Quick answer
The Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16710 is the 40mm aluminum-bezel watch collectors nicknamed the Pepsi when the insert is red and blue. Rolex built it from 1989 to 2007, so it is the last of the old-school GMTs before ceramic bezels took over. A fake 16710 Pepsi is everywhere online, and the gap between a good one and junk comes down to three things: a movement that sets the 24-hour hand on its own, a bezel insert with believable faded colors, and a case that is not three millimeters too thick. Get those right and it reads correctly at arm's length. Get them wrong and the watch looks off from across a table.
The movement is the whole ballgame
On a real 16710, the local hour hand jumps forward and back in one crown position while the 24-hour hand keeps home time. That is the point of the watch. Cheap replicas skip this and slave the GMT hand to the hour hand, so the extra hand moves with the time and shows nothing useful.
fake rolex 16710 pepsi replica
- Modified ETA or Asia 2836 with a GMT wheel: common in mid-tier builds, decent timekeeping, limited date-change quirks.
- Clone 3186 movements: the hour hand jumps independently, the crown has a proper fourth position, and the sweep is smooth at 28,800 vph.
- Quartz or 21,600 vph low-beat movements: walk away. The stutter is visible.
Ask the seller to describe the crown positions. If they cannot, they do not know what they are selling.
Case, bezel, and insert
The 16710 case is slab-sided with crown guards, roughly 12mm thick, and 20mm at the lugs. Early production had drilled lug holes; later examples went solid, so do not treat either as automatically wrong. What is wrong is a case that sits tall like a Submariner or lugs that look swollen.
- Bezel action: bidirectional, 24 clicks, firm but not gritty.
- Insert: aluminum, not ceramic. It should have a slight dome and printed numerals.
- Pepsi color: the red leans toward a muted brick tone, the blue toward a deep navy. Bright orange-red or electric blue is a giveaway.
Dial, hands, and crystal
Markers on the 16710 are standard size, not maxi, and the date sits at 3 under a cyclops with roughly 2.5x magnification. The crystal is flat sapphire with no external anti-reflective coating, so it should throw a little glare. Lume plots should sit flush, not raised like beads. Dial text stacks read ROLEX, OYSTER PERPETUAL, DATE, GMT-MASTER II, then the chronometer line. Spacing errors in that stack are one of the fastest ways to spot a poor print job.
Bracelet and clasp
These shipped on an Oyster bracelet with a flip-lock clasp. Expect hollow center links on earlier examples and solid links later. Feel the edges, because sharp stamped links are a sign of a cheap build. End links should sit flush against the case with no visible gaps at the lugs.
What to check before you buy
- Does the 24-hour hand set independently of the hour hand?
- Is the case about 12mm thick, or does it sit proud?
- Does the insert look faded rather than freshly painted?
- Is the cyclops magnification around 2.5x?
- Does the bracelet rattle like a tin can?
- Is water resistance claimed? Do not trust it, and do not swim with it.
Price bands
Budget builds run roughly $80 to $150 and usually fail the movement test. Mid-tier pieces sit near $250 to $450 with a modified 2836 and a decent insert. The better clone-movement builds land around $450 to $800, and that is where the independent GMT hand and a clean case profile show up. Above that, you are paying for parts that barely differ from the tier below.
Honest caveats
A replica is not an investment. Resale is close to nothing, Rolex will not service it, and some countries restrict importing counterfeit goods. Buy it as a fun object, not as a stand-in for the real reference. If you want the actual 16710 experience, the authentic watch is still out there, and it holds value in a way no copy ever will.