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| Rolex GMT II 116710LN Reviews |
The
Rolex GMT II 116710LN was introduced at the Basel World Fair in 2007. The steel/gold version (ref. 116713) came a year earlier, and the all-gold Rolex GMT II (ref. 116718) was launched in 2005 as an "Anniversary" model, sporting an all-green dial (later the all-gold version also came with a black dial option). The green-dialled all-gold Rolex GMT II is still made and has never been "limited". "LN" stands for "Lunette Noir" (French for "Black Bezel"), by the way.
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| Rolex GMT II 116710LN Reviews |
Movement
The “motor” of the
Rolex GMT-Master II C is the calibre 3186, which is an improved version of the 3185 that has been in production since 1988. The mechanism for setting the 12-hour hand has been improved to reduce the play in the gears and it has been equipped with the new, paramagnetic blue Parachrom Breguet overcoil hairspring, which is also up to ten times as shock resistant as conventional hairsprings.
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| Rolex GMT II 116710LN Reviews |
The Case
The Oyster case of the
Rolex GMT II 116710LN (from now on referred to as the "new Rolex GMT II") has been updated compared to the predecessor Rolex GMT II's. The case now has:
#"Super Case" (sometimes also called "block case"): Larger lugs with vertical satination instead of diagonal, coarser sationation of the lugs than of those of the "old" Rolex GMT II's.
#Triplock Crown as compared to the Twinlock Crown of the "old" GMT II's.
#Flatter crystal and lower lying caseback.
#AR (Anti-reflective) coating of the cyclops lense.
#Green Rolex GMT hand (AKA "24-hour hand")
#Green "GMT MASTER II" writing on the dial.
#"Maxi Dial" (i.e.: larger hands and larger indices that provide more lume of the applied SuperLuminova).
#Ceramic bezel insert (24 clicks) with numbers filled out with Platinum as compared to the anodized aluminium bezel insert of the "old" Rolex GMT II's with 120 clicks.
#Updated bracelet and clasp: Solid, polished centre links. A heavier and much more complicated construction of the clasp, including a hidden "Easy Link".
Some photos of the new
Rolex GMT II reviewed here, showing the above updates:
Crystal and Date Cyclops
The crystal is a flat sapphire crystal with a glued-on Cyclops date magnifier. It has an anti-reflective coating in three places (inside, below the Cyclops and on top of it), nevertheless, the flat crystal does reflect light to a degree that does not bother the wearer, but makes him or her recognizable at a greater distance if this reflection catches the eye of someone else. A domed sapphire crystal would avoid this, but it would almost certainly be hard to combine with the Cyclops – if it is possible at all. The crystal is almost flush with the bezel and thereby well protected against damage. The date can be read easily already before the dial is at a right angle to your visual axis. This is aided by the positive display of the date (black numbers on a white background), which improves its legibility. The Cyclops affects the legibility of hands passing underneath to a fairly small degree, which would IMHO only relevant for a diver’s watch which is actually used for this purpose, but can be comfortably neglected in all other cases that come to my mind.
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| Rolex GMT II 116710LN Reviews |
Dial and hands
The maxi dial with the larger hour markers at bigger hands was first introduced with the Yacht-Master in 1992, appeared in 2003 in the Jubilee Submariner (Rolex Ref. 16610LV) and was introduced in 2005 in the gold Jubilee version of the
Rolex GMT-Master II Ceramic (Rolex Ref. 116718LN). The second, minute and 12-hour hands have been enlarged, compared to the previous Rolex GMT-Master II, but as far as I can see, the 24-hour hand has only been changed in colour, not in size. The legibility in daylight is excellent. In darkness, the Superluminova lasts very long, indeed I could still – faintly – read the time after having had the watch in a completely dark bedroom for a full 11 hours! This applies to the minute and 12-hour hands; the 24-hour hand will become illegible several hours earlier. As the coated area can hardly be the cause of this effect, I suspect (but this is unproven) a less thick Superluminova coating on this hand. The size of the 24-hour hand is from my perspective the only point about the “face” of the watch that could be improved even further. If this hand passes in front of one of the round hour markers, it becomes almost undetectable when reading the watch in darkness. Giving the triangle an intermediate length between the diameter of the round hour markers on one hand and the length of the rectangular and the triangular hour markers on the other hand, this down point could be eliminated. It would also render the question of the hand colour less important, whether it would be red, green or pure white gold (order from best to least legibility). And almost I would have taken it for granted: The white gold hands and settings of the hour markers look very elegant and will hardly ever give their owner a headache through corrosion (like steel hands could do)…
Conclusion:
A near-perfect watch I have really fallen in love with, I can most easily recommend to anyone interested in it and which is in improvement over the older
Rolex GMT-Masters on the practical side in every respect. The aesthetics are a matter of personal taste, for me, it took me a while to grow on it, but now I love it. Don’t let yourself get fooled by photos; the Rolex GMT II C does not always come out as well on photos as the older GMTs. If I were to buy a second GMT-Master for myself, it would be a GMT 16710A (Coca-Cola bezel), of which I began to dream some 15 years ago. But the Rolex 116710 LN would rule as an everyday wearer. Needless to say, I can hardly imagine any other sports watch for myself than a
Rolex GMT-Master II !
