If there is one pastime more popular among Rolex devotees than guessing which new models will be released at the annual Watches and Wonders show in Geneva, it is predicting which ones will be discontinued.
And while rumors about one particular reference circulated early this year, there still was no shortage of shock and awe when it became official at the show in April that the GMT-Master II with a blue and red bezel — popularly known as “the Pepsi” because the colors matched the soft drink’s logo — had been withdrawn from the brand catalog.
But some Pepsi fans, noting its history, are hopeful that some variation of the model will return in coming years.
The color combination debuted in 1954 when the GMT-Master was introduced, Rolex’s answer to a call from Pan Am for a watch that would help its pilots track time in two locations simultaneously. It worked by combining a second hour hand with a rotating 24-hour bezel, half of which was red to signify daytime hours and half of which was blue, for nighttime.
The watch became a favorite not only of commercial pilots, but of military personnel, movie stars, transcontinental travelers and many adventurers in between. Among them was the chief test pilot for the Concorde supersonic passenger jet program. “Concorde pilot Brian Trubshaw is rigorously demanding about the performance of his watch” ran the text of a Rolex advertisement from the early 1970s. “The Rolex he wears is a GMT-Master.”
And as the decades passed, technical improvements — notably the so-called quick set mechanism for the secondary hour hand that arrived with the GMT-Master II in 1982 — and aesthetic alternatives were added to the timepiece’s family tree.
Those included cases in precious metals, nuances in dial details and bezels with nicknames like the Coke (black and red), the Root Beer (brown and gold), the Batman (black and blue), the Blueberry (all blue) and — perhaps the most unusual for its left-hand winding crown — the Sprite (green and black).
But despite all the changes, upgrades and options, the Pepsi GMT-Masters continued to be a quintessential version of the timepiece until the mid-2000s, when Rolex replaced the anodized aluminum bezel with its Cerachrom ceramic-based version, which is considerably more scratch resistant than aluminum.
But creating the Cerachrom bezels half in red, half in blue presented problems that led to the first, albeit temporary, end of the Pepsi.
Its hiatus lasted until 2014 when advancements in colored ceramic manufacturing enabled the Pepsi’s return, initially on white gold GMT-Masters, then on steel models four years later.
Another Return
The fact that the Pepsi already has had one revival within the past 20 years suggests it may again return. And one fan who has voiced that belief is Paul Altieri, the founder and chief executive of Bob’s Watches, an online marketplace headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif.
As well as being one of the world’s leading dealers in pre-owned Rolexes (his business sells about 2,000 watches a month), Mr. Altieri is a passionate collector who prizes the GMT-Master above all other Rolex models.
“My guess is that Rolex will bring it back in three to four years,” he said of the Pepsi color scheme. “It’s a manufacturer and an innovator that’s always looking for a better way of doing things and which works on products three, five, 10 years out. The rumor has it that creating the ceramic bezel continued to have its difficulties, so maybe they are looking for a new way of doing it.”
In the meantime, the prices of pre-owned steel GMT-Masters with ceramic Pepsi bezels (Ref. 126710BLRO) have risen on many resale sites to more than $25,000, with some sellers asking as much as $40,000 — a significant increase compared with the $12,000 recommended retail price for a new one at Rolex authorized dealers.
Supply on resale sites, meanwhile, is estimated to have declined by 25 percent, Mr. Altieri said. “Now that they are no longer available,” he added, “people are holding on to them.”
Bezels and Bond
The good news for potential buyers is that some of the Pepsi bezel GMT-Masters remain relatively affordable, although even those prices have crept up.
“The Reference 16710, made from 1989 to 2007, is probably the sweet spot,” Mr. Altieri said. “They have a modern look, there are plenty on the market and prices have settled at $14,000 to $17,000, depending on condition.
“The black and red Coke versions sell for 15 to 20 percent less,” he added.
But the most sought-after Pepsi bezel GMT-Masters continue to be the original Ref. 6542 model produced from 1954 to 1959. Collectors call it the Pussy Galore because that character, a female pilot played by Honor Blackman, wore one in the 1964 Bond film “Goldfinger.”
“They had Bakelite bezels, which were quite delicate,” Mr. Altieri said, “meaning not many survive.”
The original 6542s also are rare because, in 1961, a U.S. Navy officer’s cancer was linked to the radioactive paint used for the bezel’s markings, prompting the watches to be recalled and bezels replaced with anodized aluminum versions.
Among the most expensive Pepsi GMT-Masters sold at auction was the Ref. 1675 that Marlon Brando wore as Col. Walter E. Kurtz in the 1979 movie, “Apocalypse Now.” Even though the star had removed the Pepsi bezel (the director found the colors distracting), it sold at auction for $1.9 million in 2019 and then for 4.5 million Swiss francs in 2023.
The following year a Ref. 1675 worn on the moon by Edgar Mitchell, the lunar module pilot for the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, sold for $2.1 million.
Those prices show how an interesting history can significantly increase the value of a watch — which is why Mr. Altieri said he was pleased to have recently acquired a Pepsi GMT-Master with its own back story.
The 1977 model was purchased for an undisclosed amount from its original owner, retired Air Force Capt. David Bartell, who was wearing it in 1978 when he ejected from his F-105 Thunderchief supersonic fighter-bomber seconds before it crashed at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
“We get thousands of watches to sell each year, but every once in a while something really special arrives with a story — and this is one of those,” Mr. Altieri said. “It’s complete with its box, papers, original receipt and an archive of paperwork relating to the ejection.”
He has added the timepiece to his personal collection of about 200 Rolexes, 134 of which (including this one) will feature in a coffee-table book scheduled to be published in November after 10 years in the making.
The book will not be widely distributed, Mr. Altieri said, but is intended to serve as a guide to an exhibition of his collection, scheduled in partnership with the Horological Society of New York at the end of the year in New York City and Los Angeles.
