Rolex works in mysterious ways. Some will find this modus operandi annoying and dissociating, and others will experience it as tirelessly fascinating. I myself have slowly converted from the former to the latter group. All this is to say that, when there is something — anything — new from Rolex, I ask myself: “Why has Rolex done this?” When it comes to this article’s subject, the Rolex GMT-Master II 126719BLRO Pepsi with meteorite dial, I think I’ve got it figured out on first sight. When the first 21st century Rolex Pepsi GMT debuted in 2014, owning a Rolex watch was out of reach for me, and I was nonetheless very excited about this release. I remember being on the edge of my seat and seeing the first official rolex replika video of this watch drop. I was astounded when I realized it was exclusively made available in 18k white gold, so priced well over 30k, about four times (!) higher than what steel GMTs retailed for at the time. In 2018, Rolex dropped the bomb by launching the...