Watch Paparazzi

Writer Giorgia Mondani spotted wearing Rolex

Spotted in what appears to be a supercar garage setting, Giorgia Mondani — founder of Mondani Web and author of some of the most authoritative Rolex reference books in print — is wearing the Rolex GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' on Jubilee bracelet, almost certainly reference 126710BLRO. The backdrop of exotic metal and red leather only amplifies the wrist game on display.

The 126710BLRO is powered by Rolex's Calibre 3285, a manufacture movement featuring the Chronergy escapement, a patented geometry that improves efficiency by roughly 15 percent over the previous lever-and-escape-wheel design. Power reserve sits at 70 hours. The 40 mm Oystersteel case houses a bidirectional GMT hand and a 24-hour graduated Cerachrom bezel insert in blue and red — the combination that gave the watch its 'Pepsi' nickname back in the 1950s. What distinguishes this generation is the return of the five-link Jubilee bracelet, an emotional callback to the original 6542 and 1675 references that wore the same configuration before the Oyster bracelet became standard in the 1980s.

For collectors, the 126710BLRO occupies a uniquely charged position. Its 2018 debut effectively displaced the aluminium-bezel 16710 'Pepsi' as the grail GMT for a new generation, while simultaneously satisfying purists who had long demanded the Jubilee pairing. Cerachrom's scratch and fade resistance makes it an objectively superior material, yet the watch retains the visual warmth of the classic palette. Waitlists at authorised dealers remain among the longest in the Rolex catalogue.

Mondani's ownership of this reference is almost poetically appropriate. She has spent her career documenting Rolex history with scholarly rigour; wearing the piece that rewrites a chapter of that history herself closes the loop neatly. The casual styling — Supreme x Louis Vuitton bag, Gucci graphic tee — signals that this is not a display piece for her but a daily driver, which is precisely how the GMT-Master II was designed to be worn.

On the secondary market the 126710BLRO continues to command a significant premium over its retail price, reflecting persistent authorised-dealer scarcity. Buyers seeking immediate acquisition should budget well above list, though premiums have moderated from their 2021–2022 peak as grey-market supply gradually improves.