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Rolex GMT-Master II 5-digit ceramic family

This is a checked version, approved on 27 September 2026. New changes may have been made.


The 5-digit ceramic era is the bridge between the aluminum 16710 world and the current ceramic GMT-Master II line. It runs from 2005 to 2019 across five references: 116718LN, 116713LN, 116710LN, 116710BLNR, and 116719BLRO.

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.

Core map

  • 116718LN (2005-2019): first Cerachrom GMT-Master II; solid 18k yellow gold, black bezel
  • 116713LN (2006-2019): two-tone Rolesor yellow-gold GMT; first ceramic GMT-Master II to reach steel-in-case form
  • 116710LN (2007-2019): first steel GMT-Master II with a ceramic bezel; all-black Cerachrom
  • 116710BLNR (2013-2019): first two-colour Cerachrom reference; blue-and-black Batman
  • 116719BLRO (2014-2019): first ceramic Pepsi; white-gold only

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.

Where the family changes

Cerachrom chronology

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 116710BLNR came at Baselworld 2013, the red-and-blue ceramic Pepsi 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.

The two-colour ceramic patent story

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.

Caliber 3185 into 3186

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 16710 still used 3185, but no documented ceramic 5-digit example has surfaced with it.

Branch map

The 5-digit ceramic era splits cleanly by dial-and-bezel identity rather than by mechanical variation.

  • Black bezel, steel: 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: 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: 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: 116713LN. Single gloss-black dial configuration. Narrowest branch in the family — no sub-variants.
  • Black bezel, solid yellow gold: 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, 16753, and 16758 did not survive into Cerachrom. Rolex did not bring Rootbeer back to the GMT-Master II until the 6-digit 126711CHNR and 126715CHNR in 2018, by which point the gold side had shifted from yellow to Everose.

Collecting context

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.

Related references

Gallery

  •  
    116718LN; first Cerachrom GMT-Master II, solid 18k yellow gold, black bezel (2005)
  •  
    116713LN; two-tone Rolesor, first ceramic GMT-Master II to reach steel-in-case form (2006)
  •  
    116710LN; first all-steel ceramic GMT-Master II, monochrome black Cerachrom bezel (2007)
  •  
    116710BLNR 'Batman'; first two-colour Cerachrom, blue-and-black bezel (2013)
  •  
    116719BLRO 'Pepsi'; white-gold ceramic Pepsi, red-and-blue bezel (2014)

Sources

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