Royal Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim spotted wearing a Rolex

The Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, was photographed wearing a stainless steel Rolex GMT-Master II reference 126710BLNR — the so-called 'Batman' — on its Jubilee bracelet. For a royal with access to virtually any timepiece on the planet, the choice of this particular Rolex speaks to the 126710BLNR's genuine desirability beyond mere market hype.

Rolex introduced the GMT-Master II 126710BLNR at Baselworld 2019, and it immediately rewrote the rules for the GMT-Master lineup. The reference carries the 40mm Oyster case in 904L Oystersteel, housing the in-house Calibre 3285 — a movement featuring Rolex's Chronergy escapement, a parachrom hairspring, and a power reserve of approximately 70 hours. The bidirectional independently-settable GMT hand allows wearers to track a second time zone without disrupting the local time display, the core function that defines the GMT-Master family since its 1955 Pan Am pilot origins.

What made the 126710BLNR genuinely historic at launch was not the movement upgrade, but the bracelet decision. Rolex had never before offered the GMT-Master II in stainless steel on a Jubilee bracelet; the black-and-blue 'Batman' bezel combination had previously only appeared on the Oyster bracelet. The five-link Jubilee, originally created for the 1945 Datejust, lends the sports watch an unexpectedly dressed character — and collectors responded immediately. The reference sold out at authorised dealers on day one and has maintained a significant premium on the secondary market ever since.

Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim is no stranger to the spotlight. The Crown Prince of Johor is widely followed across Southeast Asia for his outspoken political commentary and his prominent social media presence. His watch choices are watched closely by regional collectors, and a sighting of the 126710BLNR on his wrist reinforces the reference's cross-demographic appeal — from Wall Street traders to Malaysian royalty.

On the grey market, the Rolex GMT-Master II 126710BLNR continues to command a meaningful premium over its official retail price, which sits at approximately £7,150 in the UK. In USD terms, retail lands around $9,700, while secondary market values have historically traded between $16,000 and $22,000 depending on condition and service history — underscoring why this remains one of the most commercially potent references in the modern Rolex catalogue.