 116713LN, 116710LN, 116710BLNR, and 116719BLRO.

The key story is simple. Rolex brought Cerachrom to the GMT in yellow gold first, then Rolesor, then steel. In 2013 the Batman introduced the first two-colour ceramic insert, and in 2014 the white-gold Pepsi extended the process to red and blue.

Core map

  • 116718LN (2005-2019): first Cerachrom GMT-Master II; solid 18k yellow gold, black bezel
  • 116713LN (2006-2019): two-tone Rolesor yellow-gold GMT; first ceramic GMT-Master II to reach steel-in-case form
  • 116710LN (2007-2019): first steel GMT-Master II with a ceramic bezel; all-black Cerachrom
  • 116710BLNR (2013-2019): first two-colour Cerachrom reference; blue-and-black Batman
  • 116719BLRO (2014-2019): first ceramic Pepsi; white-gold only

LN parses as lunette noire, black bezel. BLNR parses as bleu-noir. BLRO parses as bleu-rouge. The case across the family is the Super Case generation Rolex rolled out from the mid-2000s, wider at the lugs and heavier at the crown guards than the 16710 it replaced.

Where the family changes

Cerachrom chronology

The rollout order flips the usual pattern. Rolex launched Cerachrom on the GMT in solid yellow gold first, then Rolesor, then steel. For the first two years of the ceramic era, the only way to buy a Cerachrom GMT-Master II was in precious metal.

Monochrome's retrospective anchors that ordering. The sequence matters because it assigns the 116718LN the role the steel reference normally plays: the development vehicle for the newest bezel and dial technology in the line. The steel 116710LN inherited a proven insert rather than introducing one.

Two-tone ceramic arrived next, in two steps. The blue-and-black Batman 116710BLNR at Baselworld 2013, then the red-and-blue ceramic Pepsi 116719BLRO at Baselworld 2014. Each release extended the process to a new colour combination, each in the same 40mm Super Case architecture that had carried the single-colour Cerachrom references since 2005.

The two-colour ceramic patent story

The real technical break is the two-colour insert. The 2013 Batman proved Rolex could produce blue and black on a single Cerachrom ring. The 2014 white-gold Pepsi proved the same process could handle red and blue. That manufacturing step is what made the later ceramic GMT catalogue possible.

Caliber 3185 into 3186

The movement story across the family is simpler than the bezel story. Caliber 3186 launched in the 116718LN at Baselworld 2005 and is the movement of record across the ceramic 5-digit family. It brought the blue Parachrom hairspring, Paraflex shock protection, and a cleaner independent-hour-hand mechanism than the earlier 3185.

The late aluminum-bezel 16710 still used 3185, but no documented ceramic 5-digit example has surfaced with it. If a true 3185 transitional ceramic watch exists, it needs stronger direct evidence before it is treated as settled.

Power reserve is 48 hours.

Branch map

The 5-digit ceramic era splits cleanly by dial-and-bezel identity rather than by mechanical variation.

  • Black bezel, steel: 116710LN. One dial configuration — glossy black with a green "GMT-Master II" signature line and a green 24-hour hand. Two documented institutional-commission dials (Sotheby's Khanjar circa 2010, Bonhams Sea King 2014) sit outside standard production.
  • Blue-black bezel, steel: 116710BLNR. One dial configuration — the 116710LN dial minus the green signature line, with a blue 24-hour hand. The Batman is a bezel variant of the 116710LN rather than a separate case platform.
  • Red-blue bezel, white gold: 116719BLRO. Two dial configurations by production window — black lacquer -0001 (2014-2018), matte blue -0002 (2018-2019). Same case, same bezel, same movement across both.
  • Black bezel, yellow gold Rolesor: 116713LN. Single gloss-black dial configuration. Narrowest branch in the family — no sub-variants.
  • Black bezel, solid yellow gold: 116718LN. Two parallel dial configurations across the run — standard black and green anniversary. Sotheby's tracks the green as the collector variant; the black is the steadier seller.

The Rootbeer colour scheme is absent from the 5-digit ceramic era. The brown-and-gold dial-and-bezel pairing that ran through the 1970s 1675/3, 16753, and 16758 did not survive into Cerachrom. Rolex did not bring Rootbeer back to the GMT-Master II until the 6-digit 126711CHNR and 126715CHNR in 2018, by which point the gold side had shifted from yellow to Everose.

Collecting context

The 5-digit ceramic era moved from current production to discontinued between 2019 and roughly 2024. That transition has rearranged the market.

The Batman 116710BLNR is the center of the post-discontinuation story. Prices climbed hard after 2019, and the watch now functions as the main modern example of how quickly a recently discontinued Rolex can reprice once supply closes.

The Pepsi 116719BLRO carries the same pattern in white gold. Sotheby's has moved multiple examples through Fine Watches and Important Watches sales from 2023 through 2025, with a circa-2014 -0001 selling for EUR 35,560 at Fine Watches 2023. Period retail was about GBP 25,600, which puts the post-discontinuation auction result comfortably above launch.

The all-black 116710LN is quieter. The secondary market tracks a pattern distinct from both the Batman and the aluminum-bezel 16710, which puts the watch in its own price tier: above the neo-vintage aluminum Pepsi, below the two-colour Cerachrom siblings. Fratello's 2021 comparison against the 126710GRNR anchors the 116710LN's market identity on the "last all-black-bezel steel GMT-Master II" positioning.

The 116713LN is the narrowest branch by auction footprint. Sotheby's has catalogued a 2014 direct-sale listing and Bonhams offered a 2017 example in its Fine Watches sale, but the reference trades mostly through the secondary market. The 116713LN reads as a discontinued fixed-supply reference with a defined pricing band, distinct from the steel ceramic siblings.

The 116718LN auction market is dominated by the green anniversary dial. Sotheby's has offered the variant at Important Watches 2019 and again at Fine Watches 2024, five years after discontinuation. Christie's has catalogued a black-dial example. Post-discontinuation green-dial examples trade through certified pre-owned channels, and secondary-market indexing tracks the green dial separately under 116718LN-0002.

The market split between 5-digit ceramic and earlier neo-vintage 16710 is the structural collecting fact of the family. Aluminum-bezel 16710 Pepsi and Coke examples sit in the vintage-leaning tier. The 5-digit ceramic references sit in a post-discontinuation tier defined by waitlist memory rather than by vintage patina. The Batman and the white-gold Pepsi are the reference points inside that tier.

Sources

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