Entrepreneur Diego Della Valle spotted wearing a Rolex

Diego Della Valle, the Italian entrepreneur who built Tod's into a global luxury goods empire, was recently photographed wearing a stainless steel Rolex GMT-Master II reference 16710 fitted with the iconic 'Coke' bezel — red upper half, black lower half — one of the most recognizable color combinations in the modern watch canon.

The Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16710 was produced from 1989 to 2007, making it one of the longest-running references in the GMT-Master II lineage. Powered by the calibre 3185 automatic movement — featuring a GMT hand independently adjustable in one-hour increments, a quickset date, and a power reserve of approximately 50 hours — it sits in a 40mm Oyster case in 904L stainless steel with a bidirectional rotatable 24-hour bezel. The 'Coke' color scheme on the 16710 is achieved via a two-tone aluminum insert, a detail that would later be retired in favor of Cerachrom ceramic bezels on successor references.

The 'Coke' colorway first appeared on the ref. 16760, known among collectors as the 'Fat Lady' due to its slightly enlarged 40mm case with a thicker profile to accommodate the calibre 3085. Produced only from 1983 to 1988, the Fat Lady remains the rarest and most collectible GMT-Master II variant. When Rolex transitioned to the 16710, the 'Coke' bezel carried over but was eventually phased out in favor of the all-black 'Batman' (blue/black) and 'Pepsi' (red/blue) configurations on later references. No ceramic 'Coke' bezel has appeared in the current collection, which continues to fuel speculation among enthusiasts about a potential return.

Della Valle's choice of the 16710 'Coke' reflects a collector sensibility rooted in vintage-adjacent sports Rolex rather than current-catalogue status symbols. For a man who has spent decades navigating the intersection of Italian craftsmanship and international luxury markets, the reference reads as deliberate and knowledgeable.

On the secondary market, the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16710 'Coke' commands consistent demand. Full-set examples in excellent condition regularly trade above their original retail price, with the 'Coke' configuration carrying a modest premium over the more common black-bezel variants of the same reference.