It has been a rough two years in the pre-owned Rolex market.
Fuelled by a heady brew of low interest rates, a booming stock market, and roaring cryptocurrency wealth, the resale market for Swiss AAA Rolex replica watches topped out in March 2022 and began a seemingly interminable slide.
As the market shows signs of levelling out, some of the highest-flying variants, including several iterations of the UK 1:1 fake Rolex Daytona watches, are worth thousands of dollars less than they were at their peak. Still, some models are starting to bounce back in value.
In a year that has mostly seen prices limp along, one model is bucking the trend with an unambiguously strong performance for the brand: iconic red and blue bezeled perfect Rolex GMT-Master II replica watches (Ref. 126710BLRO), known fondly as “Pepsi”.
“If it has a Pepsi insert on it, I’m gonna sell it for US$1,000 premium over Coke insert,” said Bob’s Watches COO Carol Altieri, referring to the red and black bezel. “Everybody wants that Pepsi insert.”
It’s somewhat fitting that this model is leading the pack.
Designed as a utilitarian pilot’s luxury Rolex copy watches, Rolex introduced the GMT in 1955 with a dedicated hand to track the 24 hours of the day. The original two-color bezel was red for daylight hours and blue for night, and other colour combos were introduced later.
Switching to a ceramic bezel initially limited the colour options, but 10 years ago, cheap replica Rolex watches managed to produce a red ceramic to match the original hue.
According to multiple tracking services, the price of the top 2024 fake Rolex Pepsi GMT watches has gone up more than any other Rolex in the past 12 months. It’s also currently the top performer in the Bloomberg-Subdial Index of the 50 most traded Swiss watches.
Unlike many of the best-performing watches, this particular Swiss movements super clone Rolex Pepsi GMT watches is still in production and can technically still be bought at retail – but good luck finding a dealer who will sell it to you.
What’s more, this Rolex replica watches for sale is selling on the pre-owned market for around US$21,000, or nearly twice its US$10,700 retail price.
“Sellers are a little bit more aggressive. They know that they have something that’s worth a little bit more, so they’re a little bit harder to buy,” Altieri said.
Still, people are buying. Altieri said it typically takes about two weeks to turn over her Rolex inventory, but the China online fake Rolex Pepsi GMT watches turn every two days. “They go a lot faster,” she said.
Altieri also said that the price could be a feature of relatively constrained supply compared with other colours.
“For every Pepsi that comes into the queue, I probably see at least six or seven of the blue and black,” she said.
David versus Goliath, Achilles versus Hector, and now, Zach versus Borna. Wait… Why am I talking in the third person? Alas, today I find myself in a battle for glory. A battle as old as time, or, rather, as old as 1959 when the Rolex GMT-Master II was first introduced on a Jubilee bracelet alongside the Oyster from four years earlier. Often with Rolex, you are limited to one factory option for the bracelet that is paired with your perfect Rolex replica watches. The GMT-Master II, however, as of 2021, is one rare example of a professional Rolex model where you have two options to explore when configuring your purchase. As the latest GMT-Master II ref. 126710GRNR was presented to us in our Rolex Watches and Wonders appointment, the two configurations were passed around – my personal favourite on a Jubilee in my hand, and the Oyster version in Borna’s. As I proclaimed that the GMT-Master II looks its best on the Jubilee, Borna scoffed in dissent favouring it on the Oyster bracelet.
In the reel above you will see the beginnings of our debate, but we decided, in our professionalism, to park the conversation to save it for the ring (the Time+Tide website), and that’s what you’re seeing here. Admittedly, as much as it pains me to say, there is no one right answer – this is, of course, completely subjective. But, it is now time to see which of us in your hearts will be the victor and who will be sent to horological Valhalla.
The Rolex GMT-Master II looks best on a Jubilee bracelet
I once posed this question to Kevin O’Leary (a.k.a Mr. Wonderful), of Shark Tank fame during a Clubhouse chat with Bob’s Watches back during the pandemic when Clubhouse was actually still a thing. Kevin was definitely team Oyster, citing that vintage jubilee bracelets are a pain to maintain and don’t have the same solidity and robustness as its Oyster counterpart. But the modern Jubilee is stronger than ever, with rattle stretch bracelets a thing of the past across all modern bracelet styles. It is also, in my opinion, much more comfortable on the wrist. When you consider that all the UK AAA Rolex fake watches bracelets today effectively have equal solidity and robustness, I am going to hone in strictly on the aesthetic.
I’ll concede this: there is nothing objectively wrong with top replica Rolex GMT-Master II watches on an Oyster bracelet. It is, after all, the bracelet it was born on in 1955. But in the modern catalogue you are not getting a fully brushed Oyster, instead you get the centre polished links that you would find on a Rolex Datejust. I think this is a miscalculation on Rolex’s part, ultimately offering two bracelets with a sense of elegance rather than one option that leans more into a tool watch aesthetic and another leaning into a more elevated look. In my opinion the Jubilee will always better convey sophistication than the Oyster, and the Jubilee better evokes the cosmopolitan coolness of the golden age of flying as well. When the watch was introduced in the 1950s, air travel was still a very sophisticated affair, with travellers suiting up like Don Draper as they flew around the world. The Submariner and Explorer are your no glamour tool Rolex copy watches for sale. The GMT-Master II, tied to the class of traversing the sky, is a much more glamorous affair then diving into water or hiking up mountains.
If the Oyster bracelet offered today for the GMT-Master II were fully brushed, I would understand people saying it better evokes best 2024 Rolex GMT-Master replica watches of the past. But, as it stands, the Jubilee configuration is the only style that truly pays tribute to those early Rolex GMT-Master watches and the golden age imagery that has made it a lasting icon to this day. The current mixed-finished Oyster bracelet has one foot on each side of the spectrum, neither perfectly embodying the tool watch or classy watch – a bit of an identity crisis. Whenever I see a modern Submariner or Daytona somehow on a Jubilee instead of an Oyster, admittedly I cry foul. Those references are at home on Oyster bracelets, and for the Explorers and Submariners in steel it makes complete sense. Once you jump to precious metal, polished centre links enter the fold – again, makes sense. And, the Daytona now is so far removed from its tool origins as a luxury status symbol with the highest secondary premium. So, I will let the mixed finished Oyster stand. For the modern GMT-Master II, however, I will always ride or die for team Jubilee. It distinguishes it better from the Submariner, which, aside from its bezel scale and the number of central hands, is identical in design. Cosmopolitan pilot’s watch. The word cosmopolitan justifies the Jubilee alone.
The Rolex GMT-Master II looks best on a Oyster bracelet
Right out of the gate, I have to come out with a disclaimer. I firmly believe that the Oyster bracelet looks best on a modern Rolex GMT. There’s a few reasons for this, and the first is the way the cheap Rolex fake watches has evolved throughout the years. Pick up any GMT with a ceramic bezel, and the size and shape of its numerals, as well as the large features of the dial just don’t gel well with the fine(r) links of the Jubilee in my opinion. The inherent bulkiness and brawniness of any modern Rolex (admit it, it’s true), work better with the wider, flat surfaces of the Oyster. In my eyes, this also has nothing to do with the historical implications of the GMT being born on an Oyster bracelet. Just because it was created as such doesn’t mean it’s the be-all and end-all of GMT designs, though I see how that could influence someone’s preferences.
Now, Zach does bring up a good point when it comes to polished and brushed surfaces. I completely agree that the Oyster would work better if it was fully brushed, but I feel like that’s a moot point to make considering the fact that the Jubilee is even blingier with its multi-piece construction. And that leads me to my biggest problem with the modern Rolex Jubilee, and not just when it comes to fitting it on Swiss movements Rolex GMT-Master II super clone watches. For me, the charm of a Jubilee bracelet is in its slight jankiness and rattliness, giving it supreme comfort on the wrist. The modern ones don’t have any of that thanks to superior manufacturing, but I feel like some of the charm is lost along with it. When it comes to dressier pieces like a fluted-bezel Datejust or the Jubilee’s cousin, the President bracelet on a Day-Date, I have no qualms. Why? Because they’re embodiments of what modern Rolex has become.
If we’re talking luxury replica Rolex GMT watches and their accompanying bracelets in general, in my opinion, nothing beats a nipple dial Rootbeer on a jangly Jubilee. But if I was ushered into a Rolex boutique today and made to pick out a new one, I have no doubts it would be this very watch – the monochromatic GMT 126710 on an Oyster bracelet… That I would then proceed to sell and buy a vintage one.
Bob’s Watches launched its first online auction back in the fall of 2018. Since then, the preowned retailer has hosted a number of sales, unsurprisingly with a focus on best Rolex replica watches from The Crown. Coming up on the auction block this Friday, November 10th is special UK AAA fake Rolex “Pepsi” GMT-Master Ref. 1675 watches from 1968.
This particular high quality replica Rolex GMT-Master watches comes with the added bonus of historical significance. The luxury Rolex copy watches comes from its original owner, United States Navy veteran Thomas Francis Finley Jr. Finley served for 28 years, retired as a captain, and has volunteered on the U.S.S. Midway stationed at Navy Pier in San Diego for the past 17 years. He joined the Navy in October of 1966 and piloted the H3 helicopter for a variety of special operations, including the retrieval of the astronauts from Apollo 14 after splashing down in the South Pacific Ocean on February 9, 1971.
Finley purchased the Swiss movements Rolex GMT-Master replica watches in 1969 in Hong Kong at the Artland Watch Co. while he was on a week-long “shore leave” during the Vietnam War. His standard-issue field watch had flooded, and he knew he needed a reliable timekeeper. At the time, Finley didn’t know much about watches but heard the name “Rolex” from other service members and was lucky enough to find this Pepsi GMT.
This top super clone Rolex Ref. 1675 watches features a classic stainless steel build and relatively modern 40mm proportions. The Pepsi bezel has faded beautifully, and the dial has a gorgeous patina. The cheap replica Rolex watches up for grabs includes a full set with a Rolex box, GMT Pamphlet, Rolex wallet, punched Chronometer papers (with corresponding case and movement numbers to the watch), punched “Your Rolex Oyster” booklet, Cigarette card, and chronometer hang tag.
This exceptional 1:1 online Rolex fake watches went on to accompany Finley throughout his three decades of service, including the crucial Apollo 14 recovery mission where he co-piloted the helicopter that picked up the astronauts. In addition to the GMT, he also managed to acquire many of the historical artifacts to accompany the watch, which will be included in the auction.
The perfect replica Rolex “Pepsi” GMT-Master Ref. 1675 watches from 1968 will go up for auction this Friday, November 10 at 12 p.m. EST. Bidding will start at $9,500 and the watch is expected to sell for up to $30,000. For the full listing of the GMT and the full list of historical artifacts that accompany the lot, head over to Bob’s website.
