A silent guardian scrambling over the rooftops of the fictional city of Gotham is touted to be one of the world’s greatest vigilantes. A black, fizzy drink that comes in a bottle (or a can) with a spherical red-and-blue logo ranks among the most popular beverages around the globe. Two entities that are worlds apart, and yet there is something common between them. But what is it? Well, you just need to watch out for that.
Those deeply invested in the world of horology might have figured out the link between the Dark Knight and the carbonated drink, but for the unversed, let us do the honours. While funky names stand in stark contrast to the brand’s image, Rolex has two of its models named ‘Batman’ and ‘Pepsi’ by the horology community. The Swiss luxury watchmaker found these monikers to be popular among its users, and as a result, introduced several variations of them over the years.
But are the ‘Batman’ and the ‘Pepsi’ different from each other? Turns out that besides a few distinctions, these names are, in fact, sobriquets of a particular watch, namely the Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II. However, that did not stop the watchmaker from marketing these two timepieces as separate models and introducing their respective series.
Both models are rare to find and are treasured by horologists and luxury watch aficionados all around the world. So, on that note, let us hop on the Rolex Batman vs Rolex Pepsi bandwagon and take a closer look at all the major differences between the two, and which edition of the GMT-Master II series is a superior timepiece.
A detailed look at the Rolex Batman vs Rolex Pepsi debate based on its history and design
History
Modern horologists and watch enthusiasts might know a specific model of the GMT-Master II to be the Rolex Pepsi, but here is a fun trivia — the first GMT-Master that Rolex launched was a ‘Pepsi’, and this happened nearly seven decades back.
In 1955, the Swiss watchmaker introduced a GMT-Master timepiece with a blue-and-red bi-coloured bezel. Many luxury watch aficionados consider that to be the earliest ‘Pepsi’ model. Over time, the ‘Pepsi’ line of watches has undergone a few transformations.
Overall, there are four key GMT-Master series timepieces that best define the ‘Pepsi’ collection. These are the GMT-Master reference 1675, the GMT-Master reference 16750, the GMT-Master II reference 16710 ‘Pepsi’, and the GMT-Master II reference 116710BLRO (which is in production to date). The current iteration of the ‘Pepsi’ watch was the first in the line to receive a Cerachrom ceramic bezel (the material makes the timepiece more resistant to scratches).
However, the newest ‘Pepsi’ was not the first Rolex timepiece to be fitted with a Cerachrom ceramic bezel. That honour went to the ‘Batman’, which is where its history starts. The GMT-Master II reference 116710BLNR was the first to replace the traditional aluminium bezel with the Rolex-patented Cerachrom ceramic in 2013. The black-and-blue colour combination on the bezels caught on with the users pretty well, and thus the ‘Batman’ came to being as a sought-after timepiece.
The history associated with a watch increases its overall value among some old-school horologists who look for timepieces with ‘vintage collectable’ status. Therefore, this round of the Rolex Batman vs Rolex Pepsi battle is won by the latter owing to its six-decade headstart over the ‘Batman’.
Colour of the bezels
It is the colour of the bezels that serves as the most important point of distinction between the ‘Batman’ and the ‘Pepsi’. The GMT-Master II series offers a host of colour combinations. According to Rolex, the dual-tone colour on the bezels of the GMT-Master II watches is used to denote the day and night times of the bezel’s second time zone.
The ‘BLNR’ of the GMT-Master II reference 116710BNLR stands for ‘Bleu Noir’, which means blue-black in French. It quickly came to be known among horologists and Rolex aficionados as the ‘Batman’ as the colour is reminiscent of the suit of the caped crusader from its earliest comic book iterations.
Likewise, the ‘BLRO’ of the GMT-Master II reference 116710BLRO stands for ‘Bleu Rouge’, meaning blue-red in French. The blue-and-red tone on the bezels of the GMT-Master watch series was colloquially called the Rolex ‘Pepsi’ by the horology fraternity owing to its resemblance with the signature colours of Pepsi’s brand logo.
As a matter of fact, the origin of the Rolex ‘Batman’ has an interesting anecdote. In 2013, when the luxury watchmaker introduced ceramic bezels made of its patented Cerachrom ceramic, it could not achieve the signature blue-and-red of the ‘Pepsi’ series. Rolex found it easier to attain the blue-and-black dual-tone with the ceramic material, and thus the ‘Batman’ was born. However, they were able to get the red-and-blue colour combination on the ceramic material a year later, and that gave birth to the first ‘Pepsi’ watch with the Cerachrom ceramic bezel.
In retrospect, luxury watch aficionados are thankful to Rolex for introducing the world to the ‘Batman’ model, which became one of the most celebrated and loved timepieces made by the watchmaker.
GMT hand
Another significant point of distinction to look for in this Rolex Batman vs Rolex Pepsi battle is the colour of the GMT hand. But what exactly is the GMT hand? Turns out, it is nothing more than the seconds hand of the watch.
In the Rolex ‘Batman’, the GMT hand bears a blue colour, which is in tandem with the overall theme of the timepiece. On a similar note, the ‘Pepsi’ has a red-coloured GMT hand that glides across the signature black dial of a GMT-Master II watch.
There has been a vast multitude of arguments about the red-coloured GMT hand offering slightly better visibility on a black dial than its blue counterpart. But for its users, it comes down to their personal preferences in terms of design aesthetics.
Bracelet
Finally, we take a look at the last major difference between the two watches to settle the Rolex Batman vs Rolex Pepsi debate. As of 2024, both watches come with the five-link jubilee bracelet, which has now become a standard across the brand’s timepieces.
However, it is interesting to note that the ‘Pepsi’ variant got its jubilee bracelet way before the ‘Batman’. As a matter of fact, the latter is one of the newest models of Rolex to be fitted with the jubilee bracelet (the Rolex GMT-Master II reference 116710BNLR was launched with the jubilee bracelet in 2019). Sadly, this design shift did not sit well with a lot of Rolex followers, who took a liking for the ‘Batman’ because of its more classic design approach with the sportier look of the Oyster bracelet.
Rolex Batman vs Rolex Pepsi: The verdict
If you ask us for a verdict on the Rolex Batman vs Rolex Pepsi gladiator match, we have none. That is because both watches retain all the essential functional elements of the timeless GMT-Master II series. The timepieces are durable to the core, they are fitted with the top-of-the-line Caliber 3285 movement, offer a power backup of 70 hours, and come with the Parachrom hairspring (another component patented by Rolex) for extreme resistance to shock and changes in temperature. In addition to the aforementioned features, both the Rolex Batman and the Rolex Pepsi come for the same price tag (USD 42,500).
Yes, the distinguishing factor between ‘Batman’ and ‘Pepsi’ lies in their designs more than the functionality, but we also need to keep in mind that visual aesthetics are subjective to the wearers. Therefore, the choice, in this case, has to be made solely on the basis of an individual’s preference.
(Main and Featured Images Credits: Courtesy Rolex)
This article first appeared here
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What is the cost of a Rolex Batman and a Rolex Pepsi?
Both the Rolex Batman and the Rolex Pepsi are priced at USD 42,500.
– What is the difference in design between a Rolex Batman and a Rolex Pepsi?
The Rolex Batman has a blue-and-black bezel with a blue GMT hand, while a Rolex Pepsi has a blue-and-red bezel with a red GMT hand.
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Uddipta writes about sports and watches besides occasionally venturing into the world of automobiles and technology. He was associated with the Indian Express in the capacity of a sub-editor at their Lifestyle desk. A journalism and mass communication student from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, Uddipta devotes most of his leisure time to photography and filmmaking. He has contributed photographs to Vogue Italia and several exhibits, and has directed award-winning short films screened at film festivals in India and abroad.
