WATCHES AND WONDERS
ROLEX COLLECTION 2026
...Prediction/Hope/Desire...
Pepsi GMT-Master
Lumed Bezel
Many people ask me what my prediction is for what novelties Rolex may introduce at Watches and Wonders 2026, which is right around the corner, starting on April 14, 2026? I genuinely have NO IDEA what Rolex will surprise us with this year, so all I can really do is share with you what I would LOVE to see!!!
I am hoping Rolex finally brings back their luminous GMT-Master Bezel insert, which debuted back in 1956 on the Reference 6542, which his pictured below in an image that appears courtesy of Stefano Mazzariol. Just to be crystal clear, the first Rolex GMT-MASTER model launched back in the mid 1950s featured 24 luminous hour markers on the bicolor bezel with glowed in the dark, which you can faintly see in the image below:
The next two images of a 1957 Rolex GMT-Master, Reference 6542 appear courtesy of Amsterdam Vintage Watches and we begin with this killer wrist shot that was taken in natural light.
Upon first glance, the wrist shot above looks normal, especially with the 24 hour markers on the bezel insert, but the real magic of the original Rolex GMT-Master glowing bezel comes to life when the lights turn off as we see below in this AMAZING LUME SHOT from Amsterdam Vintage Watches.
I am including one more image below, from Banzaff that shows how 3Dimensional the lumen bezel's looked on the original GMT-Master. This was due to the fact that the 24 hour markers on the bezel insert were suspended in a clear exoxy, or bakelite material.
Nothing would make me happier than to see Rolex bring this beautiful lumed bezel insert back to life on the Pepsi GMT-Master. Fingers crossed!!!!
































































































