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Rolex 16700 GMT-Master

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GMT-Master › 16700

Rolex 16700 GMT-Master
Rolex 16700 GMT-Master

The 16700 was the last reference in the original GMT-Master line. Its linked hour and 24-hour hands are what collectors call a caller GMT. It was produced from about 1988 to 1999 alongside the GMT-Master II 16710. Caliber 3175 is associated with the 16700 and is documented with 31 jewels, a 28,800 vph rate, about 48 hours of reserve, hacking seconds, a quickset date, five-position and temperature adjustment, and COSC certification. A 1997 Real McCoy's edition made 50 watches with Chuck Yeager and Bell X-1 caseback markings.


Core facts

detail value
reference 16700
family GMT-Master (final reference of the original GMT-Master line)
production about 1988 to 1999; one field guide ends the run in 1998
total examples no published Rolex production figure across any source. Bonhams describes it as "notably fewer units produced than its counterpart [the 16710]"; Sotheby's says "smaller quantities despite its decade-long run"
case 40mm steel Oyster
crystal sapphire with Cyclops over date
water resistance 100m
movement caliber 3175, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph, about 48-hour reserve. COSC-certified, hacking, quickset date, Glucydur balance with Microstella screws, Breguet hairspring, Kif shock
GMT mechanic caller GMT; main hour hand sets in one-hour clicks, 24-hour hand stays linked to the local hour hand. Last GMT-Master with this synchronized layout
bezel bidirectional 24-hour aluminium insert. Pepsi (red/blue) and all-black are the documented factory configurations. A red/black Coke insert on a 16700 is a service or aftermarket fitting unless its provenance shows otherwise
bracelet Oyster 78360 with 501 / 580 end-links + folding clasp through most of the run; later Oyster 78790 with Oysterlock from late production; Jubilee 62510H with 502B optional
key identity last GMT-Master with linked-hand caller-GMT logic and a sapphire crystal

Where it sits in the line

The 16700 closes the original GMT-Master line. It follows the 16750 and ran alongside the GMT-Master II 16710 from 1989 to 1999. After the 16700 ended, the catalogue continued with GMT-Master II references. The 16700 combines the linked-hand mechanism with the sapphire crystal used in this generation.

Caller vs flyer GMT

The 16700 is a caller GMT. The 16760 (cal. 3085) and the 16710 (cal. 3185 / 3186) are flyer GMTs. That is the practical distinction between the two movement layouts.

On a caller GMT the hour and 24-hour hands remain linked. The 3175’s direct quick-set date is separate from GMT hand adjustment, and the second zone is read with the bidirectional 24-hour bezel. On a flyer GMT the 24-hour hand turns independently once per day, while the local hour hand jumps in one-hour increments without disturbing minutes or seconds. The bezel can then be used for a third zone.

The linked hands move together when the time is set. That is the operating distinction between the 16700 and the independently adjustable local-hour hand in the 16710.

Production outline

Every published account starts the run in 1988. Most editorial and auction-house coverage ends it in 1999; Colin A. White's The Vintage Rolex Field Manual ends it in 1998. Late examples are catalogued as 1998 or 1999 according to their papers and serial evidence, so the boundary should remain approximate.

Rolex has never published an output figure. Bonhams and Sotheby's both describe fewer 16700 examples than 16710 examples, but neither source gives a count. The comparison supports relative scarcity only.

Movement notes

Caliber 3175 is the last movement used in the original GMT-Master line and is associated with the 16700 alone. Published specifications and auction catalogues give it 31 jewels, 28,800 vph (4 Hz), about 48 hours of power reserve, hacking seconds, a quickset date, a Breguet hairspring, a Glucydur balance with Microstella screws, Kif shock protection, COSC certification, and adjustment to five positions and temperature.

The 3175 does not have an independently adjustable GMT hand. That feature belongs to the 3085 in the 16760 (1983–1989) and to the 3185 / 3186 in the 16710 (1989–2007). Some auction descriptions use loose GMT terminology, so identify the movement and hand-setting behavior on the watch itself. A 2025 Sotheby’s collector guide describes the 16700 as having an independent flying GMT hand, which conflicts with its own distinction between the 16700 and 16710 and with the cited movement references. The linked-hand description used here follows the 3175 specifications and the 16750/16710 comparison evidence.

The 3175 supersedes the 3075 used in the 16750 and is the final movement in the linked-hand GMT line. Its documented fitment is tied to the 16700's 1988–1999 run.

Service history is worth checking on watches from the end of the run. Antiquorum Lot 88 recommends an overhaul at the buyer's expense, and Sotheby's Lot 10 records minor corrosion spots on the movement. Those are lot-specific observations, not evidence of a universal service pattern. A watch with a replacement movement should be identified from the movement engraving and service records rather than inferred from the case reference.

Dial map

Glossy black with applied white-gold-surround indices is standard across the run. Documented changes concern the date wheel, the lume compound, and a late dial subset collectors call the stick dial.

Black-bezel 16700
Black-bezel 16700

Open vs closed 6/9 date wheel

Date discs with open-loop 6 and 9 numerals run to about 1992, closed-style wheels after that; the Field Manual records the cutoff. An open-6/9 wheel on a late-serial 16700 is a reason to look harder at the dial and hands. Service departments swapped date discs during movement work often enough that a disc out of step with the expected production year is one of the easier tells on an otherwise clean watch. Overlap at the boundary is likely, and no public Rolex service record pins the switchover to a month, so an off-year wheel prompts scrutiny without condemning the watch.

Tritium to Luminova / Super-LumiNova transition

Tritium dials, marked "SWISS T<25", run to about 1997. Sources differ on whether Luminova and Super-LumiNova appeared as separate stages: Sotheby's places Luminova in 1997 and Super-LumiNova later, while Monochrome treats the change as a direct move to Super-LumiNova. Some transitional examples are reported with older T<25-marked dial stock, so the dial text and lume need to be assessed together.

For a late non-tritium 16700, record the dial as post-tritium unless the dial and lume support a narrower assignment. Early-1997 or earlier examples are the clearest tritium group in the cited sources.

"Stick" dial (late examples)

Sotheby's listings from the late 1990s use "stick" for a dial subset carrying numerals only, with no Roman 6 or 9. Documented examples go back to 1991 Pepsi listings. No cited source maps the variant to a serial range.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is a 40mm steel Oyster rated to 100m, as on the 16750. The visible break with the 16750 is the crystal: sapphire with a Cyclops over the date where the older reference had acrylic.

The bezel is a bidirectional 24-hour aluminium insert, catalogued in two colourways: Pepsi (red and blue) and all-black. Pepsi examples are common in the auction record. Coke inserts in red and black do turn up on 16700s, but the configuration was never catalogued for the reference, so those are aftermarket fittings or service swaps. Factory Coke belongs to the 16710 and the 16760.

  • Pepsi bezel close-up
    Pepsi bezel close-up
  • Pepsi 16700 dial and bezel close crop
    Pepsi 16700 dial and bezel close crop
  • Late Pepsi 16700
    Late Pepsi 16700
  • 16700 caseback with reference-marked protective sticker
    16700 caseback with reference-marked protective sticker

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Period-correct delivery through most of the production window is the Oyster 78360 on a folding clasp, with 501 end-links early and 580 from mid-run. Bonhams Lot 4, a 1988 watch, carries that bracelet with a signed folding clasp stamped RS11, an unusual code.

Late production moves to the Oyster 78790A with Oysterlock, documented on late-1990s examples across the published literature. The Jubilee 62510H on 502B end-links was the dressier option.

Antiquorum Lot 88 (Geneva, June 2020) documents a 1996 head on a 93150/501B Oyster bracelet. The 93150 is a service or later replacement reference that became standard on the 16710, so on a 16700 it points to a service-era fitment.

Folding clasp stamped X8 with 78790 bracelet reference
Folding clasp stamped X8 with 78790 bracelet reference

Chuck Yeager / Real McCoy's special edition

A 50-piece special edition of the 16700 was produced in 1997 by The Real McCoy's, the Japanese vintage-clothing reissue brand. The customized watches carry Chuck Yeager and Bell X-1 dial or caseback markings with an edition number. Three auction-house lots document the run: Bonhams sold No. 14/50, case U443556, as a full set on 24 November 2018; Phillips Hong Kong XI offered No. 21/50, case U453541, on 28 November 2020; and Sotheby's Hong Kong catalogued a circa 1999 example, case A245609, in 2019. The exact engraving layout varies in published lot photographs, so use the watch and papers to verify the number.

Antiquorum catalogued a 16710 Real McCoy's in its Monaco sale of 16 July 2017. That watch belongs to the same limited-edition programme but is not a 16700.

Historical market and auction record

Sale Lot Year Serial Variant / config Hammer
Bonhams 25956/4 2020 R-serial 1988 Pepsi, 78360 / RS11 clasp GBP 10,687.50 incl. premium
Antiquorum Geneva 329-88 2020 T254282 1996 Pepsi delivered Dec 1996, full set with original Beyer receipt CHF 11,875
Sotheby's Geneva Important Watches 10 2019 T848499 c.1996 Pepsi, cal. 3175, with extra black bezel est. CHF 6,000–8,000
Sotheby's Fine Watches Online 417 2024 W752611 c.1995 Pepsi, faded bezel, tritium dial est. EUR 8,000–12,000
Bonhams 25232/969 2018 U443556 1997 Chuck Yeager / Real McCoy's No. 14/50, full set HK$ 106,250 incl. premium
Phillips Hong Kong XI 862 2020 U453541 c.1997 Chuck Yeager / Real McCoy's No. 21/50 est. HK$ 120,000–250,000
Sotheby's Hong Kong Important Watches 2023 2019 A245609 c.1999 Chuck Yeager / Real McCoy's est. HK$ 160,000–320,000

Auction results vary with the bezel, dial and lume, condition, paperwork and bracelet originality. The documented Chuck Yeager / Real McCoy's lots are a separate limited-edition group; their estimates and results should not be used as a guide to standard 16700 examples.

Related references

See also the GMT-Master family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

  • Rolex GMT-Master 16700
    Rolex GMT-Master 16700
  • Pepsi bezel insert
    Pepsi bezel insert
  • Pepsi dial and bezel
    Pepsi dial and bezel
  • Late Pepsi 16700
    Late Pepsi 16700
  • Black-bezel 16700
    Black-bezel 16700
  • 16700 caseback
    16700 caseback
  • 16700 bracelet clasp
    16700 bracelet clasp

Sources

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