GMT-Master II Batman (Oyster, 2013-2019)

In 2013, Rolex gave the GMT-Master II a blue-and-black ceramic bezel. The watch was made to display local time and a second time zone, and the two colors divided its twenty-four-hour scale into daytime and nighttime halves. Collectors called it Batman.

Rolex had introduced ceramic inserts to the GMT-Master II in 2005, initially in one color. The 116710BLNR put two colors into a single ceramic piece, restoring the divided scale familiar from earlier aluminum models without joining two separate halves.

The blue continues onto the arrow-shaped twenty-four-hour hand. Against the black dial it identifies the second time display, leaving the conventional hands to show local hours and minutes. Calibre 3186 allows that local hour hand to jump independently, so a time-zone change need not disturb the reference time.

This first blue-black version has a 40-millimeter steel case and a three-link Oyster bracelet with polished center links. The case has the broad lugs and substantial crown guards of its generation. The glossy bezel and polished bracelet give it a brighter appearance than the older aluminum-bezel 16710.

The later 126710BLNR introduced calibre 3285 and first appeared on a Jubilee bracelet. It is a successor, not another description for this reference. The 116710BLNR records the point at which Rolex solved the two-color ceramic problem in a steel GMT-Master II. The familiar day-and-night display had required a new method of manufacture.