2018 Rolex GMT-Master II (Ref. 126710 BLRO) "Pepsi" with Box and Card

The Rolex GMT is the jet-setting icon of the Rolex sports watch family. Like the Rolex Submariner, the Rolex GMT is sophisticated, rugged, and versatile.

In 1954 Pan Am started using the newly designed Boeing 707 which allowed for Pan Am to fly transcontinentally and is said to have started the commercially available jet age. In the same year, Rolex received a request from Pan Am to create a technical pilots watch which indicated two time zones simultaneously that could be issued by the airline to their crews on long-haul transcontinental international flights. UTC is the time zone that is required for all aviation planning, weather forecasts, schedules, and other paperwork.

The original Rolex GMT Master has a fourth 24-hour hand directly displaying the same time zone as the standard 12-hour hand but on a 24-hour scale. This GMT hand enabled the crews to set the watch to GMT or another time zone, and, using the rotatable 24-hour scale bezel, set to the correct offset thus displaying a second-time-zone on the 24-hour scale.

The original Rolex GMT-Master always had a two-tone bezel specifically designed for easy indication of day and night and was classically referred to as the "Pepsi" bezel insert in reference to the red and blue coloration similar to the popular soft drink. This however, changed for a short period of time once modern Rolex watches switched from anodized aluminum bezels to ceramic or "cerachrom" and introduced the world to the GMT with a blue and black color scheme otherwise known as the "Batman". The "Pepsi" bezel made it's way back into the Rolex family line up in 2018 as the most highly anticipated Rolex of the year, now with the red and blue ceramic bezel, the updated cal. 3285, and a slight nod to the past with the Jubilee bracelet. The is a reason this modern watch is so highly coveted, it creates excellent nostalgia and meets it with flawless modern functionality.