A feat no one else has achieved. This is a statement we have grown used to when it comes to Rolex watches as you look back through their history and the achievements they have gained along the way. Surprisingly this year, a lot of watch aficionados were absolutely spot on when it came to guessing what Rolex had in store for us in the form of a White Gold GMT Master II 116719BLRO.
We have grown accustomed to Ceramic bezels since the GMT Master II was re-introduced with the Cerachrom bezel insert and since then we have seen the bezels featured on the whole Submariner family, Yacht-Master II and more recently the Daytona. These however have all been one colour bezels with bezel markers showing through that have been inlaid usually with platinum or gold. Last year Rolex put to bed the doubts that they would be unable to produce a Ceramic bezel with two colours, reminiscent of the old favourites, the “Coke” and “Pepsi” bezel which were black/red and blue/red respectively. They introduced to us the 116710BLNR, known as the “Bruiser” or the “Batman”, and imaginations ran wild. The “Bruiser” was an instant hit with demand far outstripping supply creating an instant modern classis with those that love all to do with Rolex Watches.
It was only maybe a week or so before BaselWorld 2014 that rumours began circulating about a new possible addition to the GMT family and pictures began to surface of a White Gold version with the ever famous “Pepsi” bezel. Rolex tried to sway people away from this rumour by releasing a short teaser which showed a watch with a very fine fluted bezel which then took watch lovers in a new direction. However on the 26th March 2014 Rolex announced their new line of watches which was to include the 116719BLRO as the main highlight piece of the new collection. The introduction of this model in White Gold surprised quite a few but I see it as Rolex filling a gap in their collection having never previously offered the GMT Master II in White Gold until now.
Early indications show that the watch is an instant hit with those followers of Rolex Watches with Social Media buzzing with activity since the announcement at BaselWorld 2014. A possible price list for the new collection was also leaked just before the announcement of the 2014 collection with a rough price of £26,000 given for the new 116719BLRO.
We still have more news on the new releases from Rolex so please stay tuned with us at Cheshire Watch Company as we bring you information straight from the show.