Reference:16710: Difference between revisions

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The 16710 is the five-digit steel GMT-Master II that followed the 16760. It keeps the independently adjustable local-hour hand, uses caliber 3185 for most of its run, and appears with red-blue, red-black, and black aluminium bezel inserts. Late examples can combine a stick-style dial, solid end links, a no-holes case, and, in a smaller documented group, caliber 3186. Those features must be checked on the individual watch rather than inferred from the reference number alone.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	16710
family	GMT-Master II (five-digit, neo-vintage)
production	documented from 1989 through the 2007/08 transition; replaced in the catalogue by the ceramic 116710LN
case	40mm steel Oyster, slimmer than the 16760 it succeeded; 100m water resistance
crystal	sapphire with Cyclops; later examples have a laser-etched coronet at 6 o'clock
crown	screw-down 7mm with crown guards
movement	caliber 3185 across most of the run; documented late-production examples with caliber 3186 and a blue Parachrom hairspring
GMT mechanic	flyer GMT, independently adjustable local hour hand, 24-hour hand tracks the home time zone independently
dial generations	collector groups commonly called T<25, Swiss-only/transitional, and Swiss Made; dates and serial boundaries vary by dial and source. Late stick-style printing is documented
bezel	documented aluminium insert colours include red-blue, red-black, and black; insert codes are collector or catalogue identifiers
bracelet	Oyster and Jubilee bracelets are documented; early examples use hollow end links and later examples use solid-end-link Oyster configurations
late-production sub-variant	“16710T” is collector shorthand for later no-holes cases; some late watches also combine stick-style dials, solid-end-link bracelets, and caliber 3186

Where it sits in the line

The 16710 is the slimmer successor to the 16760. It carries the same flyer-GMT function in a five-digit Oyster case and was offered with several aluminium bezel inserts. The 16713 and 16718 use the same movement family in two-tone and yellow gold.

The ceramic 116710LN replaced the five-digit steel reference in the 2007 transition. Later ceramic Pepsi and blue-black references changed the case, bezel, and bracelet system, so their production dates should not be projected backward onto the 16710.

Production outline

The safest production description is 1989 through the 2007/08 transition. The Field Manual gives 1989–2007 in its reference table, while its narrative treats the changeover as extending into 2008. The 116710LN is the ceramic successor, introduced during the 2007/08 transition. Catalogue overlap and the final delivery date vary by source.

The reference accumulated several changes during that period. Earlier examples are commonly seen with lug holes, hollow-end-link bracelets, and tritium-marked dials. Later watches can have a laser-etched coronet, no-holes cases, solid-end-link bracelets, Super-LumiNova dials, and the stick-style printing used on some end-of-run examples. The sources do not support one exact serial-by-serial cutover chart, and a case, dial, bracelet, and movement can be changed during service.

A small number of late 16710s are documented with caliber 3186, including watches with 2008 papers. That proves late delivery or assembly examples, but it does not establish a separate production run or make every stick dial a 3186 watch.

Movement notes

Most 16710 examples use caliber 3185, an automatic GMT movement with an independently adjustable local-hour hand, quickset date, stop-seconds, and a 28,800 vph frequency. The late documented group includes caliber 3186, which uses a blue Parachrom hairspring and a revised GMT wheel. Both are part of the same flyer-GMT sequence.

The 3186 appeared in the six-digit-era 116718LN in 2005. Finding it in a five-digit 16710 case is therefore a transitional configuration, but movement photographs and serial-linked papers are needed to authenticate it. A stick-style dial is not proof of caliber 3186, and a 3185 movement is documented in late dial configurations.

The Field Manual contains one conflicting 3135 reference in a transition note. The 16710-specific table and the auction record identify 3185/3186; caliber 3135 belongs to date-only Rolex references and is not used here as a 16710 movement.

Dial map

The dial and bezel should be read together with the case, movement, and papers. Collector terms such as Mark 1, Mark 2, Mark 3, Swiss-only, and stick dial are useful labels, but they are not Rolex production names and their date boundaries vary by source.

Bezel branches

Auction and reference material document three aluminium insert colours: red-blue (often called Pepsi), red-black (Coke), and black. Insert codes such as 16710B, 16710A, and 16710N are catalogue or collector identifiers, not separate case references. Inserts are replaceable, so the bezel alone cannot establish original delivery.

Lume and lower dial text

Early dials carry “SWISS – T<25,” later dials carry “SWISS” or “SWISS MADE,” and transitional examples are reported with combinations that do not fit a simple three-step chart. The lume compound and printed text should be recorded separately. Exact years, serial ranges, and service-dial history require the individual dial and papers.

T<25 with later lume

Auction and specialist material documents 16710 dials that retain T<25 printing while using a later luminous compound. This is a reported transitional configuration, but the cited sources do not establish its production volume or a universal 1998-only boundary.

Stick-style printing

Late examples can have straighter, narrower dial lettering commonly called stick printing. It appears with more than one bezel colour and with both calibers 3185 and 3186 in the cited record. A stick dial is therefore a dial configuration, not a movement code or a guaranteed serial-date marker.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The 16710 has a 40mm steel Oyster case, sapphire crystal with a Cyclops date lens, screw-down crown with crown guards, and 100m water resistance. Later examples may have a laser-etched coronet in the crystal and no external lug holes. Those are individual-case features and should be checked against the case and papers.

The aluminium bezel insert is bidirectional and carries the 24-hour scale. A replacement insert can change the colour without changing the watch head. No-holes cases and solid-end-link bracelets are useful dating clues, but neither proves a complete original configuration by itself.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

The reference appears on Oyster and Jubilee bracelets. Earlier Oyster examples commonly use hollow end links; later examples can use solid-end-link configurations. Jubilee fitment and end-link codes should be checked against period catalogues and the individual clasp.

A clasp code dates the bracelet component, not the watch head. Box, papers, and guarantee cards are delivery evidence for the individual watch and can be missing, replaced, or associated with later service work.

Special branches

Pepsi insert

“Pepsi” describes the red-blue insert. A factory-delivered insert, a later replacement, and a bezel fitted to a different 16710 case can look alike, so the insert must be checked with the rest of the watch.

Coke insert

“Coke” describes the red-black insert. It is a documented 16710 configuration, but the insert is replaceable and does not date the case by itself. Aluminium Coke did not continue into the ceramic 116710LN generation.

Black insert

The black insert is the third documented aluminium colour. A caseback reference alone does not prove that the current insert was original delivery.

Pepsi 16710
Coke 16710
Black-bezel 16710

Late stick dial and caliber 3186

Some late watches combine stick-style printing, a later case and bracelet configuration, and caliber 3186. Other stick-dial watches retain caliber 3185. The combination is worth documenting, but it should not be treated as the default end-of-run specification.

“Albino” and retailer collaborations

“Albino” is a collector term for modified or aftermarket configurations and is not a Rolex production reference. The Real McCoy's / Chuck Yeager watch is a separate period retail collaboration. Antiquorum records its P-series 16710 base, retailer history, caseback engraving, and provenance; those details belong to that individual watch.

Historical market and auction record

Sale	Lot	Year	Configuration	Notes
Phillips Perpetual editorial	NOS 16710B	ca. 2020s	Pepsi NOS, cal 3186, "error" stick dial, transitional final-spec configuration	editorial feature, not an auction result
Sotheby's London Important Watches	,	2020	c.2004 Pepsi 16710	est. GBP 6,000–9,000
Sotheby's London Important Watches	,	2020	c.1991 Pepsi 16710, A-serial	est. GBP 7,000–10,000
Sotheby's London Important Watches	,	2020	c.1993 16710 with Concorde test pilot Brian Trubshaw provenance	est. GBP 12,000–18,000
Sotheby's Watches Weekly Geneva	,	2020	c.1997 Coke 16710
Sotheby's Watches Weekly London	,	2020	c.2007 stick dial 16710
Sotheby's	L19070/9	2019	c.2006 stick dial 16710
Sotheby's	,	,	c.1990 Pepsi 16710
Antiquorum	292/363	2015	Tiffany & Co. retailer-stamped 16710, R-series; catalogue date "1987" predates the reference launch and bezel descriptions are mixed	est. HKD 55,000–85,000; sold HKD 150,000
Antiquorum	235/294	2010	Real McCoy's / Chuck Yeager co-branded 16710, P-series, retailed 2001, period retail collaboration	sold CHF 16,200, Geneva 8 May 2010
Antiquorum Monaco	358/157	,	16710T no-lug-hole sub-variant
Christie's Falling Time online	192/60546	,	16710T Pepsi

These are selected auction records, not a complete market census or valuation guide. Results depend on condition, original versus replacement parts, bracelet, papers, and provenance. The Tiffany and Real McCoy's examples also have catalogue or retail-history questions that should be assessed lot by lot.

Rolex guarantee papers for the Brian Trubshaw 16710, dated 21 October 1994 — Guarantee papers, dated 21 October 1994

Sotheby's gives detailed provenance for the Brian Trubshaw example, including a punched Rolex guarantee dated 21 October 1994, document holder, booklets, calendar, framed GMT-Master II advert, hangtags, and presentation case. The catalogue states that the papers show the watch was issued to Trubshaw by Rolex at its headquarters in 1993; that attribution remains lot-specific.