Reference:gmt-master-ii-5digit-ceramic-family: Difference between revisions

|title=Rolex GMT-Master II 5-digit ceramic family — Rolexopedia

|description=The five-digit ceramic GMT-Master II family bridges the aluminium-bezel 16710 and later six-digit references. It…

|type=Article

Rolex brought Cerachrom to the GMT in yellow gold first, then Rolesor, then steel. In 2013 the Batman introduced the first two-colour ceramic insert, and in 2014 the white-gold Pepsi extended the process to red and blue.

The suffixes are French bezel descriptions: LN for ''lunette noire'', black bezel; BLNR for ''bleu-noir''; BLRO for ''bleu-rouge''. The case across the family is the Super Case generation Rolex rolled out from the mid-2000s, wider at the lugs and heavier at the crown guards than the 16710 it replaced.

The rollout order flips the usual pattern. For the first two years of the ceramic era, the only way to buy a Cerachrom GMT-Master II was in precious metal.

That ordering hands the 116718LN the role the steel reference normally plays: development vehicle for the newest bezel and dial technology in the line. The steel 116710LN inherited a proven insert rather than introducing one.

Two-tone ceramic arrived next, in two steps. The blue-and-black Batman [[Reference:116710BLNR|116710BLNR]] came at Baselworld 2013, the red-and-blue ceramic Pepsi [[Reference:116719BLRO|116719BLRO]] at Baselworld 2014. Both extended the process to a new colour combination inside the same 40mm Super Case architecture that had carried the single-colour Cerachrom references since 2005.

Rolex’s patent describes a process for making a two-colour ceramic insert as one component. The patent is technical documentation, not a production history for every reference. Rolex’s history page dates the blue-and-black two-colour Cerachrom insert to 2013 and the red-and-blue version to 2014, calling both combinations world firsts for a single-piece ceramic component. The patent describes manufacturing details, but does not by itself prove the exact production process used on every insert in this family.

The movement used across the documented five-digit ceramic references is caliber 3186. Caliber 3186 launched in the 116718LN at Baselworld 2005 and is the movement of record across the ceramic 5-digit family. Rolex’s current technical material identifies the independent local-hour adjustment as the defining GMT-Master II function. The 3186 is generally documented with a blue Parachrom hairspring and a 48-hour reserve, but those details should be checked against the reference-specific source when a lot is being authenticated.

The late aluminum-bezel [[Reference:16710|16710]] still used 3185, but no documented ceramic 5-digit example has surfaced with it.

* Black bezel, steel: [[Reference:116710LN|116710LN]]. One dial configuration; glossy black with a green "GMT-Master II" signature line and a green 24-hour hand. Two documented commission runs sit outside standard production: a Sultanate of Oman piece (Sotheby's, circa 2010) with the Khanjar dagger engraved on the caseback and a Khimji Ramdas retailer stamp on the papers, and a 123-piece batch made for personnel associated with the Royal Navy's Westland Sea King helicopter, numbered against the Sea King engraving and the motto "Fear God Honour the King" and sold only to Sea King-associated buyers rather than through normal retail.

* Blue-black bezel, steel: [[Reference:116710BLNR|116710BLNR]]. One dial configuration; the 116710LN dial minus the green signature line, with a blue 24-hour hand. The Batman is a bezel variant of the 116710LN rather than a separate case platform.

* Red-blue bezel, white gold: [[Reference:116719BLRO|116719BLRO]]. Two dial configurations by production window: black lacquer -0001 (2014-2018), matte blue -0002 (2018-2019). Same case, same bezel, same movement across both.

* Black bezel, yellow gold Rolesor: [[Reference:116713LN|116713LN]]. Single gloss-black dial configuration. Narrowest branch in the family, with no documented sub-variants.

* Black bezel, solid yellow gold: [[Reference:116718LN|116718LN]]. Two parallel dial configurations across the run: standard black and green anniversary. Sotheby's tracks the green as the collector variant; the black is the steadier seller.

The Rootbeer colour scheme sat the ceramic era out. The brown-and-gold dial-and-bezel pairing that ran through the 1970s 1675/3, [[Reference:16753|16753]], and [[Reference:16758|16758]] did not survive into Cerachrom. Rolex did not bring Rootbeer back to the GMT-Master II until the 6-digit [[Reference:126711CHNR|126711CHNR]] and [[Reference:126715CHNR|126715CHNR]] in 2018, by which point the gold side had shifted from yellow to Everose.

These references are discontinued examples of the five-digit ceramic GMT-Master II generation. Auction results and dealer asking prices vary by metal, dial, condition, completeness and sale venue. This page records the reference, material and dial distinctions; it does not assign a general market range.

* [[Reference:116713LN|GMT-Master II 116713LN ]]; Rolesor, the second ceramic reference (2006)

* [[Reference:116710LN|GMT-Master II 116710LN ]]; first steel ceramic GMT-Master II, black (2007)

* [[Reference:116719BLRO|GMT-Master II 116719BLRO ]]; white-gold 'Pepsi' ceramic

File:Ref 116713LN hero.webp|116713LN; two-tone Rolesor, first ceramic GMT-Master II to reach steel-in-case form (2006)

File:Ref 116710LN hero.webp|116710LN; first all-steel ceramic GMT-Master II, monochrome black Cerachrom bezel (2007)

File:Ref 116710BLNR hero.jpg|116710BLNR 'Batman'; first two-colour Cerachrom, blue-and-black bezel (2013)

File:Ref 116719BLRO hero.webp|116719BLRO 'Pepsi'; white-gold ceramic Pepsi, red-and-blue bezel (2014)