But as so often happens, any objections were short-lived. Fairly soon after its arrival, the LV (standing for Lunette Verte, or green bezel) started attracting much more of the right kind of attention, with devotees learning to appreciate the eccentricities. It also had the definite whiff of a future classic, something that set collectors with one eye on future monetary gains to gravitate towards it.As it turned out, they were right. Just seven years after its introduction, the Kermit was withdrawn to make way for the ref. 116610LV. Now housed in the beefed-up Super Case, this new piece added a green dial to match the bezel, leading to it being known colloquially as the Hulk.A short run of an unusual edition of a true industry giant has seen prices for the Kermit far outstrip the equivalent classic black models, and should be set to only get higher with time. Definitely one to consider.This one is a real puzzler. There hasn’t been a black and red bezel GMT-Master (much better known as the ‘Coke’) since 2007. That was when the last reference to offer the option, the ref. 16710, was scrubbed from the lineup. This means that there has never been a Cerachrom example of this archetypal and hugely popular Rolex color scheme, which we originally saw debut on the very first of the GMT-Master II references way back in 1983, the ref. 16760 (nicknamed the ‘Fat Lady’).The red and black had enough of a distinction from the blue and red bezel pieces to warrant its place, and as we all know, the ‘Pepsi’ has been (and still is) a massive seller for the brand.
While their sister-company, Tudor has garnered a strong following with their vintage-inspired heritage watches, Rolex is notorious for only moving forward with their designs, and never re-creating (or re-releasing) vintage Rolex inspired watches from the past. However, despite not manufacturing any outright heritage watches, Rolex does implement a few subtle, vintage-inspired design traits into the otherwise very modern watches that they manufacture today.Most obvious among the various vintage design elements is the red line of text on the dial of the new Rolex Sea-Dweller reference 126600. An obvious throwback to Rolex’s early Submariner and Sea-Dweller watches which had their respective names printed in red letters on the surfaces of their matte black dials, the red line of text on the dial of the new Sea-Dweller 126600 is an unmistakably vintage-inspired design element, which Rolex has recycled and reintroduced on an otherwise very modern and technologically-advanced, luxury dive watch.
Much like the red line of text on the dial of the latest Sea-Dweller, the bright orange, arrow-shaped 24-hour hand on the latest incarnation of the Rolex Explorer II is a design element directly borrowed from the very first version of the watch from 1971. For a number of decades, this style of 24-hour hand was entirely absent from the Rolex watch catalog, during which time, the Explorer II shared a 24-hour hand design with Rolex’s GMT-Master II line of watches.However, in 2011 for its 40th anniversary, the Explorer II line received a complete makeover, both inside and out. Although the vast majority of the new reference 216570 Explorer II was completely different from the original version and classifies it as an undisputedly modern timepiece, the large, orange-colored, arrow-shaped, 24-hour hand is aesthetically almost identical to the one on the original version of the Explorer II from the early 1970s.A significant part of the allure of the Rolex GMT-Master II 126710BLRO is rooted in its vintage-inspired design elements, such as its red and blue, “Pepsi” bezel insert and its Jubilee-style bracelet. The very first Rolex GMT-Master watches from the mid-1950s were made from stainless steel and fitted with half-red, half-blue bezel inserts; however, ever since the introduction of Cerachrom (ceramic) bezels, half-red, half-blue “Pepsi” bezel inserts were only available on the 18k white gold version of Rolex’s GMT-Master II. The reference 126710 GMT-Master II marked the return of a stainless steel “Pepsi” GMT, as well as the return of the Jubilee bracelet to the GMT-Master line.
The Pilot chrono watch has a large case measured to be 43mm in diameter. The case has a round polished bezel contrasting with the brushed case. The case is thick, up to 15mm. The crown and chronograph buttons are set on the right case side, two chronograph buttons are polished and they work the same way as those buttons of genuine watch. Case back is entirely brushed, while sandblasting finish on the center. There are delicate engravings on case back in correct depth. Although this replica has a full chronograph function, please do not operate the chronograph buttons too often. The replica has a thicker case than genuine, we hope ZF could reduce its thickness by modifying its movement inside.
