Writer Giorgia Mondani spotted wearing a Rolex

Giorgia Mondani, the Italian author and publisher behind the definitive Rolex reference library, was recently spotted wearing the Rolex GMT-Master II reference 116718LN — a discontinued full yellow gold variant that has been quietly appreciating among serious collectors since Rolex rotated it out of the current catalogue.

The 116718LN sits on the Cal. 3186 movement, a self-winding manufacture caliber featuring the Parachrom hairspring in a Glucydur balance wheel, offering enhanced resistance to magnetic fields and temperature variation. The movement beats at 28,800 vph and delivers approximately 50 hours of power reserve — robust, proven, and entirely in keeping with Rolex's philosophy of evolution over revolution. The case measures 40mm in 18K yellow gold with an Oyster bracelet in matching metal, and the defining visual detail is the single-colour black Cerachrom bezel insert, virtually scratch-proof and UV-resistant, which replaced the earlier aluminum bezel in previous GMT-Master II generations.

The reference 116718LN was part of Rolex's broader rollout of Cerachrom inserts across the GMT-Master II family during the mid-2000s and 2010s. Unlike the two-tone Pepsi or Batgirl variants, the all-black bezel on yellow gold presents a more formal, almost monolithic aesthetic — less immediately legible as a traveller's instrument, more convincing as a dress watch with serious provenance. It was replaced in the current lineup by the reference 126718GRNR, which introduced the Cal. 3285 with improved power reserve.

Mondani's connection to Rolex runs deeper than mere affinity. As the founder of Mondani Editore and co-author of the authoritative Rolex Encyclopaedia, she has spent decades cataloguing the very references she wears. Seeing the 116718LN on her wrist is less a fashion statement than a practitioner's endorsement — the horological equivalent of a master carpenter using their own furniture.

On the secondary market, discontinued yellow gold Rolex sports references consistently command premiums, and the 116718LN is no exception. With a last known retail price of $35,460, grey market values have tracked above retail and continue to firm as supply contracts. Collectors seeking a full yellow gold GMT-Master II with Cerachrom technology and pre-Cal. 3285 character are paying a meaningful premium — and Mondani's sighting will only add to the model's visibility.