Reference:116710LN
GMT-Master → 116710LN
The 116710LN is the watch that moved the steel GMT-Master II into the ceramic era. It replaced the aluminium-bezel 16710 in 2007 with a black Cerachrom insert, a widened Super Case, and the late-run caliber 3186 architecture that had already entered the reference 16710 at the end of its life. For most of its twelve-year run it carried the “Lunette Noire” shorthand that Monochrome used in period press, and the “LN” suffix on the dial signals exactly that.
It is also the quietest reference in the modern steel GMT-Master II era. The Batman followed it in 2013, the ceramic Pepsi came later in a different case generation, and the 116710LN spent most of its life in their shadow. The auction record is thin relative to the references flanking it, but the watch itself is not a footnote.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 116710LN |
| family | GMT-Master II |
| production | 2007-2019 |
| movement | caliber 3186 |
| case | 40mm Oystersteel Oyster case, Super Case generation |
| crystal | sapphire with Cyclops |
| water resistance | 100m |
| bezel | black Cerachrom with platinum-filled numerals |
| key identity | first steel GMT-Master II with a ceramic bezel |
Where it sits in the line
The 116710LN sits between two different eras of the steel GMT-Master II. Upstream, it replaces the aluminium-bezel 16710, the long-running neo-vintage reference. Downstream, it is the final single-colour black-ceramic steel GMT-Master II before the 126710 generation introduces a narrower case, Jubilee bracelet option, and caliber 3285. Fratello frames the 116710LN as the last all-black-bezel steel GMT-Master II, and that is the cleanest one-line placement of the reference inside the family arc.
The 116710LN also has a two-tone sibling. Rolex launched the 116713LN a year earlier in 2006 as the first GMT-Master II with a Cerachrom bezel, and the steel-only 116710LN followed in 2007. Both carry the same bezel language and the same movement architecture.
Production outline
Production runs from 2007 through 2019. The 2007 launch date is consistent across Monochrome, Fratello, and The Watch Observer. The 2019 discontinuation is tied to a single Baselworld event: Rolex introduced the Jubilee-bracelet 126710BLNR and simultaneously retired both the 116710LN and the Oyster-bracelet 116710BLNR. Monochrome’s Baselworld 2019 “collection rationalisation” piece is the period-press anchor for the retirement.
Inside that window, the defining internal date is 2007 itself. Rolex positioned the 116710LN as the first stainless-steel GMT-Master II with a ceramic bezel, and the Monochrome 2013 retrospective already calls the reference an “instant success” among collectors who wanted the Cerachrom update without waiting for a steel rainbow of bezels.
Movement notes
The 116710LN runs on caliber 3186 for its entire production life. That movement was already in service at the tail end of the 16710 run, where it arrived as the late-run upgrade over caliber 3185. On the 116710LN it is no longer an upgrade — it is the baseline. The 3186 carries a blue Parachrom hairspring, Paraflex shock protection, and the revised GMT wheel that improved the independent-hour-hand mechanism. Power reserve is 48 hours.
The 3186 is the quiet story of the 116710LN. It is the same movement that powers the 116710BLNR Batman, and it is what collectors mean when they say the original ceramic Batman and the ceramic black GMT “share hearts.”
Dial map
The 116710LN has one dial configuration: glossy black with a green “GMT-Master II” signature line and a green 24-hour hand. Fratello’s ceramic close-up piece describes the printed elements clearly. The green signature line is the identifying mark; the Batman deletes that line and runs a blue 24-hour hand instead.
Across the production run, the dial picks up Chromalight lume. Rolex introduced the blue-emitting Chromalight compound across its Super Case sports references in the late 2000s, and the 116710LN carries it from launch. Collectors read Chromalight as the modern dividing line between the 16710’s tritium/Luminova/Super-Luminova history and the ceramic generation that followed. Aging is not meaningful on a 116710LN dial the way it is on a 1998 T<25 16710. Chromalight plots look the same on a 2008 example as they do on a 2018 example.
Two documented special dials exist. Sotheby’s has catalogued a 116710LN carrying the Omani Khanjar emblem, dated circa 2010. Bonhams London Watches offered a 123-piece “Sea King” commission around 2014 for UK Ministry of Defence personnel, marking the Sea King helicopter retirement. Both are institutional-commission dials rather than Rolex-catalogue variants, and both sit outside the standard black-printed configuration.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes
The case is the Super Case generation that arrived across the Rolex sports catalogue from the mid-2000s onward. Compared to the 16710, the lugs are wider, the crown guards are heavier, and the overall wrist presence is more substantial. Fratello’s ceramic close-up names the Super Case architecture as a 2005-onward programme that the 116710-series inherits in full.
The bezel is the defining feature. Cerachrom is Rolex’s ceramic trademark, and the black Cerachrom insert on the 116710LN is the first time it appeared on a steel GMT-Master II. The numerals and markings are recessed into the ceramic and filled with platinum via a PVD process, which is why they stay white and bright even after years of wear. Monochrome’s retrospective frames the 116710LN against its direct aluminium predecessor: the old 16710 aluminium inserts faded in UV light and scratched from day-to-day wear; the Cerachrom insert does neither.
The crystal is sapphire with a Cyclops over the date. The crown is the Triplock twin-lock system that Rolex uses across its modern sports references, giving the 100m water resistance rating.
Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes
The 116710LN ships on an Oyster bracelet with solid end links. The Oysterclasp carries the Easylink 5mm comfort extension, which lets owners adjust the fit on the wrist without tools. Glidelock, the longer micro-adjustment system Rolex uses on the Submariner and Deepsea, does not appear on the GMT-Master II.
Full-set packaging is Rolex’s standard presentation box, the International Guarantee card, and the swing tags. Sotheby’s and Phillips lot descriptions for late-production 116710LN examples give the same full-set expectation as the 116710BLNR.
Special branches
Khanjar dial
The Khanjar is the Omani state emblem, a ceremonial curved dagger that appears printed on selected Rolex dials commissioned by the Omani royal family. The Sotheby’s circa-2010 lot places a Khanjar-dial 116710LN inside the reference’s early production run and gives the strongest institutional-provenance data point the corpus carries for the 116710LN.
Sea King
The Sea King is a British military commemorative, one of 123 pieces produced around 2014 to mark the retirement of the Royal Navy’s Sea King helicopter fleet. Bonhams London Watches offered one example with an estimate of GBP 20,000 to 25,000. A 123-piece institutional batch this late in the reference’s life shows the watch was still being commissioned at a meaningful scale in the mid-2010s.
Historical market and auction record
The 116710LN’s auction record is limited but not empty. Phillips catalogued a 116710LN engraved “TO ERIC SO MANY THANKS PAUL 2009” at the Hong Kong Watch Auction XVII, a piece gifted to Eric Clapton by Paul Stewart. That is a rare celebrity-provenance anchor for a reference that otherwise trades primarily through dealer channels. Sotheby’s and Bonhams carry the Khanjar and Sea King institutional-commission examples described above.
On the broader market, secondary-market pricing since discontinuation sits below the Batman sibling. Fratello’s 2021 comparison against the 126710GRNR uses the 116710LN’s “last all-black-bezel” position to anchor its market identity. A direct late-production full-set sale at a major house would strengthen the record. 2019 final-year examples exist at dealer level, but no Phillips or Sotheby’s lot has yet entered the corpus for that specific sub-branch.
Sources
- An Early Retrospective – Rolex GMT-Master II Lunette Noire Ceramic — Evan Yeung, Monochrome Watches
- An Early Retrospective: Rolex GMT-Master II Lunette Noire Ceramic — unknown, Monochrome Watches
- In-Depth: The History of the Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II — unknown, Monochrome
- Ceramic Bezel close-up of the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 116710LN — unknown, Fratello Watches
- Sunday Morning Showdown: Rolex GMT-Master II 126710GRNR Vs. 116710LN — unknown, Fratello Watches
- Fasten Your Seatbelts: Rolex GMT-Master History and Overview of All Major References — Fratello editorial, Fratello Watches
- Test of the Rolex GMT-Master II 116710LN — The Watch Observer editorial, The Watch Observer
- A Long-Term Review of the Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 116710LN — unknown, Chrono24 Magazine
- The Forgotten Reference Series: The Rolex GMT-Master II 116710LN — Xupes editorial, Xupes
- Review: The Rolex GMT Master II 116713 LN & 116710 LN — unknown, Luxury Tyme
- Rolex GMT-Master II 116710LN Ultimate Buying Guide — unknown, Bob's Watches
- Rolex GMT-Master II 116710 Price Overview — unknown, WatchCharts
- Rolex 116710LN GMT-Master II engraved to Eric Clapton — Hong Kong Watch Auction XVII — Phillips
- Rolex 116710LN Sea King — Bonhams London Watches — Bonhams
- Reference 116710LN Khanjar GMT-Master II — Important Watches 2024 — Sotheby's