Rolex Has Officially Bid Farewell To The Pepsi Watch
But is it really the last we'll be seeing of it?
The rumour mill has proved to be true: at Watches and Wonders 2026, Rolex has officially discontinued one of its most recognisable modern watches: the GMT-Master II “Pepsi.”
Both key references have been pulled from the catalogue: the stainless-steel ref. 126710BLRO and the white gold ref. 126719BLRO. As of writing this article, the red-and-blue bezel configuration has been completely removed from Rolex’s official website, marking a full exit for the watch from Rolex’s catalogue (for the time being, at least).
The... Pepsi Watch?
If you were living under a rock, this particular GMT-Master II was called the Pepsi watch because of its red-and-blue Cerachrom bezel, which is incredibly difficult to make (more on that later). It’s also one of the hardest Rolex watches to obtain at retail.
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The Pepsi watch is just one of the many two-tone bezel watches offered in GMT Master II line of Rolex. The GMT Master II also had a single-tone black bezel, but that’s been discontinued for some time now.
Initially, the Pepsi bezel was developed in the 50s for GMT-Master ref. 6542, so that Pan Am pilots could track multiple time zones. And the Bakelite red-and-blue 24-hour bezel that people mistake for some sort of homage to Pepsi was actually designed to distinguish day and night hours for these pilots.
Why Rolex Pulled The Plug On The Pepsi
While Rolex has not publicly detailed its reasoning as of yet, the industry as a whole agrees that it’s due to manufacturing challenges. Producing a two-toned ceramic bezel in bright colours without any surface coatings is technically difficult. The Pepsi Bezel reportedly has a high rejection rate during production, which means that for every bezel that is made, a large number will not turn out stale enough to add to the final watch.
This is particularly true for the red and blue bezels. Other GMT-Master II bezel combinations, such as black-and-blue (also called the Batman bezel) or black-and-grey (Bruce Wayne, Rolex sure loves its comic books), are easier to stabilise in ceramic form as they are darker in colour.
Besides, it’s not like the Pepsi watch has never been discontinued before. In fact, Rolex deliberately removes it from their catalogue to sometimes amplify its appeal. Between 2007 and 2014, no “Pepsi” variants were available, and when the model returned, demand for the watch shot through the roof.
Which is not too different from what we saw these last few days. At the time of discontinuation, purchase requests for the Pepsi GMT-Master II surged by over 500 per cent compared to 2025 averages, with resale market prices consistently selling the watch at more than double the retail price. Some variants even sold at the prices of a Panda Daytona.
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With the Pepsi gone, Rolex’s current GMT lineup includes these more production-friendly configurations. The rumours also theorised that the red-and-black Coke bezel would make a return, but no replacement for the Pepsi has been announced as of now.