2019 Rolex GMT-Master II 18ct White Gold Pepsi 126719BLRO
Ref: 126719BLRO
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : 18ct White Gold
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Rolex box and paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original polished and brushed 18ct White Gold Rolex three-piece Oyster bracelet, OysterLock clasp has 5mm Easylink micro-adjustments and is a full-sized bracelet. The watch is from June 2019 and is sold in worn, but overall in very fair condition with light wear visible, as you can see from the photographs. A full case and bracelet refurb can be provided at an additional cost. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1F83Mfj44a2u7EVuf2TRssBPsfHUZ0SNl?usp=sharing
4K YouTube video, skip to 3:04 - https://youtu.be/3Qjbkz1UjSQ
The Watch
The GMT-Master story begins in 1955 when their very first pilot watch was made for Panam pilot's ref 6542, which featured a bakelite bezel. It was replaced with the ref. 1675 which was in production from 1959 until 1980 when the ref. 16750 was introduced until Rolex replaced it with the ref:16700 in 1988. At NASA Jack Swigert of Apollo 13 wore one in 1970, and US Air Force pilots wore them, it was also worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger in 1964.
Here we have a 2019 Rolex GMT-Master II 18ct White Gold Pepsi 126719BLRO with a curvaceous 40mm 18ct White Gold Oyster case, the lugs gently curve over your wrist with a lug-to-lug length of 47.5mm and a thickness of 11.5mm giving the watch an impressive wrist presence. Polished and brushed surfaces transition with crisp flowing lines showcasing the understated prestige. On the right side is an 18ct White Gold Triplock screw-down signed crown, protected by crown guards. The 18ct White Gold bidirectional bezel has a 24-hour “Pepsi” Cerachrom insert in ceramic. The numerals are deeply engraved into the ceramic. A sapphire crystal has a cyclops magnification at 3 o’clock. The midnight blue dial has disc and baton indexes framed in 18ct White Gold and filled with Chromalight marking the hours. At 3 o’clock a large date window. An applied Rolex crown at 12 o'clock with precisely printed text. The Mercedes's hands are framed in 18ct White Gold and filled with Chromalight complemented by an arrow-tipped GMT hand and lollipop sweeping second-hand. The GMT hand circles the dial once every 24 hours. The hour hand can be adjusted forwards or backwards independently of the minute and second hands. On the reverse, a coin-edged screw-down case back, inside an automatic Rolex Cal. 3285, 31 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, Superlative Chronometer is their in-house version of testing that goes beyond COSC specifications. The watch comes fitted on its polished and brushed Rolex 20mm three-piece Oyster bracelet in 18ct White Gold, the folding OysterLock clasp has 5mm Easylink micro-adjustments that simplify adjusting the bracelet, all links are provided and also comes with its Rolex presentation box, swing tag and papers.
Personal Note
For me, this is the epitome of elegant luxury from Rolex, the white gold adds a layer of stealth that only those in the know, know... The weight of the watch is incredible, especially the first time you try it on, you really know you are wearing it. The blue dial paired with the blue and red of the bezel is perfect too, though all of this is no surprise as Rolex really know what they are doing when it comes to making a luxury watch. If you are unsure about this piece, book an appointment and come see it for yourself.
The Brand
In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which are installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers came up with a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster, and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released Datejust. The Datejust was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960, saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.