Rolex 16713 GMT-Master II

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GMT-Master -> 16713

The 16713 is the two-tone Rolesor branch of the 16710 generation, built on a steel mid-case with a yellow-gold bezel ring, crown, and outer bracelet links, and running the GMT-Master II independent-hour movement underneath. Production runs 1989 through approximately 2006, with the ceramic 116713LN replacing it at Baselworld 2007. Brown sunburst nipple "Root Beer" and glossy black are the two dials that carry the reference; a champagne serti, a slate serti that lasted about a year, and a silvered Sultan gem-set example fill out the rest. The bezel comes two ways across the entire run, brown-and-cream Rootbeer or all-black aluminium. Coke and Pepsi inserts are 16710 territory.

Two-tone Rolesor GMT-Master II
Two-tone Rolesor GMT-Master II

Core facts

detail value
reference 16713 (1989–c.2002 lug-hole case); 16713T (c.2002–2006, no-holes case)
family GMT-Master II (two-tone Rolesor variant)
production 1989 to approximately 2006. Replaced by 116713LN ceramic at Baselworld 2007. End-year reading "2003" sometimes surfaces — that date traces to the laser-etched-crystal coronet introduction, not to discontinuation
case 40mm two-tone Oyster — 904L steel mid-case + 18K yellow-gold bezel ring + crown + centre bracelet links. Lug-hole case to c.2002, no-holes (16713T) case from c.2002 onward
crystal sapphire with Cyclops; laser-etched coronet at 6 o'clock from c.2003
water resistance 100m
movement caliber 3185 across most of the run (Nivarox flat hairspring with Breguet overcoil — NOT Parachrom). Late 16713T from approximately 2006 may carry caliber 3186 with Parachrom blue hairspring
GMT mechanic flyer GMT — independently adjustable local hour hand, 24-hour hand tracks home time independently
dial generations brown sunburst nipple ("Root Beer" / "Tigerauge"); glossy black; champagne serti (rubies + diamonds, across most of production); slate / silver serti (added 2000, lasted approximately one year); Sultan silvered gem-set (8 diamonds + 3 rubies on a 1998 silvered ground)
bezel 24-hour aluminium insert. Two factory configurations: brown-and-cream "Rootbeer" or all-black. Coke and Pepsi do not exist factory on the 16713 — those are 16710 traits
bracelet Oyster 78363 with 402B two-tone end-links and Jubilee 62523 with 402B end-links through hollow-end-link era; SEL Oyster 78793A from approximately 2000
lume tritium "T<25" through approximately 1998; Luminova "Swiss" 1998–2000 transitional; Super-LumiNova "Swiss made" from approximately 2000 onward

Where it sits in the line

The 16713 belongs to the 16710 generation. It replaced the 16753 Root Beer and inherited its brown-and-gold colourway, but none of that reference's caller-GMT hand-setting logic came with it. Underneath is a full GMT-Master II movement with an independently adjustable local-hour hand. The common mistake is reading the 16713 as a 16753 update; it is closer to a Rolesor 16710 wearing a different bezel-and-dial palette.

The 16753 ran from 1981 to 1988 on caliber 3075, its local hour tied to the 24-hour hand in the synchronized manner of the original GMT-Master line. The 16713 ran from 1989 to about 2006 on caliber 3185, and with the flyer mechanic came the larger sapphire-crystal Oyster case. Its sisters in the generation are the all-yellow-gold 16718 and the steel 16710. The ceramic 116713LN takes the catalog slot from 2007, bringing a Cerachrom bezel, Maxi dial, Super Case, and solid-centre-link Oyster bracelet.

Production outline

Launch year is uncontested at 1989. The 16713 entered the catalog as the two-tone partner to the new flyer-GMT 16710, retiring the 16753 Rootbeer. The end year is messier across the literature. A "2003" date sometimes surfaces and does not survive scrutiny; it traces to the introduction of the laser-etched crystal coronet, not to discontinuation. The 2005–2006 reading has the movement history behind it, since caliber 3185 itself ran from 1988 to approximately 2005 before the 3186 replaced it, and 2006 is the year most often given as the last of production. The 2007 reading lines up with the Baselworld launch of the 116713LN ceramic successor, and carry-over inventory may well have shipped into 2007 even if the last watches were built in 2006.

The weight of the evidence puts final production in 2006, with the 116713LN taking the catalog slot for 2007. Sotheby's catalog entries top out at 2005 watches, and the cal 3186 Parachrom upgrade lands right around 2006.

One change inside the run matters for identification. Around 2002 Rolex dropped the drilled lug holes and the case stamp shifted to 16713T, the T standing for "no holes".

Movement notes

Caliber 3185 powers most of the production run. It is a 31-jewel COSC chronometer beating at 28,800 vph with a 50-hour reserve, hacking seconds and a quickset date, a Glucydur balance regulated by four Microstella screws, and Kif Elastor shock protection. Its hairspring is flat Nivarox with a Breguet overcoil; the blue Parachrom belongs to the cal 3186 that follows. The flyer mechanic with its independently adjustable local hour is the architectural break from the linked-hand 3075 of the 16753.

The 3185 carries one well-known quirk. Jump the local hour and the GMT hand creeps a fraction with it, which is the quickest way to tell the caliber from its successor. Caliber 3186 arrived around 2005–2006 with a blue Parachrom hairspring, the first on a Rolex GMT movement, and a spring-loaded date mechanism that cured the creep. Late 16713T examples can therefore carry either caliber. The 3185 is the rule and the 3186 the late-2006 exception, which makes movement verification worth the trouble on a late watch.

Dial map

Black-dial 16713
Black-dial 16713

Five documented dial configurations across the run.

Brown sunburst nipple — "Root Beer" / "Tigerauge"

The signature 16713 dial is brown sunburst lacquer over a metal substrate, with applied yellow-gold nipple markers, each cone carrying a tritium plot at its centre. The lacquer uses the same period formulation that flakes on 16753 brown sunburst dials, and the damage concentrates around the circumference of the indexes. Flaking is the first thing to check on a brown dial.

Aged examples throw the "Tiger's Eye" pattern, a golden top half and a warm earthy bottom half across the same dial face; Phillips sold a c.2004 example with that split at its 2022 Hong Kong sale, lot 8011. Untouched dials show cream-to-warm-beige tritium patina on the index plots, and the yellow-gold hands lighten alongside them.

Earlier brown dials carry raised nipple indexes; later production moves to flat applied batons with yellow-gold surrounds. Nobody has pinned that changeover to a serial cutoff.

Glossy black

Black was a standard option throughout production: glossy black lacquer under a yellow-gold coronet, with applied gold nipple markers early and applied indices with yellow-gold surrounds later. It pairs most often with the all-black 24-hour insert, though black-and-gold "Rootbeer" inserts also surface on the black-dial branch. Black is more common than its reputation suggests, and Rolex gave it the most space in period catalog imagery.

Champagne serti

The champagne serti is a factory gem-set variant on the standard 16713 architecture, with diamond hour markers and triangular rubies replacing the usual nipple markers and luminous plots on a champagne sunburst ground. It was available across most of production.

Slate / silver serti (added 2000, c.1 year only)

The slate serti is the same gem-set architecture on a slate (silver) ground instead of champagne. Rolex added it in 2000 and dropped it from the catalog after approximately one year.

Sultan silvered gem-set

The Sultan is a 1998 silvered-ground gem-set 16713 carrying eight diamond indices and three triangular ruby markers on a tritium-era silvered dial. That combination separates it from the standard slate serti. Sotheby's Watches Online London lot 7, sold in 2019, is the documented example the variant rests on.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is the standard 40mm Oyster of the 16710 era rendered in two-tone Rolesor, a 904L steel mid-case carrying an 18K yellow-gold bezel surround, crown, and centre bracelet links. A sapphire crystal with Cyclops covers the date, and that crystal is the quickest way to separate a 16713 from an earlier two-tone GMT.

Two case stamps cover the run. The plain 16713 stamp runs from 1989 through approximately 2002 on a drilled-lug case, where the spring bars can be pushed out from the outside. The 16713T stamp runs from approximately 2002 through 2006 on the no-holes case, and from approximately 2003 the sapphire crystal carries the laser-etched coronet at 6 o'clock.

The bezel is a bidirectional 24-hour aluminium insert, and the factory only ever fitted two: brown-and-cream "Rootbeer" or all-black. Coke (red and black) and Pepsi (red and blue) inserts belong to the steel 16710. A 16713 wearing either one has been swapped.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Black 16713 on Jubilee
Black 16713 on Jubilee

Two factory bracelets ran across the reference, both in two-tone steel and yellow gold on 402B two-tone end-links. The Oyster 78363 is the three-link with hollow centre links; from approximately 2000 the solid-end-link rollout reaches the two-tone GMT line and the 78793A SEL Oyster takes over. The Jubilee 62523 is the five-link, flat-profile two-tone.

Bracelet choice does not split cleanly along the brown-versus-black line. Root Beer watches turn up on Oyster, black watches turn up on Jubilee, and both appear the other way round just as readily. Born-with documentation is too thin to map delivery combinations, so the bracelet is a per-example question rather than a rule.

Late-production examples carry the short two-tone Oysterlock folding clasp. Clasp date codes follow the standard letter-quarter and number-year format, and they date the bracelet, never the watch head.

Lume transitions

Three lume eras sit inside the production window. Tritium runs through approximately 1998 under "T<25" dial text, ageing cream to mustard on the index plots, with matching tritium on the yellow-gold hour, minute, and GMT hands. Luminova and its "Swiss" marking occupy a narrow transitional band across approximately 1998 to 2000; some 1998 examples carry Luminova plots beneath "T<25" tritium-era printing because Rolex worked through remaining dial stock during the changeover, and those are factory output rather than service replacements. Super-LumiNova with "Swiss made" printing takes over from approximately 2000 and dominates the late run, its plots staying bright and white. A cream tone on a dial from this window usually means UV exposure rather than tritium decay.

Historical market and auction record

Sotheby's Root Beer 16713
Sotheby's Root Beer 16713
Sale Lot Year of watch Configuration Result
Phillips Hong Kong 8011 2022 c.2004 brown sunburst Tiger's Eye Root Beer, cal 3185 31j HK$ 100,800
Sotheby's Watches Online London 7 2019 1998 silvered Sultan gem-set (8 diamonds + 3 rubies), 78793A SEL Oyster — final tritium-era example est. GBP 4,000–6,000
Sotheby's Watches Weekly NY 459 2020 c.1995 black, two-tone Jubilee folding clasp, case W153973, mvt 7,688,897 est. USD 4,000–6,000
Sotheby's Watches Online 8 2019 c.1990 black, Jubilee 62523, cal 3185 31j est. USD 3,000–5,000
Sotheby's retail — ongoing 1991–1992 brown Root Beer, deployant clasp, original box immediate sale
Sotheby's retail — ongoing 1991–1992 black configuration immediate sale

The 16713 trades mostly on the dealer market rather than at major auction. Christie's and Antiquorum carry nothing for the reference in their public catalogs, and Sotheby's does not publish its realised prices, which leaves the 2022 Phillips Hong Kong sale as the cleanest public result. Standard configurations cluster between USD 6,000 and 12,000 depending on dial originality, paperwork, and case condition. Sultan and slate-serti gem-set examples sit above that band. A documented Tiger's Eye pattern on an unrestored brown sunburst carries a real premium.

116713LN ceramic successor

The Cerachrom-bezel two-tone 116713LN replaced the reference at Baselworld 2007. The six-digit ceramic GMT generation arrived in stages: steel 116710LN and all-gold 116718LN in 2005, two-tone 116713LN in 2007. Against the 16713 the successor brings a Cerachrom ceramic insert in place of aluminium, a Maxi dial with larger applied markers and fatter hands, the Super Case with its thicker lugs and crown guards, a solid centre-link Oyster on a redesigned machined Oysterlock clasp, and caliber 3186 carried over from late 16713T production.

The 116713LN launched with a black bezel and nothing else. No Pepsi or Coke ceramic insert ever reached the two-tone GMT-Master II, and the aluminium Rootbeer ended with the 16713.

Related references

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

Sources

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