Actor Aksel Hennie spotted wearing a Rolex

Aksel Hennie, the Oslo-born actor whose breakout role in Jo Nesbø's 'Headhunters' launched him onto the international stage, was recently photographed in a garden setting, dressed in a white shirt and black tie while holding a fruit ice lolly — the kind of casually incongruous scene that makes a watch spot genuinely memorable. On his left wrist, the unmistakable red-and-blue bezel of a Rolex GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' confirmed he belongs firmly in the camp of collectors who prefer substance over flash.

The reference in question appears to be the 16710, produced by Rolex from 1989 to 2007. This is the last steel GMT-Master II to feature the classic acrylic-era aesthetic cues in updated form — a sapphire crystal over the black dial, the calibre 3185 automatic movement (upgraded to 3186 in later production runs), and the iconic 40 mm Oyster case on an Oyster bracelet with flip-lock clasp. The bi-directional 24-hour graduated bezel insert — the 'Pepsi' colourway — remains the single most recognisable bezel combination in Rolex's catalogue.

From a collector standpoint, the 16710 'Pepsi' occupies a particularly sweet spot. It was the last steel Pepsi before Rolex controversially dropped the bi-colour steel variant in 2007, replacing it with the 'Batman' (black-and-blue) 116710BLNR. The steel Pepsi did not return until the ceramic-bezelled 126710BLRO in 2018 — a full eleven-year absence that cemented the 16710's reputation as a grail piece among GMT enthusiasts.

Hennie has established himself in Hollywood productions including Ridley Scott's 'The Martian' and 'Avengers: Infinity War', building the kind of international profile that sits comfortably alongside a watch with genuine horological credibility. The 16710 'Pepsi' is not a celebrity vanity purchase — it is a tool watch with decades of provenance, and wearing one in 2024 signals collector conviction rather than trend-following.

On the secondary market, clean examples of the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16710 'Pepsi' in stainless steel with original bracelet and papers command approximately $13,000–$16,000 depending on condition and service history, well above any original retail position — a trajectory that shows no sign of reversing given sustained collector demand.