Rolex’s highly popular ‘Pepsi’ model soars in secondary market
Speculation on the Pepsi model is rife; purchase requests surged 500% over the 2025 average in March
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[ZURICH] One of Rolex’s most popular models – the steel GMT Master II, with a red-and-blue “Pepsi” bezel – is soaring in the secondary market ahead of a key watch industry annual event amid speculation it has been discontinued.
Watches and Wonders, a fair that draws collectors from all over the world and has well over 60 brands on display, is being held in April in Geneva, with what Rolex might bring to the party getting most of the attention. Speculation about the famous Pepsi model is rife, and purchase requests for it have surged more than 500 per cent over the 2025 average in the first week of March, according to watch-trading platform Chrono24.
The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks prices for the 50 most traded models by transaction value, has registered a jump of about US$3,000 in the price for the Pepsi model since the start of the year. At the same time, the number of active listings for the watch on the platform has dropped by around a quarter.
The reaction highlights the degree to which perceived scarcity – real or speculative – drives prices in the secondary watch market. As one of Rolex’s most liquid and widely benchmarked references, the GMT-Master II Pepsi plays a huge role in shaping broader market sentiments.
Sudden demand spikes and tightening supply show a market still heavily influenced by discontinuation speculation, with pricing increasingly detached from primary retail dynamics and instead anchored in expectations of future availability.
“It appears sellers are holding back inventory in anticipation of price jumps, or available stock is being absorbed rapidly by the market,” said Balazs Ferenczi, Head of Brand Engagement at Chrono24.
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Some authorised dealers have confirmed there will be no more deliveries of Pepsi, according to WatchPro. Rolex declined to comment on the matter.
The Pepsi speculation is also boosting demand for previous models including the “Coke” GMT-Master II, which Rolex officially stopped producing in 2007. The model with a red-and-black bezel was replaced by the ceramic bezel GMT-Master II line. While new Coke models from Rolex cannot be bought, it remains popular in the pre-owned market.
“We’re seeing a clear spillover effect on the predecessor model, with purchase requests roughly doubling in early March versus the 2025 average,” according to Chrono24. BLOOMBERG
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