Did You Spot It? Rolex Silently Brings Back The Batman, And The Pepsi Gets The Oyster Bracelet Treatment
Yes, you read the title correctly. Rolex just pulled a Kansas City Shuffle on us yesterday. While we were looking at the shiny new releases in its keynote presentation, Rolex quietly updated its configurator with some new options.
The Rolex Explorer I and Explorer II updates received much of the attention, along with new unique dials for the Daytona and Datejust. Look at the “love-it-or-hate-it” leafy green Datejust dial! Opinion has been somewhat divided among the team, but I think it’s a pretty cool summer watch. However, we noticed a few additions to the configurator that went slightly under the radar.
Rob noted the blue fluted dial in his article for the new unique dials for the Datejust. That tasty new addition wasn’t shown on the keynote presentation, despite possibly being one of the best unique dials ( jazzy palm dial aside!). There were also new jubilee bracelets for the SkyDweller, which are arguably the more logical choice for the Rolex’s dressier sports watch.
Batman Returns
Of all the minor updates that Rolex chose not to sing about in its keynote presentation, I found the updates to the GMT Master II the most interesting. The Batman is officially back. The configurator now offers the black and blue bezel GMT-Master II with an option of the Oyster bracelet. Additionally, the Cerachrom bezel Pepsi is also available on an Oyster bracelet for the first time.
It was only 2 years ago, in 2019, that the 126710BLNR “Batgirl” made its debut to replace the outgoing 116710BLNR “Batman”. While most of the specs remained the same, the new 126710BLNR was fitted with the five-link Jubilee bracelet instead of the three-link Oyster bracelet. That marked the end of the Rolex’s stainless-steel GMT Master IIs on Oyster bracelets. The Pepsi bezel 126710BLRO from 2018 was also only available on a Jubilee. Half-hearted outrage ensued at the type 69200 bracelet. That was basically the only option for those watches, as the old Oyster bracelets did not fit the new cases.
The Rolex Oyster bracelet lives!
Two years on from this Oyster extinction, Rolex has backpedaled and made both the Cerachrom-bezel Batman and Pepsi available on Oyster bracelets. Rejoice! I always felt that the rugged looks of the GMT-Master II were better complemented by the Oyster bracelet. The Jubilee was always best suited to the dressier pieces in Rolex’s catalog, in my opinion. Can you imagine if the venerable Submariner was suddenly only available on a Jubilee? There would be scenes!
A quiet release from Rolex
Either way, this is an intelligent move from Rolex. I’m just a little surprised the brand didn’t make more of a song and dance about it. The Rolex GMT-Master II costs €8,800 on the Oyster bracelet or €9,000 on Jubilee…if you can get hold of one!
What do you think of the update? Do you prefer the GMT-Master II on the Oyster, or were you a fan of the Jubilee? Let me know in the comments!
