[drmizzou]

Originally Posted by g-boac

If you are buying a loose watch, then you can't tell. If buying a GMT-Master II originally sold in USA as a full set, it is fair to consider this: the warranty papers indicate the original configuration of the watch from the factory. It ultimately is up to the market to determine whether this has value and how much; but generally speaking, you can expect a given attribute to have some valuation.

Condition being equal, I think it's reasonably fair to expect you'll find that sellers will ask, and buyers will pay, a reasonable premium for an original ("born") Pepsi. All three variants have their own unique looks, but the Pepsi bezel traces its look to the look of the original 6542.

As others have said here, when it comes to enjoying the watch, all three inserts are interchangeable, regardless of what came from the factory. Incidentally the codes on the papers were:

16710A = Coke
16710B = Pepsi
16710N = Black ("Noir")

A couple other points: the first generation GMT-Master II, the 16760 "fat lady" only came in the black/red Coke bezel. Approximate date of production 1983-1988.

The final generation GMT-Master, the 16700, only came in blue/red Pepsi bezel.

The second (and final) generation GMT-Master II, the 16710 was the one that came in all three variants of bezel, and overall, had the richest variation of parts throughout its production lifecycle. In addition the featuring Coke, Pepsi, and black bezels, this reference featured tritium, Luminova (SWISS -only dials), and Super-Luminova ("Swiss Made") dials. It also featured two distinct movements: the 3185 movement for most of the production, and a small batch of 3186 movements that went into the final production models. The cases featured lug holes (up through the K-serial) and no lug holes; while bracelets featured both stamped and solid endlinks.

Any way you go, the 16710 is a watch you can't collect too many of! ;)

Excellent summary!