Television presenter Richard Hammond spotted wearing a Rolex

Richard Hammond, best known for three decades of high-octane television alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May, has been spotted wearing one of the most quietly revered references in the modern Rolex catalogue — the GMT-Master II ref. 16710 in its 'Pepsi' red-and-blue bezel configuration. For a presenter whose on-screen identity is built around speed, precision, and a certain rugged pragmatism, the choice feels entirely coherent.

The Rolex GMT-Master II 16710 was produced between 1989 and 2007, succeeding the reference 16760 and sitting as the definitive steel GMT of its era. It houses the calibre 3185, a 28,800 vph movement with a 50-hour power reserve and, crucially, an independently adjustable GMT hand — allowing the wearer to track a second time zone without disturbing the local time setting. The 40mm Oyster case pairs with a sapphire crystal and a bi-directional 24-hour graduated bezel insert in Rolex's acrylic 'Pepsi' colourway — red for day, blue for night.

The Pepsi bezel variant of the 16710 occupies a particularly loaded space in collector culture. For much of the 16710's production run, Rolex offered the reference with either the Pepsi insert or a black 'Coke' / 'Batman' combination. When Rolex discontinued the steel Pepsi with the 16710's retirement in 2007 — replacing it with the ceramic-bezelled 116710 range, which initially launched without a Pepsi option — demand for the outgoing reference surged. The Pepsi's return on the new-generation 126710BLRO in 2018 vindicated collector sentiment but did little to suppress appetite for the original steel insert generation.

Hammond's tastes in watches, like his tastes in cars, tend toward the functional and the iconic rather than the ostentatious. The GMT-Master II 16710 Pepsi is exactly that — a watch with genuine aviation and travel utility credentials, a storied lineage dating to the original 1955 GMT-Master developed for Pan Am pilots, and an aesthetic identity that is instantly legible without being loud.

On the secondary market, clean examples of the Rolex GMT-Master II 16710 with Pepsi bezel in full set command significant premiums. Depending on condition, box and papers, and bezel fade, grey-market pricing typically lands between $12,000 and $18,000 — well above any original retail position, reflecting both the reference's discontinuation and the enduring appetite for steel Rolex sport watches with genuine provenance.