Reference:126718GRNR

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GMT-Master → 126718GRNR

The 126718GRNR is the solid yellow-gold GMT-Master II Rolex unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2023 alongside its Rolesor sibling 126713GRNR. It returned yellow gold to the ceramic GMT-Master II line after a four-year absence. The solid-gold 116718LN had been discontinued in 2019, and Rolex had issued no yellow-gold GMT of any kind since. Time+Tide’s launch-day piece reads the pair as “gold rush.”

The case, bracelet, and bezel are all 18k yellow gold. The grey-and-black Cerachrom insert is shared with the Rolesor sibling.

Core facts

detail value
reference 126718GRNR
family GMT-Master II
production 2023-present
movement caliber 3285
case 40mm solid 18k yellow gold Oyster case
crystal sapphire with Cyclops
water resistance 100m
bezel grey-and-black two-colour Cerachrom with yellow-gold-filled numerals
key identity return of solid yellow gold to the ceramic GMT-Master II line

Where it sits in the line

The 126718GRNR is the solid-gold member of the 2023 GRNR pair. The Rolesor 126713GRNR launched on the same W&W keynote; the steel 126710GRNR followed a year later in 2024, completing the GRNR family across three case materials. The 126718GRNR is the direct spiritual successor to the discontinued 116718LN, bridging the 2005-2019 solid-gold-GMT era to the 2023 return.

Upstream, the 126718GRNR is the first yellow-gold GMT-Master II in the 126710-generation case. The case is slimmer than the Super Case 116718LN, calibre 3285 replaces caliber 3186, and the bezel moves from single-colour black Cerachrom to the new grey-and-black Cerachrom insert. Downstream, the reference is current production. No successor has been announced.

Production outline

Production began at W&W 2023 and remains current in the 2026 Rolex catalogue. Time+Tide gives CHF 37,100 as the launch retail figure. A 2025 Tiger Iron dial variant adds the reference’s first alternative dial configuration. Robb Report’s wrist-spotting of Mark Wahlberg wearing a 126718GRNR in 2023-2024 documents the reference’s mainstream-media placement.

Movement notes

The 126718GRNR runs caliber 3285, shared with the Rolesor 126713GRNR and the broader 126710-generation family. The calibre runs at 28,800 bph, delivers a 70-hour power reserve, and holds to Rolex’s Superlative Chronometer -2/+2 seconds-per-day standard. Chronergy escapement is the architectural change from caliber 3186, with blue Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock protection carrying over.

Dial map

The 126718GRNR launched with a single dial configuration: glossy black lacquer, 18k yellow-gold applied markers, gilt-style “GMT-Master II” text, and Chromalight luminescence. The gilt typography reads as a direct vintage cue that parallels the discontinued 116718LN. Fratello’s dial close-up and Monochrome’s launch coverage both show the same yellow-gold markers and hands against the black dial.

Tiger Iron dial (2025)

Rolex introduced a Tiger Iron dial variant in 2025. Tiger Iron is a natural stone composed of banded alternations of tiger’s eye, red jasper, and hematite. The Tiger Iron dial is the reference’s first alternative dial branch. Pricing and production-split data have not entered the corpus.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The case is 40mm across and 11.9mm thick in solid 18k yellow gold, with sapphire crystal and the Triplock crown. The case generation is the slimmer 126710 architecture that replaced the Super Case in 2019, which makes the 126718GRNR thinner on the wrist than the 116718LN it succeeds.

The bezel is the grey-and-black two-colour Cerachrom insert with 18k yellow-gold-filled numerals. Monochrome decodes “GRNR” as gris-noir. The grey-and-black combination had not appeared in the Cerachrom catalogue prior to 2023. The bezel is shared across all three GRNR references.

Water resistance is 100m, unchanged from the 116718LN.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

The 126718GRNR ships on a solid 18k yellow-gold Jubilee bracelet with the Oysterclasp and Easylink 5mm extension. This is the first full-gold Jubilee on a GMT-Master since the early 1980s.

The 116718LN predecessor shipped exclusively on Oyster. The Jubilee fitment on the 126718GRNR is therefore a departure from yellow-gold-GMT precedent. No Oyster-bracelet 126718GRNR has entered the current corpus.

Full-set packaging is the standard Rolex presentation box, the International Guarantee card, and swing tags.

Special branches

Tiger Iron dial

The Tiger Iron dial variant introduced in 2025 is the only alternative dial branch documented for the reference, positioned as a factory option alongside the standard black-dial configuration. No SJX or Monochrome coverage of the Tiger Iron 126718GRNR is in the current corpus. The 2025 SJX Tiger Iron hands-on piece covers the 126715CHNR Everose variant, not the 126718GRNR. Independent editorial confirmation remains a corpus gap.

Historical market and auction record

The 126718GRNR has not yet entered the major auction-house record. Sotheby’s, Phillips, and Christie’s have not offered the reference in the current corpus. The auction pass remains pending.

Time+Tide’s May 2023 snapshot gives first-offer asks of around EUR 67,800 against EUR 39,200 retail, roughly a 1.7x premium at first availability. The Rolesor 126713GRNR carried a roughly 2.1x premium at the same moment. Robb Report’s Wahlberg piece and broader Robb Report W&W 2023 coverage place the reference inside the luxury-lifestyle media record.

Sources

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