The Rolex GMT Master II 126710BLRO: A Commemorative Acquisition for Our 10 Year Anniversary

10 years is quite the milestone for a blog, if we may say so ourselves. In a world of high paced social media, reels, and competitive mainstream media publications, sticking to a blog for a decade requires persistent determination, stubborn will, and at times help from those within our special watch community. Today I’m quite elated to say that we made it through thick and thin, reaching a milestone seldom reached by private publishers – it was only fitting to mark the occasion with the acquisition of a new watch, none other than the venerable Rolex GMT Master II 126710BLRO, aka The Pepsi.

While I’m still easing into the honeymoon phase of this new watch purchase, today we’ll take an in-depth look at the watch and go over some of my findings from the first day wearing it, up until today as I sit here typing with it on wrist.

Why the GMT Master II?

Let’s touch quickly on why I chose this watch. Usually when I buy a watch there’s a significant blend of compelling reasons, but in this case here my choice was very much “feature and function” inspired. After all, my Submariner really is half way to being a GMT in terms of appearance, but when zooming out and looking at my Rolex collection I was missing a few key aspects that are inherently Rolex at heart. My personal Rolex collection was lacking the Jubilee bracelet, date function, and any significant color – with the only color being the tiny red Daytona text on my 116500LN. There’s only a couple Rolex watches that check the box for all three of these aspects, and so my decision was simple to go with the GMT Master II Pepsi when thinking about technicalities.

Now we all know that watch buying is not all about specs and functions, some of us just enjoy the quirkiness or design language of some watches. I struggled a little bit with the history of the GMT Master II since this is really a heritage pilot’s watch, and I personally don’t have any piloting experience nor much passion for aviation – but I do have plenty of passion for travel and visiting exotic locations around the world and this justification works just fine for me. Regardless of the watches past history as an aviation tool, prominently associated with Pan Am airlines, the watch is absolutely stunning in the metal as to be expected for such a coveted and in demand Rolex sport model.

Realistic Appearance VS Photos

One of the biggest shockers these days in our modern watch shopping era is the appearance of the watch in reality vs on social media through influencers whether on instagram, YouTube or really any type of digital media. More often than not, the images online have been altered to enhance colors, and the angles and lenses used to take the image can also alter the look of the proportions while the watch is on wrist. This paints a glorified image of the watch, that at times does not live up to reality. On the other hand the official Rolex images on their website generally look over-processed and cartoonish compared to the real deal.

In the case of the GMT Master II, the watch looks as fantastic if not better than artificially generated representations. This is a watch that can look brash and outlandish in images due to the dual color bezel, but in reality the colors are very subtle and compliment each other really well. The red and blue colors on the bezel are a touch darker in reality especially in low light situations. The colors, which are baked into the ceramic bezel, do liven up in direct sunlight but still never appear to be washed out or cheap.

The 24 hour GMT bezel on this watch is also a touch busier looking than the classic Submariner, due to the larger size and quantity of the numerical engravings. Overall, this is a busier watch than the Submariner with it’s additional GMT hand sweeping the dial, date wheel, and light catching Jubilee bracelet. This series of features is what gives the GMT Master II it’s mystical aura, whereas the classic Submariner is more low key and subdued, definitely leaning more towards pure sports diver.

You can say that the GMT Master II leans more towards the dressier and elegant end of the spectrum when compared to most other Rolex sports models. The watch has just a touch more pizzaz than even the Daytona with its polished center links. While the GMT Master II is supposed to have a slimmer case thickness than the Submariner, I oddly find the Submariner 114060 fits ever so slightly smaller on my 6.5 inch wrist. When looking at the two watches side by side I can see that the GMT Master II has a flatter caseback, but that the metal around the actual case and lugs seems thicker than the Submariner. It is very possible that the Submariner actually has the thinner case, but on official measurements is thicker due to the protruding bubble back. Either way, the difference is almost imperceivable and dwelling on the subject longer would be nitpicking.

Bezel Gripping Teeth

One of the coolest aesthetic features of the GMT Master II is its knurled bezel for gripping. Again, probably a feature that’s even more cherished on the Submariner for its use timing under water. They catch the light in a way that other watches just can’t compete with, it must have something to do with the 904L steel and machining process from Rolex. While the bezel on the GMT Master II is bidirectional, it still has nearly identical stying to the Submariner, so the look is the same and the grip is also equal.

Presence on Wrist

Beyond the technicalities and artistry of a watch, the actual wrist presence is very important to discuss. Rolex is known for sizing their sports watches with a “happy medium” sizing. That is to say that their sports watch offerings tend to look amazing on a huge array of wrist sizes. Sometimes you see the wives of watch collectors wearing their husbands Daytona’s, GMT’s or Subs, and they seem to look just as good on wrist than when their husbands wear them – it’s design execution of perfection. These watches may not be entirely hand made like Patek, but their overall design core is just as good if not better.

The GMT Master II carries over this special sizing formula, looking right at home on my wrist, and I’d suspect on wrists significantly larger as well as slightly smaller. The colors on the bezel, along with the light cathing Jubilee defontely draws brings with it an aura of presence not found on other models from Rolex. This is indeed what I’d consider a flashy watch, and if you’re looking for a flashy watch to add to the collection this certainly fits the bill. Is it flashier than a Datejust on Jubilee with fluted bezel? I’d say most likely yes, due to the increased size and use of color on the bezel. At the same time, this is absolutely not a dress watch, it still brings with it that aviation inspired look – almost as though Rolex plucked a vintage GMT Master II from the 70s and spruced it up for the 2020’s.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I absolutely love the watch. It’s a high demand Rolex sports model that brings with it a story from the past. Is it absolutely ground shattering in terms of uniqueness inside of a multi Rolex watch collection, most obviously not. What it does do is complete the collection in a way that no other model could.