Reference:126710BLNR

From BezelBase


GMT-Master → 126710BLNR

The 126710BLNR is the current-production Batman. Rolex launched it at Baselworld 2019 on a Jubilee bracelet, moved the case to the slimmer 126710 generation, and upgraded the movement to caliber 3285. The bezel carried over unchanged from the 116710BLNR — the same blue-and-black two-tone Cerachrom — but almost everything else did not. The Jubilee bracelet in particular was a surprise: no steel GMT-Master II had launched on Jubilee since the five-digit era, and the community reacted immediately by naming the new watch “Batgirl.”

In 2021 Rolex reintroduced an Oyster bracelet option alongside the Jubilee. The nickname split held: Batman became the Oyster-bracelet configuration, and Batgirl stayed the Jubilee.

Core facts

detail value
reference 126710BLNR
family GMT-Master II
production 2019-present
movement caliber 3285
case 40mm Oystersteel Oyster case, 12.5mm height, 126710 generation
crystal sapphire with Cyclops
water resistance 100m
bezel two-colour blue-and-black Cerachrom
key identity first Rolex GMT-Master II to launch on Jubilee since the five-digit era

Where it sits in the line

The 126710BLNR replaces the 116710BLNR. Rolex retired the original Batman and the all-black 116710LN at the same 2019 Baselworld event where the 126710BLNR launched. The new reference kept the Batman’s bezel identity and inherited the reference-number collector shorthand, but the case, bracelet, and movement were all new.

The closest sibling inside the 126710 generation is the Pepsi 126710BLRO, which had launched a year earlier in 2018 with a similar case and the same caliber 3285. Where the Pepsi shipped on Jubilee from day one, the Batman’s Jubilee launch in 2019 reframed the bracelet choice as the current steel GMT-Master II default rather than a Pepsi exclusive.

Not to be confused: the “Destro” 126720VTNR is a separate green-and-black left-crown launched in 2022 with caliber 3285 but a distinct case architecture. The 126710BLNR is blue-and-black, right-crown, and carries forward the original Batman’s bezel colourway.

Production outline

The launch is Baselworld 2019. SJX’s Introducing piece and the Monochrome Baselworld 2019 coverage both give the same starting point: Jubilee-only, CHF 8,800 launch retail, caliber 3285, and the simultaneous retirement of the 116710BLNR. Launch retail in the US was USD 9,250. The reference shipped with immediate waitlists and a secondary-market premium roughly double retail in the first post-launch months.

In 2021 Rolex added an Oyster-bracelet option. From 2021 onward, the 126710BLNR is sold as a two-variation reference: Jubilee (Batgirl) and Oyster (Batman).

Movement notes

The 126710BLNR runs caliber 3285 from launch. The calibre carries the Chronergy escapement that Rolex introduced across its 32xx-generation movements in the mid-2010s, a nickel-phosphorus pallet fork architecture that improves energy transfer. Power reserve is approximately 70 hours, up from the 48 hours on the earlier caliber 3186. Rolex’s Superlative Chronometer certification runs to -2/+2 seconds per day across the 32xx family.

Fratello gives a case height of 12.5mm on the 126710BLNR against the thicker Super Case geometry of the 116710BLNR, which is the observed wrist consequence of the new calibre family and redesigned case.

Dial map

The 126710BLNR has one dial configuration: glossy black with Chromalight plots, 18K white-gold markers, and a blue 24-hour hand. The identifying dial tell versus the 116710BLNR is a small Rolex coronet printed between the words “Swiss” and “Made” at the bottom of the dial. Monochrome’s hands-on flags the coronet micro-signature as the single most reliable dial-text difference between the generations. The text layout is otherwise close enough that casual observers miss it.

The small coronet is not a variant. It is a production-standard element of the 126710 generation and appears across other 126710-series references.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The case is the 126710 generation that Rolex introduced on the 126710BLRO Pepsi in 2018 and carried into the BLNR a year later. The lugs are narrower and the overall geometry is trimmer than the 116710’s Super Case. Fratello’s hands-on puts the case at 40mm wide and 12.5mm tall. Monochrome’s review describes the case as visibly less blocky in photography at the same angle as a 116710BLNR.

The bezel is unchanged from the 116710BLNR: the patented two-colour Cerachrom process Rolex pioneered on the original Batman. The crystal is sapphire with a Cyclops. The crown is the Triplock system shared across the current Rolex sports catalogue, and the reference carries 100m water resistance. The middle case is a monobloc design with a screw-down crown and caseback, per Rolex’s current-production specifications.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

The launch bracelet is Jubilee. That is the defining 2019 change and the source of the “Batgirl” community nickname. The Jubilee carries the Oysterlock folding clasp with the Easylink 5mm comfort extension. The five-link architecture drapes differently on the wrist than the Oyster, and Time+Tide’s 2020 Batman vs Batgirl comparison treats the drape as the primary wrist difference between the two Batman generations.

From 2021, Rolex also offers the 126710BLNR on an Oyster bracelet with Oysterlock and Easylink — the same bracelet family that the 116710BLNR had used exclusively. The 2021 reintroduction is the reason the community now uses Batman for the Oyster-bracelet 126710BLNR and Batgirl for the Jubilee. Glidelock does not appear on the GMT-Master II in either configuration. The reference does not ship with a diver-extension clasp.

Full-set packaging is the current Rolex presentation box, the paperless digital guarantee card, and the green outer sleeve that replaced the older card-based guarantee system in 2020.

Special branches

Batgirl

“Batgirl” is the community name for the Jubilee-bracelet 126710BLNR. It first appeared in enthusiast coverage in 2019 and was adopted by auction houses by 2020 — Sotheby’s Important Watches 2020 sale catalogued a circa-2019 Jubilee-bracelet 126710BLNR under the Batgirl name. The name applies to the bracelet, not a separate reference.

Batman (Oyster variation)

The Oyster-bracelet 126710BLNR, reintroduced in 2021, inherits the original “Batman” community name. It is the same reference number as the Jubilee version; only the bracelet changes.

The Batgirl / Batman bracelet split is not to be confused with the Destro 126720VTNR, a separate left-crown green-and-black reference launched in 2022. That watch is its own reference and carries no blue.

Historical market and auction record

Auction coverage for the 126710BLNR has begun. Sotheby’s Important Watches 2020 sale catalogued a circa-2019 Jubilee-bracelet example under the Batgirl name with an estimate in the low-to-mid GBP thousands range. Secondary-market trading since launch includes the 2021 Oyster-bracelet reintroduction as a second in-reference variation.

The post-launch premium was substantial. Early waitlists ran with secondary-market prices roughly 100% over USD 9,250 retail. EUR retail climbed from around EUR 8,500 at launch toward EUR 11,200 by 2024, and secondary-market behaviour still reflects the allocation-constrained supply that defined the reference’s first years. Coverage of long-horizon pricing is thin in the current corpus compared with the 116710BLNR, and a full Sotheby’s or Phillips run across multiple years would strengthen the record.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://bezelbase.org/index.php?title=Reference:126710BLNR&oldid=1947"