Introducing the Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 126720VTNR: Left-handed model with green and black borders
Southpaws were ecstatic as Crown delivered a devastating surprise.
Get this load! Of all the models that Rolex could have released, with the watch's enthusiasm and commercial potential soaring at an all-time high, what we have here is... a GMT-Master II for lefties? No one could have predicted this.
Of course, after the re-launch of the steel model with the Oyster bracelet last year, many of us expected some kind of GMT. But it was a double surprise. Shocking number one: green and black bezel. Shocking number two: the crown protrudes from the left side of the case. In watch parlance, it's a "disruption," which means it's designed for those who wear the watch on their right wrist.
In addition to these two changes, the watch retains the main principles of the GMT-Master II. It has a two-tone Cerachrom bezel, a Cyclops enlarged date window, and the option of a Jubilee or Oyster bracelet with EasyLink adjustment system in the clasp.
replica RICHARD MILLE RM 11-03 McLAREN
In order to create this new reference, Rolex was able to maintain the reference. 3285 – the in-house movement with 4Hz, 70-hour power reserve – positions the crown on the left side of the case.
Rolex didn't bring this detro GMT into every colorway in the collection. As of now, it only exists in green and black configurations.
This is crazy! Rolex simply doesn't do anything like this anymore. In fact, it hardly ever.
Auction fans will remember that at the Geneva and Hong Kong auctions in 2018, Phillips did sell two possibly unique Rolex GMT-Master refs. Model 6542 - one in the classic Pepsi configuration, the other in gold with a brown bezel (both without the crown guard). But these are most likely commissioned. In fact, the gold model appears to be a released watch.
These two vintage lefties did technically set a precedent for destruction (a precedent further supported by the presence of the Lefty Cellini and Submariner models). So why is it so hard to believe this new GMT exists? Because producing a quirky watch with such niche appeal feels very different from a modern Rolex. As Jack has written before, only about 10% of the population is left-handed, which is why most watches have the crown on the right side - convenient for the masses. However, here we are.
We now have the detro GMT-Master II in our lives. Rolex is known for making (and supplying) enough watches, and now it's attracting a completely different group of buyers for watches that fit the right wrist. So would a limited audience make these easier to grasp? Time will prove everything.
The green and black color change comes where the now-discontinued solid black bezel model left off. You see, when that watch came out in 2007, Rolex couldn't make a two-tone bezel out of ceramic. Then they made the BLNR, aka Batman - a blue and black bezel variant, itself created because Rolex couldn't make a Pepsi configuration out of ceramic. Now that the entire ceramic is locked on the crown, I think this represents the black and green pattern that Rolex has always wanted.
No doubt people have referred to it as "Sprite" GMT, as there are a number of soda-inspired nicknames in the collection, but the colors of Sprite are yellow and green. It's black and green, making it more of a "Starbucks" sub. Frankly, to me, this doesn't look like a drink of any kind and more like the essence of the Rolex brand.
At the same time, it feels less like something a Rolex would do and more like a Tudor move. I guess ideas and designs between the two companies are getting closer and closer to the center. We only have to look at the Tudor Pelagos LHD to see a similar version in recent memory.
So what exactly is this? It's a wearable 40mm solid stainless steel Rolex sports watch, but with one very specific design change that happens to be fairly democratic - allowing the right wrist to go into a folded state. We don't know (yet) if this version is so fresh, is such a watch pushing the Rolex sport model into unobtainable territory, or if it's so specific that it's starting to quell the confusion that we haven't seen in the past 5 years pass.
I happened to be obsessed with the destro watch and thought this watch would look killer on either the left or right wrist. If there are enough other fans like me, it's going to be hard to get.
Base
Brand: Rolex
Model: Oyster Perpetual GMT Master II
Reference number: 126720VTNR
Diameter: 40 mm
Case Material: Oystersteel
Dial Color: Black Luminous
: Chromalight display
Water resistance: 100 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Oystersteel bracelet
sports
Caliber: 3285
Functions: 24-hour display, second time zone, instantaneous date, stop seconds
Power reserve: 70 hours winding
: Mechanical self-winding
Chronograph Certification: Yes
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