Today Im going to launch one of the most requested watches since the launch of Watches and Pencils. It will be all about this famous?thirst quencher:
Old NicknameThe nickname Pepsi for the Rolex GMT-Master seems to be quite old. I found several sources that go back multiple decades. It is an old and at least one of the most famous nicknames. Almost every watchnerd knows what youre talking about when you speak about the Rolex Pepsi. Intentionally, Rolex created the famous blue/red bezel by request of Pan-Am. This airliner asked Rolex to develop the watch because the flights were becoming longer and pilots needed something to read multiple timezones. One of the requested features in this project was that the bezel colors needed to match to the Pan-Am Airlines' company colors.
Rolex GMT-Master 1675Advertisements do not always promote PepsiSo which model was the first nicknamed Pepsi? The first Rolex GMT dates from?1954 (reference 6542). It has a?bakelite bezel and was a great hit. Not much later the model was upgraded with an aluminium bezel (bi-directional). Until today, this model (reference 1675) is still one of the most sought after vintage watches. Both of the watches are widely named Pepsi. But was it called Pepsi right from the beginning? Nowadays, crisp (digital) advertisements now let the colors stand out and emphasize the blue and red colors. A link to Pepsi is made easier. But, back in the 50s, 60s and 70s a lot of Rolex advertisements were in black and white. Back in the days, you really had to go to the shop to see the watch and all of its colors in full glory. This brings me back to the question: when was the term Pepsi introduced?
Old advertisements for the Rolex GMT promotion.Coke or Fat Lady?Fast forward. Back in the 80s a new Rolex GMT-Master model was introduced (reference 16760). With other bezel colors to?differentiate between the GMT Master and GMT Master II. The GMT Master was recognizable by its alternative bezel colors: black and red. It was therefore nicknamed Coke and Fat Lady (because of the thicker case). While Coke is also a popular term in the world of watchnerds, it never became as popular as Pepsi. The reason for this might be that the watch has multiple nicknames and not only one true nickname which everybody uses.16700: Turning point?The?16700 might be the first model which was nicknamed Pepsi back in the 80s. Why? Well, as said, from that point there were 2 color variations of the GMT. The Pepsi and Coke variant. As you might, know, there were other color variations before this point, but they not widely sold in public. Was the 16700 the first GMT which was nicknamed Pepsi?
Rolex GMT-Master 16700 on Jubilee braceletExtended expiration date of the soft drinkVintage Rolex GMT-Master bezels tend to fade. Depending on the environment there are many, many known color variants. To name some: brown, pink, purple, light-blue, etcetera. This problem was fixed with the introduction of the Cerachrome bezels on the last two Rolex GMT Pepsi models (reference 116719BLRO and 126710).?They preserve their Pepsi colors and do not fade.
Pepsi or not?Of course, through time other brands also released watches with the primary colors blue and red included in the bezel. It seems like there are multiple views on the word Pepsi:Pepsi stands for a Rolex GMT-Master with a blue and red bezel. Rolex was the first company who released this design element.Pepsi stands for a bezel with blue and red accents. The bezel doesnt have to be divided exactly into halves by these two colors. Also, it may also be a dive watch instead of a pilots watch.Personally, I like the first one the most. It was the first one. But, as with all nicknames, its a bit confusing and fuzzy. It is one of the aspects which forms the soil of this interesting hobby and multiple discussions.
Seiko 7002 Diver: Pepsi or not?ConclusionThe Rolex GMT-Master?II Pepsi has a long and famous history. Unlike nicknames like Hulk and Batman its not clear when the watch was first nicknamed Pepsi. Its a true icon and a grail watch for many. If you want to dive deeper into other details of this watch youre in the right place. Balazs wrote an in-depth article about reference 1675 (link here) and we also published a GMT-Master history overview.
I hope your thirst is over now. See you in the next episode!Ordering cartoon prints and stickers can be done via Watchesandpencils.com
