Rolex GMT Master 16710

The story of the Rolex GMT-Master begins in 1954, when Pan American Airways asked Rolex to develop a watch capable of displaying two time zones simultaneously for its transatlantic pilots. The result was a legend. The Reference 16710, introduced in 1989 and produced until 2007, represents the final and most refined chapter of the aluminium-bezel GMT-Master II era. This example, from the Y series of 2002, is fitted with the iconic blue and red "Pepsi" bezel, the colour combination that started it all and remains, to this day, the most recognisable GMT configuration in the world.

Key Specifications

Reference	16710
Year	2002 (Y series)
Case	Stainless steel 904L, 40 mm, Oyster construction, screw-down crown
Bezel	Bidirectional rotating, aluminium insert, blue and red "Pepsi"
Dial	Black, applied luminous hour markers, GMT hand
Crystal	Sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Movement	Automatic, Rolex Caliber 3185, COSC Chronometer certified, independently adjustable GMT hand
Water resistance	100 m
Bracelet	Oyster, stainless steel with Easylink extension system

Collector's Note

The 16710 occupies a unique position in the GMT-Master lineage: it is the last reference to feature an aluminium bezel insert, a material that gives the "Pepsi" its characteristic warm, slightly translucent quality that ceramic simply cannot replicate. When Rolex replaced the 16710 with the ceramic-bezel 116710 in 2007, the aluminium Pepsi was discontinued entirely and did not return until 2018, on the new 126710BLRO in white gold. That eighteen-year absence transformed the 16710 Pepsi into one of the most sought-after modern Rolex references on the secondary market.

The Caliber 3185 powering this example features an independently adjustable GMT hand, allowing the wearer to set the second time zone without stopping the movement, a significant practical advantage over the earlier GMT-Master I. The Y-series serial places this watch squarely in the mid-production sweet spot of the reference, before the late-series case modifications, and with the sapphire crystal and 904L steel that make it as robust as any modern Rolex.

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