Reference:gmt-master-ii-6digit-family: Difference between revisions

|title=Rolex GMT-Master II 6-digit family — BezelBase

|type=article

The 6-digit family is the current GMT-Master II generation and the direct bridge from today's catalogue back into the 2018 reset. It starts with the steel Pepsi [[Reference:126710BLRO|126710BLRO]] and the Root Beer pair in 2018, adds the Jubilee Batman in 2019, the left-handed [[Reference:126720VTNR|126720VTNR]] in 2022, the yellow-gold GRNR pair in 2023, the steel GRNR in 2024, and the Tiger Iron stone dials in 2025.

The platform is simple: caliber 3285, a slimmer 40mm case than the Super Case, and a two-colour Cerachrom catalogue that now runs across five colorways.

* [[Reference:126710BLRO|126710BLRO]] (2018-2026): first steel ceramic Pepsi; first Jubilee GMT since 1675 era

The steel Pepsi was dropped from the catalogue at Watches & Wonders 2026 per Robb Report. The white-gold Pepsi went with it. The rest of the family is current production.

 

The architecture does not change for the left-handed [[Reference:126720VTNR|126720VTNR]]. Rolex reorients the case, dial, and date-wheel printing rather than mirror the movement internally. The date wheel numerals are oriented for the 9 o'clock window, which means the printing on the Destro's date wheel differs from the printing on the right-handed 3285 applications, even though the movement plate does not.

The most immediately visible generation change is the case. Fratello puts the 126710-generation case at 40mm wide and 12.5mm tall, compared with the Super Case geometry of the 116710 references. The lugs are narrower. The crown guards are less blocky. Monochrome's 126710BLNR review describes the 6-digit case as visibly less thick in photography at the same angle as a 116710BLNR, and the dimensional figures across the family — roughly 11.9-12.5mm thick depending on case material and reference — all sit under the Super Case height.

The dimensional change is the reason the 126710BLNR launched on Jubilee rather than Oyster in 2019. The slimmer case wears differently on the five-link bracelet, and the bracelet choice was the headline change at launch. Time+Tide's 2020 Batman vs Batgirl comparison treats the drape difference as the primary wrist consequence of the generation shift.

The case architecture is otherwise shared. Monobloc middle case, screw-down crown and caseback, Triplock crown, 100m water resistance, sapphire crystal with Cyclops over the date window. The only reference that departs from this layout is the [[Reference:126720VTNR|126720VTNR]], which mirrors the crown and date window to the left side without changing the underlying dimensions.

Jubilee had been absent from the GMT-Master II Professional line since the 1675 era. The 2018 steel Pepsi brought it back, and the 2019 Batman extended the same choice to the blue-black watch. That bracelet return is one of the defining shifts of the 6-digit family.

The Jubilee is fitted with the Oysterlock folding clasp and the Easylink 5mm comfort extension. It drapes differently from the Oyster across all the references it is offered on. Launch coverage split on whether the bracelet was the headline or the complaint. Time+Tide took the positive side, aBlogtoWatch and Monochrome stayed neutral and let the bracelet speak. The choice has since become the defining configuration decision inside the 6-digit family.

The 2023 yellow-gold [[Reference:126713GRNR|126713GRNR]] and [[Reference:126718GRNR|126718GRNR]] ship on Jubilee only. The yellow-gold [[Reference:126718GRNR|126718GRNR]] Jubilee is the first full-gold Jubilee on a GMT-Master since the early 1980s. The predecessor [[Reference:116718LN|116718LN]] shipped exclusively on Oyster across its fourteen-year run.

The 2018 CHNR Root Beer pair was the first two-colour Cerachrom after BLNR and BLRO. Its brown-and-black insert and Everose numerals give the old Root Beer idea a colder, more modern look than the vintage yellow-gold versions.

The green-and-black VTNR insert on the 2022 [[Reference:126720VTNR|126720VTNR]] added the fourth colour pair. The green reads as a colour-history callback to the 2007 Fiftieth Anniversary green bezel announcement on the [[Reference:116710LN|116710LN]]. The combination is exclusive to the Destro.

The grey-and-black GRNR insert added the fifth modern two-colour Cerachrom pairing. Rolex names the code from ''gris noir''. In practice the grey half often reads almost black indoors and shifts warmer in direct sun, which is why the bezel photographs less clearly than it wears.

The full modern two-colour Cerachrom catalogue now runs across BLNR (blue-black), BLRO (red-blue), CHNR (brown-black), VTNR (green-black), and GRNR (grey-black). Rolex has not released a two-colour red-and-black Coke insert. Robb Report noted the long-rumoured Coke ceramic that collectors had speculated about for years never arrived.

The 6-digit family splits by case material and by bezel colourway. Both axes carry collector weight, and the nickname catalogue tracks both.

* '''Steel (Oystersteel):''' [[Reference:126710BLRO|126710BLRO]] Pepsi, [[Reference:126710BLNR|126710BLNR]] Batman/Batgirl, [[Reference:126720VTNR|126720VTNR]] Sprite/Destro, [[Reference:126710GRNR|126710GRNR]] Bruce Wayne/Ghost. The 2026 discontinuation removed the steel Pepsi from the current catalogue.

* '''Rolesor Everose:''' [[Reference:126711CHNR|126711CHNR]] Rootbeer. The only modern two-tone ceramic reference in Everose rather than yellow gold.

* '''Rolesor yellow gold:''' [[Reference:126713GRNR|126713GRNR]] Zombie/Bumblebee. Returned yellow Rolesor to the GMT-Master II after a four-year absence.

* '''Solid Everose gold:''' [[Reference:126715CHNR|126715CHNR]] solid Rootbeer, with 2025 Tiger Iron dial variant.

* '''Solid yellow gold:''' [[Reference:126718GRNR|126718GRNR]], with 2025 Tiger Iron dial variant.

* '''Red-and-blue (BLRO):''' [[Reference:126710BLRO|126710BLRO]] steel, 2018-2026. The 2026 discontinuation without announcement is the collecting event of the generation.

* '''Blue-and-black (BLNR):''' [[Reference:126710BLNR|126710BLNR]] steel, 2019-present. Jubilee (Batgirl) and Oyster (Batman) configurations both current.

* '''Brown-and-black (CHNR):''' [[Reference:126711CHNR|126711CHNR]] Rolesor Everose and [[Reference:126715CHNR|126715CHNR]] solid Everose, both 2018-present. The Tiger Iron 126715CHNR-0002 from 2025 is the only catalogued dial variant inside the pair.

* '''Green-and-black (VTNR):''' [[Reference:126720VTNR|126720VTNR]] left-handed, 2022-present. Exclusive colourway; no right-handed VTNR exists in the catalogue.

* '''Grey-and-black (GRNR):''' [[Reference:126713GRNR|126713GRNR]] Rolesor, [[Reference:126718GRNR|126718GRNR]] solid yellow gold, [[Reference:126710GRNR|126710GRNR]] steel. The Rolesor and solid-gold variants launched in 2023; the steel followed in 2024.

"Bruce Wayne" is a collector nickname. Rolex does not use it in any catalogue or product page. The same goes for every other nickname on the list. Rolex's own reference suffixes parse as French colour codes: BLNR for ''bleu-noir'', BLRO for ''bleu-rouge'', CHNR for ''chocolat-noir'', VTNR for ''verte-noir'', GRNR for ''gris-noir''.

The 6-digit family is still mostly current production, so the market is driven by waitlists and allocation rather than by classic vintage scarcity.

The 2018 steel Pepsi set the pattern. Waitlists ran for years, auction-house examples appeared almost immediately, and the 2026 discontinuation pushed prices up again. The white-gold Pepsi left the catalogue at the same time.

The Destro sits in the same low-auction-footprint category. Its market is still mostly dealer and private-sale driven.