GMT-Master II

The GMT-Master II is a workhorse that actually lives up to the hype-solid movement, comfortable fit, and that tool-watch vibe without feeling like you're wearing a tank. Yeah, the secondary market pricing is wild, but if you can get one at retail it's genuinely hard to beat for the money. Not quite reaching Nautilus territory for me personally, but this is the kind of watch you actually *use* instead of just staring at in the box.

The GMT-Master II is genuinely a fantastic tool watch-solid movement, legendary reliability, and that iconic look that just works. It's smaller than what I typically reach for, but the proportions are dialed in and it wears way better than you'd expect on a bigger wrist. The only thing keeping it from a higher score is the price tag and the fact that it doesn't have quite the presence I personally crave, but objectively it's hard to argue against one of the most capable everyday watches ever made.

The Architect

ExpertSep 27, 2026

74

The reference 116718LN occupies a precise coordinate within the GMT-Master II lineage: it is the yellow gold iteration of the generation that succeeded the 16718, retaining the 40mm Oyster case while introducing the black Cerachrom bezel — a material substitution that resolved, with some finality, the longstanding problem of insert fading endemic to its predecessors. The combination of yellow gold and black ceramic produces a tonal opposition that earlier references, constrained to aluminum inserts, could not sustain with equivalent longevity. Concordantly, the Caliber 3186 represents a competent if unremarkable movement for this price stratum. Its independently adjustable GMT hand and Parachrom hairspring are demonstrably sound engineering choices, though the caliber predates the Syloxi and Chronergy refinements present in successor iterations. The Oyster bracelet, rendered in yellow gold, executes its structural purpose with the expected solidity, though the weight accumulation across 40mm of case and full precious metal integration raises a legitimate question regarding wearability — this is not a watch indifferent to the wrist beneath it. Ergo, the value analysis produces friction. At thirty-one thousand dollars MSRP, the 116718LN commands a premium commensurate with material cost rather than horological complexity. The probability that its successor, the 126718GRNR with Caliber 3285, has rendered this reference technically obsolete approaches certainty. Its appeal resides increasingly in collector preference rather than specification.

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