With a Green (Ceramic) Dial and White Gold Case, Rolex Introduces Latest GMT-Master II Destro
Leading Rolex’s launches at Watches & Wonders this year is undoubtedly the new Land-Dweller, but behind that debut are still plenty of other interesting models. Among them, possibly chief of all is the latest GMT-Master II edition ref. 126729VTNR — a new 18k white gold, green dial variant of the left-handed “destro” edition that saw its debut in 2022.
At a glance, the new watch is much the same as the 2022 original, albeit in a precious metal rather than steel, but a closer look at the watch reveals a few key intrigues that recall Rolex’s history and point to its future.
On the wrist, the new GMT-Master II is familiar to the modern series, being cased in an Oyster-style case at 40mm in 18k white gold. The timepiece is secured to the wrist via an Oyster-style bracelet, also produced in white gold, providing the entire piece with quite a bit of heft when worn.
The case itself is waterproof to 100m, in part courtesy of the brand’s proprietary Triplock winding crown as well as a hermetically screwed down caseback. The crown, appropriate to the left-handed style of a destro watch, is placed on the right side of the watch. With this model, Rolex seems to be demonstrating that the destro is here to stay, if not at least in various green intrigues to be released over the years.
Topping the case is a familiar bi-color ceramic insert bezel, the same it seems as that introduced in the original 2022 edition. Called Cerachrom by Rolex, the green and black insert features a flush ceramic construction, with molded, recessed graduations and numerals for its 24-hour travel time scale, each coated with platinum via PVD.
Particularly special for this novelty is its dial, which is the first of its kind by Rolex to feature a ceramic construction. Green in color, according to the brand the dial is created in the same way as displays made of natural stone, “by fitting a disc of material onto a brass plate.” The tone and composition of the ceramic are the same as that seen on the bezel, aiming to achieve “perfect tonal harmony” across lighting conditions.
Besides the novel use of ceramic, the dial otherwise is familiar modern Rolex, just flipped for its destro style. Among the details are white gold hands and hour markers, each filled with lume, a 9 o’clock date window with a cyclops magnification, and printed watch details throughout. A subtle, Rolex-signed rehaut outlines the look.
Inside the new watch is a familiar movement in the calibre 3285. Developed and manufactured in-house by Rolex, the mechanism was first introduced by the brand in 2018 and has since served as a workhorse for its GMT watches. Accurate to -2/+2 seconds per day on account of the brand’s various technological features for the movement, it is further capable of 70-hour power reserve.
Likely available sometime this spring at authorized dealers, pricing for the new GMT-Master II ref. 126729VTNR is marked at $46,750.
To learn more, visit Rolex, here.
