A lot has been talked about the ongoing recession in the luxury watch market. The prices for pre-owned high-end watches have sharply declined over the last 18 months, and the brand that has been the worst affected by this downturn is Rolex. Per the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, prices for Rolex timepieces are dropping faster than for any other brand on the secondary market. The worst performer for last month was the discontinued black dial and green aluminum bezel Rolex Submariner Kermit ref. 16610LV, which was down 4.6% in November with an average traded price of less than $15,000. However, some Rolex timepieces have managed to hold their value despite the slump and have done better than other references. One of them is the highly desirable Rolex GMT-Master II ‘Pepsi’ 126710BLRO, which still continues to maintain its unobtanium status.
According to the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which reports data for the 50 most-traded timepieces, the average resale price for the Rolex Pepsi has remained the same over the last 12 months. Hovering close to the $ 20,000 mark, the average price of the timepiece in the secondary market is close to twice its actual retail price of $10,900. It must be noted that the resale prices for Rolex Pepsi peaked in April 2022 when the average traded price almost breached $29,000, according to the Subdial index. After a sharp decline over the next six months, where the legendary watch lost almost one-third of its value, it has not dropped below $18,000. This goes on to show that the Rolex Pepsi is still highly in demand amongst collectors.
The Rolex Pepsi has been around since the Swiss watch brand debuted the GMT-Master in the mid-1950s. It was nicknamed Pepsi after its famous bi-color bezel of red and white – the most famous colorway in the GMT-Master lineup. In 2007, Rolex discontinued the GMT-Master II 16710, making it the last reference to have a Pepsi bezel made from anodized aluminum. For the next 11 years, the line-up did not a steel version of its iconic pilot watch a red and blue “Pepsi” bezel.
Big changes were announced for the entire GMT-Master II line-up in 2018, which included the return of the steel Pepsi GMT in the form of the ref. 126710BLRO. Instead of an aluminum bezel, the new reference came equipped with a blue and red Cerachrom bezel. Also new was the new-generation Caliber 3285 movement, along with slightly tweaked lugs. Later, in 2021, Rolex announced that the watch would also be available with a three-link Oyster bracelet. The Swiss watch brand also slightly tweaked the red and blue colors of the bezel, bringing it closer to the original.
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