One Hour at a Time: The 1997 Rolex GMT-Master II 16710 ‘Pepsi’

Pull the crown of a 1997 GMT-Master II 16710 out to its first position and the hour hand breaks away from the rest of the dial, stepping forward one hour at a time while the red twenty four hour hand stays fixed on home time and the blue and red bezel waits to be turned for a third. That separation took Rolex three decades and one thick-cased false start to make wearable.

From Pan Am to a Free Hour Hand

The reference 6542

The GMT-Master began as a tool for Pan American World Airways crews who needed two time zones at a glance. Rolex answered in the mid 1950s with the reference 6542: an extra hand circling the dial once every twenty four hours, read against a rotating twenty four hour bezel. The references 1675 and 16750 refined almost everything over the next three decades except one thing. The twenty four hour hand stayed geared to the hour hand, and the two always moved together.

The Fat Lady

The first break came in 1983 with the GMT-Master II reference 16760. Its calibre 3085 allowed the hour hand to be set independently of the twenty four hour hand, which meant a traveller could change local time on landing without disturbing home time. The taller movement thickened the case, enthusiasts called it the Fat Lady, and it was withdrawn in 1988.

1989: The Slimmer Answer

The reference 16710 replaced the 16760 in 1989 with the same function in a thinner package, made possible by the new calibre 3185. The case is a 40mm steel Oyster with crown guards and a sapphire crystal, rated to 100 metres, with proportions closer to the earlier GMT-Master than to the Fat Lady. Rolex offered the 16710 with three aluminium bezel inserts under one reference: the red and blue Pepsi, the red and black Coke, and an all black insert.

Until 1999 it shared the catalogue with the simpler GMT-Master 16700 and its linked hands. The 16710 itself ran until 2007, the longest production of any GMT-Master II reference.

Calibre 3185

The calibre 3185 is a self winding, COSC certified chronometer with 31 jewels, beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, with hacking seconds and a quickset date. Its defining feature is that jumping hour hand. With the crown at the first position, the hour hand moves in one hour increments while the minutes, seconds and twenty four hour hand keep running undisturbed.

In practice the 16710 reads three time zones. Local time sits on the conventional hands, home time on the red twenty four hour hand read against the bezel at its neutral position, and a third zone on that same hand once the bezel is turned to the offset. Rolex replaced the 3185 with the calibre 3186 and its blue Parachrom hairspring in the final years of 16710 production, which places a 1997 example firmly in the 3185 era.

A 1997 Watch at the Changeover

Tritium to Luminova

The year 1997 falls exactly where Rolex stopped using tritium. Earlier 16710 dials carry the marking SWISS T<25 at six o’clock, declaring the radioactive lume. Once Rolex moved to non radioactive Luminova, the marking shortened to SWISS alone, before Super-LumiNova and SWISS MADE arrived in the early 2000s. A 1997 16710 can therefore carry either dial, and the one it wears places it on one side of a brief transition.

Case details of the period

A 1997 case has drilled lugs, a detail Rolex removed in 2003, and its serial is engraved between the lugs at six o’clock, hidden behind the end link. Rolex supplied the 16710 on either the three link Oyster bracelet, reference 78360, or the five link Jubilee, reference 62510H.

Red for Day, Blue for Night

The Pepsi colours are not decorative. Red marks the daylight hours on the twenty four hour scale and blue marks the night, so the position of the red hand tells you whether it is day or night in the other city before you read a single numeral. Rolex has never used the soft drink nickname; its own designation is BLRO, for bleu and rouge.

The insert is anodised aluminium, a dyed oxide layer whose red and blue halves answer years of sunlight at different rates. Rolex moved the GMT-Master II to ceramic in 2005 on the gold anniversary model and in steel with the 116710LN in 2007. When the steel Pepsi returned in 2018 as the reference 126710BLRO, its bezel was ceramic. The 16710 was the last steel Pepsi GMT-Master II made with aluminium.

Final Thoughts

What we love about a 1997 16710 is how exactly it sits in time. It carries the movement that finally made the independent hour hand slim enough to wear every day, the drilled lugs and aluminium bezel of the older GMT-Master, and a dial made in the year the lume itself changed. It still works the way Rolex settled on in 1989: turn the crown, jump the hour, and let the red hand keep home.

References

1. Monochrome Watches, In-Depth: The History of the Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II: https://monochrome-watches.com/history-rolex-gmt-master-and-gmt-master-ii-1955-2024-iconic-traveller-watch-in-depth-review/
2. Bob’s Watches, The Making of a Masterpiece: GMT-Master II 16710: https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex/gmt-master-ii/reference-16710-history
3. Bob’s Watches, Rolex GMT-Master II 16710 Buying Guide: https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/buying-guides/rolex-gmt-master-ii-16710.html
4. Millenary Watches, Rolex GMT-Master II 16710: a Complete Guide: https://millenarywatches.com/gmt-master-ii-16710/
5. Millenary Watches, Rolex Caliber 3185: https://millenarywatches.com/rolex-caliber-3185/
6. Luxury Bazaar, Rolex 16710 GMT-Master II Collector’s Guide: All the Variants: https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/rolex-16710/
7. Bob’s Watches, Rolex GMT-Master 16700 Ultimate Guide: https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/watch-review/vintage-week-gmt-master-ref-16700.html
8. Crown Vintage Watches, Evolution of the Rolex GMT-Master: 1675 to Today: https://crownvintage.com.au/blogs/vintage-stories/evolution-of-the-rolex-gmt-master-1675-to-today

• Case in very strong condition with little light visible across both sides. Sharp lugs with factory brushing still visible.
• Bracelet in great condition with light wear visible. Some stretch expected with age.

•   Dial and hands are excellent.