Speculation was rife before this year’s Watches and Wonders that Rolex would be discontinuing its ultra-popular GMT Master II with the red and blue ceramic ‘Pepsi’ bezel.
In the autumn of last year WatchPro reported rumours that production of the Pepsi bezel was proving problematic, and the reference would be facing the axe in 2024.
Rolex declined to comment.
Forums popular with flippers and other traders were alight with suggestions that the failure rate for the manufacture of the iconic blue and red 24-hour bezel for the GMT is so high that Rolex would cut the watch from its catalog.
That discontinuation speculation stimulated demand, which has seen prices rising since September of last year as demand outstripped supply for new or used pieces.
The imperfection of speculation was exposed in April as Rolex kept the Pepsi in its line-up, which appears to have caused a correction since the beginning of April from close to $21,000 to $20,000 today.
