Rolex GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' Discontinued: What Buyers Should Know

Rolex Pepsi prices are climbing. Buy, wait, or move on?

The Crown giveth, and it also taketh away. At Watches & Wonders in April 2026, Rolex added eight new watches to its catalogue but also axed a significant one: the venerable “Pepsi” GMT-Master II. The modern interpretation of one of Rolex’s most iconic timepieces had been introduced in 2018, first in steel and then in white gold. 

These past few years, any Rolex sports watch has been hotter than wildfire, and few more so than a GMT with the famed red and blue dial. So by shelving the Pepsi, was Rolex shooting itself in the foot? 

“From what we hear in the trade, which is often hearsay,” said ​David Cote, Watch Specialist at European Watch Company, “Rolex’s decision to stop producing the current Pepsi configuration has a lot to do with the complexity and yield of the production process for those bezels.” 

The two-tone Cerachrom bezel is an example of technical complexity: an alumina-based ceramic with rare-earth minerals in red, sintered at temperatures of 850 to 1300 degrees Celsius, then permeated with cobalt, zinc and iron as possible pigments to form the blue portion with crisp edges separating the colors. It’s a deceptively simple look, yet it still required engineers to rack up a few patents in order to make it happen. 

Why Discontinued Rolex Sport Models Appreciate

The short and succinct answer: Rolexes are hot right now, especially when driven by aspirational social media and the exclusivity of getting one from your authorized dealer. 

The long answer puts it into perspective. Watches & Wonders might have been hardly a month ago, but the market moved fast: according to WatchCharts, just after the announcement in Geneva, steel versions of the Pepsi were immediately trading at twice the retail price. In the first quarter of 2026, Rolex led the charge in an uptick in prices on the secondary market, a +1.7% increase. A new 126710BLRO Pepsi in steel from 2024 was trending at $32,900, or nearly three times the MSRP. 

The same thing happened to its predecessor. Rolex produced the GMT Master-II 16710 with its aluminum bezel and Caliber 3186 movement for nearly 20 years, starting in 1989. Upon its discontinuation in 2007, it quickly became a future classic, climbing steadily to reach an average of $12-15,000 in the past two decades. Another predecessor, the 16750, has had a similar rise in price and desirability.

“Shifting focus from making new watches to ensuring robust parts availability for existing pieces is very much in line with Rolex’s conservative, service‑oriented philosophy, and it tends to reassure collectors that their watches will remain fully supported for decades,” said Cote.

It’s created the best of both worlds: artificial scarcity and a thriving secondary market. “It makes sense for Rolex to concentrate resources on long-term service and parts support rather than ongoing mass production,” Cote continued. 

Your Rolex Pepsi Buyer's Checklist

Rolex brought the GMT-Master II into the modern age with every new feature it could throw at it. For starters, that Cerachrom bezel is virtually scratchproof, so bear in mind any visible marks that might affect its brilliant colors. 126719 models have more eye-catching dial options to play with: either a Midnight Blue or white Meteorite dial (with its geometric Widmanstätten pattern) that gives the white gold GMT-Master II that much more cachet. 

Rolex outfitted the 126710 with the Jubilee bracelet, while the 126719 retains the classic 3-link Oyster; both are made complete with the Oysterlock clasp and Easylink extension system. The caliber 3285 Superlative Chronometer features Rolex’s proprietary Chronergy Swiss lever escapement, introduced in 2015, as well as a notable upgrade in its power reserve. And the 116719BLRO remains another great Pepsi option, as the first GMT-Master II crafted in white gold.

What’s next for the Rolex GMT-Master II?

If you’re on the hunt for a new GMT-Master II, you still have plenty of choices for additional two-tone bezels, such as the black/green (the Sprite), black/brown (the Root Beer), black/grey (the Bruce Wayne) the black/blue (the Batman or Batgirl, depending on your DC Comics allegiances). Yet out of all of these colorful nicknames, it’s the blue and red that launched the GMT watch in 1955 — when it was the original GMT watch for Pan Am pilots crossing the seas. 

The question of what Rolex will do next is the bigger question. Could it be replaced by a new version of the Coke, the black-and-red GMT-Master II whose contrasts are just as difficult to produce? “This is truly the most secretive company I know of,” says Cote. “I guess we can only speculate on this future collectible.”