Pepsi and Root Beer started as soft drinks, but on a GMT-Master II, they turned into a quick read on personality. In the Rolex Root Beer vs Pepsi debate, you used to be choosing between two travel watches with the same modern movement and different surface energy.
That changed on April 14, 2026. At Watches and Wonders Geneva, Rolex quietly discontinued the steel and white gold Pepsi. The 126710BLRO disappeared from rolex.com the same day. The Root Beer 126711CHNR is now the only two-tone GMT-Master II in current production, and the Pepsi is now a closed-supply market piece.
That shift is the whole point of this article. Keep reading because the right call between these two changed the moment the Pepsi left the catalog.
What the 2026 Pepsi Discontinuation Changed
Rolex pulled both Pepsi references at Watches and Wonders 2026, and no Coke replacement showed up. That means the steel GMT-Master II catalog now runs Batman, Batgirl, Bruce Wayne, and Sprite. No red bezel anywhere in the active steel lineup, for the first time in the Cerachrom era.
If the Bruce Wayne is on your radar as a stealthier alternative to the Pepsi, our full Pepsi vs Bruce Wayne breakdown covers the differences in detail.
For this comparison, three things shifted:
The Pepsi is no longer a wait-list watch you can chase at retail. It is a discontinued reference with a fixed remaining inventory, traded only on the secondary market.
Pre-owned Pepsi prices moved hard in the run-up to Watches and Wonders and again after the April announcement. WatchCharts logged a roughly 12% Q1 gain on the 126710BLRO alone, with the broader Pepsi family pulling the GMT-Master collection index up almost two points in April.
The Root Beer 126711CHNR is now the only two-tone GMT-Master II currently in production. That makes it the default Everose Rolesor option for anyone who walked into an authorized dealer wanting a current GMT in mixed metal.
The closest historical parallel is the Submariner Hulk 116610LV, which was pulled in 2020 and roughly doubled in secondary market value within two years. The Pepsi starts from a much higher base, so the percentage move may not match, but the pattern is the same: a famous nickname leaves the catalog, supply caps, and the market reprices what is left.
Rolex Root Beer Overview
The modern Rolex Root Beer is the GMT-Master II 126711CHNR, a two-tone Everose Rolesor GMT with a brown-black Cerachrom bezel. It runs the same caliber 3285 GMT movement as the Pepsi but wears warmer and slightly heavier, and as of 2026 it is still in active Rolex production.
The Root Beer nickname goes back to the late 1970s, when collectors started using it for two-tone GMTs like the ref. 1675/3 and ref. 16753, because the brown-and-gold tones looked like the soda. Rolex carried that identity forward in 2018 by relaunching the style in Everose Rolesor with Cerachrom and the modern movement.
Buyers lean toward Root Beer when they want a GMT that does not shout. Everose adds warmth without yellow gold brightness, which keeps the watch wearable across casual and smart-casual outfits. The brown-black Cerachrom shifts character depending on lighting, moving from sporty to dress-leaning depending on what you wear with it.
If you are mapping the wider family before committing, our full Rolex GMT-Master II buying guide walks through where this two-tone reference sits.
Root Beer Key Specifications
- Reference: 126711CHNR
- Case size: 40 mm
- Case material: Everose Rolesor (Oystersteel and 18k Everose gold)
- Bezel: bidirectional 24-hour brown-black Cerachrom
- Movement: caliber 3285 automatic GMT
- Power reserve: approximately 70 hours
- Water resistance: 100 m
- Bracelet: Oyster, Everose Rolesor
- Production status: in production as of 2026
Rolex Pepsi Overview
The modern Rolex Pepsi is the GMT-Master II 126710BLRO, a 40 mm Oystersteel travel watch with the red-and-blue Cerachrom bezel that made the nickname famous. As of April 14, 2026 it is no longer in production. See the section above for the full catalog impact.
The history goes back further than most people realize. Rolex launched the GMT in the mid-1950s for Pan Am pilots, and collectors started calling the red-and-blue version Pepsi in the late 1950s, beginning with the ref. 6542. That nickname stuck across multiple generations, including the long-running 16710 and the ceramic 126710BLRO that launched in 2018.
We cover how the GMT complication evolved across the lineup in a separate piece.
What buyers used to chase here was a steel Cerachrom GMT with the sharpest day-night contrast in the lineup, the Jubilee or Oyster bracelet option, and the cleanest tool-watch identity Rolex still made. What buyers chase now is a discontinued reference with no successor in the same colorway.
Our full Rolex Pepsi buying guide goes deeper on every reference and what to pay for each.
Pepsi Key Specifications
- Reference: 126710BLRO
- Case size: 40 mm
- Case material: Oystersteel
- Bezel: bidirectional 24-hour red-blue Cerachrom
- Movement: caliber 3285 automatic GMT
- Power reserve: approximately 70 hours
- Water resistance: 100 m
- Bracelet: Jubilee or Oyster
- Production status: discontinued April 14, 2026
Rolex Pepsi vs Root Beer: The Real Differences Now
The mechanical comparison is settled. Same case dimensions, same caliber 3285, same 70-hour reserve, same 100 m water resistance, same Chromalight lume. What separates them is everything around the movement: the metal, the bezel contrast, the production status, and what each one signals on the wrist.
Bezel Contrast
Bezel Contrast and Day-Night Readability
Pepsi reads faster because the red-blue Cerachrom split creates a sharp day-night divide on the bezel. The contrast is immediate, which is why it always wore like a classic tool GMT even when the rest of the watch said dress.
Root Beer reads softer because the brown-black Cerachrom keeps the 24-hour scale closer in tone. In shade or indoor light, the bezel blends into the dial, which calms the watch down and lets it sit cleaner with a jacket. You give up some quick-glance speed in trade for a less graphic wrist.
Weight and Wrist Feel
Root Beer feels heavier and more planted because Everose Rolesor adds gold weight to the bezel and the center bracelet links. The mass shifts slightly downward on the wrist and gives the watch a more solid, almost jewelry-adjacent presence. After a full day, you notice it.
Pepsi in Oystersteel sits lighter and flatter, with the balance spread evenly across a steel bracelet. That made it the easier watch to rotate into a multi-watch box and the easier one to forget on the wrist.
Metal Composition
Root Beer uses Everose Rolesor, which is Oystersteel plus Rolex’s proprietary Everose gold on the bezel, crown, and center links. Everose warms under sunlight, softens reflections, and pairs naturally with leather, gold rings, and mixed-metal wardrobes.
Pepsi uses Oystersteel only, which kept it sharp-edged, bright, and easy to match. Single-metal construction was always part of why Pepsi felt like a tool watch even at GMT-Master II pricing.
Production Status and Availability
This is where the comparison genuinely changed in 2026.
Root Beer remains in active production. Authorized dealer allocation is still tight, but the 126711CHNR is buildable on Rolex’s configurator and trades close to retail on the secondary market, which makes it the easier buy if you just want the watch on the wrist.
Pepsi is discontinued in both steel (126710BLRO) and white gold (126719BLRO). No new units are being delivered to dealers. Everything that exists now sits in pre-owned inventory, collector vaults, or grey-market dealer stock. That changes the buying psychology completely. You are no longer playing the AD waitlist game. You are buying a finite-supply piece on the open market.
Price and Market Demand in 2026
The price gap between these two opened up after April 14, 2026. Here is what each side looks like as of 2026.
Root Beer 126711CHNR
- US retail: approximately $14,800
- Secondary market value: approximately $18,193
- Median time to sell: 23 days
- Status: in production
The Root Beer trades slightly above its retail figure on the secondary market, which is unusual but reflects the fact that allocation at authorized dealers is still slow. A 23-day median sell time signals healthy demand on the resale side without the speculative pressure of a steel sports Rolex.
More GMT-Master II
2026 NEW UNWORN Rolex GMT-Master II "Sprite" Black Dial Black Green Ceramic Bezel Oyster Bracelet Stainless Steel 40mm COMPLETE SET 126720VTNR
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Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi Black Dial Blue Red Ceramic Bezel Jubilee Bracelet Stainless Steel 40mm MINT CONDITION COMPLETE SET 126710BLRO
Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi Black Dial Blue/Red Ceramic Bezel Jubilee Bracelet Stainless Steel 40mm MINT CONDITION COMPLETE SET 126710BLRO
2026 NEW UNWORN Rolex GMT-Master II "Zombie" Black Dial Black Grey Ceramic Bezel Jubilee Bracelet Two-Tone 18k Yellow Gold Stainless Steel 40mm COMPLETE SET 126713GRNR-0001
2026 Rolex GMT-Master II "Bruce Wayne" Black Dial Black Grey Ceramic Bezel Jubilee Bracelet Stainless Steel 40mm MINT CONDITION COMPLETE SET 126710GRNR-0003
Pepsi 126710BLRO
- Pre-discontinuation retail: $11,800 (no longer available)
- Average pre-owned market: approximately $25,000
- Unworn 2026-dated examples: $40,000+
- Status: discontinued April 14, 2026
The Pepsi premium that always existed at retail has now become the only price you can pay, because retail itself is gone. Average pre-owned examples are trading around $25,000 based on current Chrono24 listings and WatchCharts data.
Unworn full-set 2025 and 2026 pieces are pushing past $40,000. The Jubilee bracelet variant trades at roughly a 5% premium over the Oyster on equivalent condition. If you are deciding between the two, we walk through Jubilee vs Oyster in detail in a separate guide.
The risk is real on both sides of this trade. If demand cools after the discontinuation cycle runs its course, current asks compress. If Rolex eventually brings back a red bezel in a different form (Coke speculation is real, given Rolex’s 2022 patent for red-and-black ceramic), the Pepsi premium could ease.
We have laid out how a Coke might stack up against the Pepsi if and when it arrives. Pricing it like a one-way investment is how buyers get burned.
Specification Comparison
The mechanical and dimensional side of these two watches is effectively identical. The table below is shorter than it used to be because the spec line items that genuinely differ are not many.
| Spec | Rolex Root Beer 126711CHNR | Rolex Pepsi 126710BLRO |
| Case material | Everose Rolesor | Oystersteel |
| Bezel | Brown-black Cerachrom | Red-blue Cerachrom |
| Bracelet | Oyster, Everose Rolesor | Jubilee or Oyster, Oystersteel |
| Movement | Caliber 3285 | Caliber 3285 |
| Power reserve | ~70 hours | ~70 hours |
| Water resistance | 100 m | 100 m |
| Case size | 40 mm | 40 mm |
| Production status | In production (2026) | Discontinued April 14, 2026 |
| US Retail | ~$14,800 | $11,800 (pre-discontinuation) |
| Secondary market | ~$18,193 | ~$25,000 average, $40,000+ unworn |
Which One You Should Actually Buy in 2026
Both watches share the same movement, the same case, and the same Chromalight lume. The decision now is less about specs and more about what you are actually buying. One is a current production two-tone watch you can still get with a fresh warranty. The other is a discontinued steel reference that just left the catalog and is trading like collectors expect it to keep moving.
Choose Root Beer If
- You want a GMT-Master II you can still buy through normal channels, with a current-production warranty
- You like Everose warmth and want a watch that can swing from casual to smart-casual without trying
- You prefer buying closer to retail and want predictable pricing
- You wear mixed metals and want the watch to slot in without looking forced
- You want one GMT that covers most of your wardrobe instead of chasing the loudest option
Choose Pepsi If
- You want the discontinued reference and you accept the premium that comes with it
- You like the sharp red-blue bezel and the cleaner all-steel feel for daily wear
- You are comfortable buying on the secondary market and verifying condition closely
- You see the discontinuation as a reason to buy now rather than wait
- You want a piece with the strongest nickname recognition in the modern Rolex sports lineup
Where to Buy Authentic Watches Online
There are a handful of legitimate online channels for buying either of these. Chrono24 has the deepest listing inventory and an escrow service that holds payment until the watch is in your hands. If you have not used the platform before, we cover what to watch for on Chrono24 in a separate guide.
eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee program covers Rolex listings above a price threshold and routes the watch through an authentication center before delivery. Grailzee runs timed auctions on authenticated luxury watches and is useful when you want to set a hard ceiling.
For high-end discontinued references like the white gold Pepsi 126719BLRO, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips auctions are worth tracking. Independent grey-market dealers and forum sales add a fourth channel, where pricing is sometimes sharper but vetting falls more on you.
Our overview of where to source a pre-owned luxury watch covers the trade-offs across each channel.
We also sell, buy, and trade luxury watches, and what most clients tell us they value is the layer of communication before they commit to a piece.
Before you decide, we send tour videos of the actual watch we have in hand, not stock photos, plus condition notes on bracelet stretch, clasp wear, case edges, and bezel condition. You are not buying blind off a listing.
That is reflected in our 4.9-star Google rating, which comes from clients who appreciate being talked through the watch rather than sold to.
If you want a walkthrough on a Root Beer 126711CHNR or a discontinued Pepsi 126710BLRO we currently have, reach out and we will send tour videos, condition notes, and warranty details on the specific pieces in our inventory. The Pepsi market moves fast right now, and we will help you read the listing before you commit.
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Final Thoughts on Rolex Root Beer vs Pepsi
In Rolex Root Beer vs Pepsi, you are no longer choosing between two current-production GMTs. You are choosing between an in-production two-tone watch you can buy on a fresh warranty and a discontinued steel reference that just left the catalog.
That changes the whole conversation. Root Beer is the easier daily buy with predictable pricing. Pepsi is the closed-supply market piece with stronger nickname recognition and bigger price uncertainty.
A couple of buyer tips that did not get covered above. On a discontinued Rolex, the warranty math matters: a 2026-dated Pepsi with three to four years of card warranty left is worth a premium over a 2018 example with zero warranty, even at the same condition grade.
For context on how Rolex warranty coverage actually works, we break it down separately.
On a Root Beer, check the Everose center link sharpness specifically. The gold polishes off faster than steel does, and a tired center link is the easiest tell of a watch that has been worn hard.
