The Return Of The Pepsi

The Return Of The Pepsi

...BaselWorld 2014 Introduction...

White Gold GMT

Red and Blue Ceramic Bezel

40MM Reference 116719BLROA

Some things seem to be inevitable, so I am happy to see Rolex finally figured out how to create a ceramic Pepsi bezel insert, and they are first introducing it on a white gold version of the GMT-Master, complete with Supercase, Max-Markers, and Fat hands in a 40MM form factor...

The obvious question, when will we see a stainless steel Pepsi Rolex GMT, and only Rolex knows!?!? Hopefully next year at Baselworld 2015. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

The Following text comes from the Rolex GMT-Master press kit:

HOW ROLEX ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE

Oyster Perpetual GMT-MASTER II 

Some things do not exist for a very simple reason: they are considered impossible to create. That is what was said about two-colour ceramic. No one had managed to discover a way of manufacturing a watch component in high-technology ceramic with bulk colouring in two distinct colours. No one before Rolex...

A WORLD FIRST

The Cerachrom bezel insert in blue and black introduced by Rolex in 2013 was a world first. It was made in a single piece and the clear-cut demarcation of colours on each half of the insert was perfectly executed. This year, Rolex has pushed the technical and aesthetic prowess yet further on its Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II, unveiling a red and blue Cerachrom bezel insert, echoing the first GMT-Master bezel of 1955. An exceptional achievement on two counts: firstly, red is an extremely difficult colour to obtain and, therefore, an unusual colour for ceramic; secondly, having succeeded in creating a red insert, Rolex then found a way to locally modify the chemical composition of each grain, right to the core of the ceramic, and change the colour of half the insert from red to blue, while ensuring a sharp delineation between the two colors.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY AND ICONIC AESTHETICS

The resulting bulk-coloured, single-piece Cerachrom insert is red for the hours between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and blue for the hours between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. By virtue of being manufactured in a single piece, the insert acquires mechanical resistance properties that respond to the quality and reliability demanded of a Rolex product. Like all Rolex Cerachrom bezel inserts, it offers exceptional scratch and corrosion resistance. Its colours are unaffected by ultraviolet rays. The aesthetic effect is equally spectacular. The ceramic’s sheen gives volume to the insert and enhances the colours in a way that is reminiscent of the Plexiglas insert of the original GMT-Master. The engraved numerals and graduations are coated with a thin layer of platinum via a PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) process patented by Rolex. Their depth and matt finish underscore the contrast with the insert’s polished surface, producing a three-dimensional effect that ensures optimal legibility.

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE POSSIBLE

The new GMT-Master II’s two-colour red and blue Cerachrom insert is a unique, high-technology ceramic component, which adds new patents to the Cerachrom insert developed by Rolex in 2005. It combines the exceptional technical performance of the Cerachrom bezel with the GMT-Master’s iconic two-colour appearance. And it perpetuates the Rolex tradition of constantly extending the boundaries of the possible.

Red is an extremely difficult colour to obtain and, therefore, an unusual colour for ceramic.