Every Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II reference, 1955 to today. Pepsi, Coke, Batman, Sprite, Root Beer: the bezel colours and the references behind them.
Introduced1955
References20
Spanning1950s - 2020s
The Rolex GMT-Master was born in 1955 to a brief from Pan American World Airways. Pan Am pilots flying long-haul polar and trans-Atlantic routes needed to read two time zones at once. Rolex answered with a 24-hour bezel and an extra GMT hand on a modified Submariner-style case. Seventy years later it is the Rolex pilot watch, with collector slang for almost every bezel-colour combination: Pepsi (red and blue), Coke (red and black), Batman (blue and black), Root Beer (brown and black), Sprite (green and black), Batgirl (blue and black on Jubilee), Polar (also for the Explorer II) for the white-dial variants.
Two model lines run through this list. The original GMT-Master (refs 6542, 1675, 16750, 16700) ran from 1955 to 1999 with a fixed 12-hour-and-GMT setup: setting one moved the other. The GMT-Master II (from ref. 16760 in 1983) added an independently jumping hour hand, letting the wearer track three time zones (local, second via the hour hand, third via the rotating bezel). Every modern reference is a GMT-Master II.
Filter:
6542
1955-1959
38mm case50m WR
DialBlack gilt, gold "Mercedes" hour hand, red 24-hour hand
First GMT-Master, designed for Pan Am pilots. Original Bakelite bezel inserts were prone to cracking, prompting Rolex to switch to aluminium during the production run.
1675
1959-1980
40mm case50m WR
DialBlack gloss, matte (1969-onward), various dial variants over 21 years
BezelAluminium insert, Pepsi red/blue or Coke red/black, bidirectional
MovementCal. 1565 / 1575 (chronometer)
BraceletOyster or Jubilee
The most-produced vintage GMT. Twenty-one years in production with crown guards added in 1959, the matte-dial transition in 1969, and the Cal. 1575 with hacking from 1971. The 1675 is the entry into vintage Rolex collecting for many.
1675/3, 1675/8, 16753
Root Beer
1959-1980
40mm case50m WR
DialBlack, brown ("nipple dial"), or champagne with gold accents
BezelBrown and gold aluminium "Root Beer", or Pepsi
MovementCal. 1575
Two-tone steel/yellow gold (16753) and full yellow gold (16758, 1675/8) variants of the 1675. The brown-and-gold bezel earned the "Root Beer" nickname, popularised in the 1970s. Worn by Clint Eastwood, who became permanently associated with the look.
16750
1980-1988
40mm case100m WR
DialBlack gloss
BezelAluminium insert, Pepsi or Coke, bidirectional
MovementCal. 3075 (quickset date)
M-series update: introduced the quickset date and a fully sealed pressure-tested 100m case. Last GMT-Master with the original "single-hand-jumping" movement architecture before the GMT II.
16700
1988-1999
40mm case100m WR
DialBlack gloss
BezelAluminium Pepsi or all-black
MovementCal. 3175
The final original GMT-Master. Sold alongside the GMT-Master II (16710) for over a decade as the cheaper "1955-style" option. Discontinued 1999 when the II became the only GMT in the catalogue.
16760
Fat Lady
1983-1988
40mm case100m WR
DialBlack gloss, slightly thicker case profile
BezelAluminium Coke red/black
MovementCal. 3085 (independent hour hand)
First GMT-Master II. Earned the "Fat Lady" nickname (or "Sophia Loren") from its noticeably thicker case, needed to house the new Cal. 3085 with independent hour hand.
Eighteen-year five-digit GMT-Master II. The default vintage-modern GMT for most collectors: bigger 100m case than the 1675, ceramic-free, the bezel still aluminium and easily swappable.
16713
1989-2007
40mm case100m WR
DialChampagne, black, or "Tiger Eye" with gold surrounds
BezelAluminium black/brown ("Root Beer") or all-black
MovementCal. 3185
Two-tone steel/yellow gold "Rolesor" GMT-Master II. The 16713 carries the Root Beer aesthetic in two-tone form.
First two-colour ceramic bezel ever produced. Rolex spent years developing the chemistry to colour ceramic in two zones without bleed. Batman's release in 2013 set off the modern bezel-colour craze.
BraceletJubilee 904L Oystersteel (Oyster from 2021)
Steel Pepsi Cerachrom, after fans waited four years from the white-gold version. Multi-year waitlists; secondary-market premium has stayed well above retail.
Updated Batman with the new Cal. 3285 and a Jubilee bracelet. Earned a new nickname "Batgirl" because of the bracelet swap; the original Batman had the Oyster.
Two-tone steel/yellow gold with the new grey-and-black Cerachrom. Launched at Watches and Wonders 2024.
No references match all selected filters.
Bezel-colour nicknames decoded
Rolex bezel-colour pairs picked up collector names that stuck. Pepsi: red and blue (the original 1955 design). Coke: red and black (1980s 16760). Batman: blue and black ceramic (2013-onward). Batgirl: Batman colours on a Jubilee bracelet (2019-). Root Beer: brown and black (originally a 1970s 16753 yellow gold; revived 2018 in Everose). Sprite: green and black, left-handed crown (2022-). Polar: white dial (used informally for the Explorer II 1655 and 16550 too).
Why "GMT-Master II" exists at all
The original GMT-Master had one limitation: setting the local hour also moved the GMT hand, so the wearer could read GMT and a second zone (via the bezel), but not three. Rolex fixed this in 1983 with the ref. 16760 "Fat Lady": the first GMT-Master II, with a movement that lets the hour hand jump independently. Set the GMT hand to home time, the hour hand to local time, and use the bezel for a third zone. Every modern GMT is built on this principle.
The left-handed Sprite
The 2022 ref. 126720VTNR "Sprite" was the first left-handed Rolex sport watch, with the crown and date window on the left side of the case. Rolex gave no official reason. Collectors read it as a wink at the destro tradition (right-side case wears more comfortably for some), but the watch ships with a date display at 9 oclock that no other modern Rolex has had. The bezel is green and black ceramic, the dial black with a green GMT hand.