The Pepsi is gone, and the Coke never came

Rolex does not explain itself, and it did not explain this. At Watches & Wonders the Pepsi simply stopped being in the catalogue — the steel 126710BLRO on both Oyster and Jubilee, and the white gold 126719BLRO with it. The long-rumoured Coke never arrived to replace it.

What is left is a GMT-Master II defined entirely by blue, grey and green: the Batman, the Batgirl, the grey-and-black that collectors settled on calling the Bruce Wayne, and the Sprite. For the first time since Rolex began making ceramic bezels, there is no red anywhere in the steel line-up.

The market moved first

It usually does. Steel Pepsis had already added close to 12% across the first quarter and were trading around $22,500 when the announcement landed. The rumour did the work weeks before the confirmation.

What we tell clients

Discontinued is not a synonym for rare. The 126710BLRO ran for eight years in volume and there are a great many in circulation. What changed is that supply is now finite while demand is not, and that gap closes slowly rather than overnight.

The examples that will do well are the ones that always do: unworn, full set, papers matching the case. If you are holding one, have it valued before you decide anything. If you want one, they are still findable at a price that reflects the old market — which is a window, not a permanent condition.