The Rolex “Batman” is a nickname commonly used to refer to certain GMT-Master II watches that feature a black and blue color theme. This nickname was given due to the resemblance of the bezel colors to the custom colors of Batman.
The history of the Rolex Batman can be traced back in 2013 when GMT-Master II Reference 116710BLNR was released. In this model major changes can be identified as it was the first time that black and blue ceramic bezel was introduced. The black color represented the night time hours, while the blue the daytime hours on the bezel.
ROLEX GMT BATMAN Master II Ref. 116710BLNR
The Rolex GMT-Master II reference 116710BLNR, often known as the “Batman,” with its stainless steel case and bracelet, quickly gained popularity among watch enthusiasts for its amazing and strong color combination. The blue and black ceramic bezel insert was crafted using Rolex’s patented Cerachrom technology that was able to give amazing scratch resistance and color durability. ROLEX GMT BATMAN became one of the most favorite models of Rolex for its unique aesthetic.
ROLEX GMT BATMAN Ref 126710BLNR
In 2019, “Batman” made a strong appearance in the watch world with the release of the GMT-Master II reference 126710BLNR. This version kept the black and blue ceramic bezel but changed the case and introduced slimmer lags and added the choice of a Jubilee bracelet.
ROLEX GMT BATMAN
ROLEX GMT BATMAN IMPORTANT MILESTONES
Rolex GMT-Master II Reference 116710BLNR: This model, introduced in 2013, is often referred to as the “Batman” due to its black and blue ceramic bezel. It features a stainless steel case and bracelet and became popular for its striking color combination.
Rolex GMT-Master II Reference 126710BLNR: This updated version of the “Batman” was released in 2019. It retained the black and blue ceramic bezel but introduced a slightly redesigned case with slimmer lugs. It also offered the option of a Jubilee bracelet in addition to the traditional Oyster bracelet.
Want to learn more about Rolex History? Check out our article that describes how everything started.
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Vallée de Joux, Switzerland — Contributing Editor, high complications & independent watchmaking
Julien Favre learned the difference between good silence and bad silence before he was ten. Good silence was his grandfather at the bench in Le Sentier, loupe screwed into one eye, breathing shallow over a disassembled minute repeater. Bad silence was the moment a hairspring pinged off the peg-wood and disappeared into the floorboards. The family atelier — three generations of movement servicing for the maisons that carpet the Vallée de Joux — was never framed as a legacy Julien was expected to join. It simply was the house, the way weather is the house in a mountain valley.
He resisted it, predictably. He studied economics in Lausanne and spent two years in Geneva watch retail, selling the objects rather than opening them. What pulled him back was not sentiment but frustration: he found he could describe why a movement was beautiful far better than anyone selling it could, because he had seen its underside. He started writing — first a blog dissecting finishing under macro photography, then commissioned work for the trade press, then features that treated escapements the way music critics treat a fugue.
Julien now covers high complications, restoration, and the fragile economics of independent watchmaking for European and English-language titles. His reporting is unusually technical without being cold; he is as interested in the person hunched over the bench as in the tolerances they hold. He is skeptical of hype, allergic to press-release adjectives, and reliably the first to notice when a "revolutionary" caliber is a reworked ébauche.
He still returns to the family workshop each winter to service a single pocket watch on his grandfather's bench — a discipline, he says, that keeps his writing honest. A critic who cannot do the thing risks worshipping it. Byline version: Julien Favre is a contributing editor covering high complications and independent watchmaking. He grew up in a movement-servicing atelier in the Vallée de Joux and still works the family bench each winter
Vallée de Joux, Switzerland — Contributing Editor, high complications & independent watchmaking
Julien Favre learned the difference between good silence and bad silence before he was ten. Good silence was his grandfather at the bench in Le Sentier, loupe screwed into one eye, breathing shallow over a disassembled minute repeater. Bad silence was the moment a hairspring pinged off the peg-wood and disappeared into the floorboards. The family atelier — three generations of movement servicing for the maisons that carpet the Vallée de Joux — was never framed as a legacy Julien was expected to join. It simply was the house, the way weather is the house in a mountain valley.
He resisted it, predictably. He studied economics in Lausanne and spent two years in Geneva watch retail, selling the objects rather than opening them. What pulled him back was not sentiment but frustration: he found he could describe why a movement was beautiful far better than anyone selling it could, because he had seen its underside. He started writing — first a blog dissecting finishing under macro photography, then commissioned work for the trade press, then features that treated escapements the way music critics treat a fugue.
Julien now covers high complications, restoration, and the fragile economics of independent watchmaking for European and English-language titles. His reporting is unusually technical without being cold; he is as interested in the person hunched over the bench as in the tolerances they hold. He is skeptical of hype, allergic to press-release adjectives, and reliably the first to notice when a "revolutionary" caliber is a reworked ébauche.
He still returns to the family workshop each winter to service a single pocket watch on his grandfather's bench — a discipline, he says, that keeps his writing honest. A critic who cannot do the thing risks worshipping it.
Byline version: Julien Favre is a contributing editor covering high complications and independent watchmaking. He grew up in a movement-servicing atelier in the Vallée de Joux and still works the family bench each winter
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