Rolex GMT “Coke With Ice” Ref. 126758 RUSA and 126779 RUSA

Every spring, Rolex proudly announces their new releases and updates at the industry’s biggest trade show, Watches & Wonders. Well, most of them–each year they also release a handful of exotic gem-set off-catalog models, and they’re more coy about those. Sometimes the watch collecting world doesn’t even know a rare off-catalog Rolex exists until a curious enthusiast happens to snap a pic at his local authorized dealer. 2023 was one of those times: a user named cheezy-taters tried on the previously-unheard-of Rolex ref. 126758 RUSA and shared it on reddit. In 2024, blurry (but decipherable) pics of baguette-clad white gold (126779 RUSA) and yellow gold (126778 RUSA) models hit social media. With a red-and-black bezel set with black sapphires and rubies, the RUSA models may be as close as we get to a new Rolex Coke GMT. We’ll tell you what we know about these rare off-catalog “Icy Coke” Rolex GMT’s.

“Icy Coke” Rolex GMT-Master II Specs

Although 2023 was the first time we saw an Icy Coke colorway, it was far from Rolex’s first gem-covered off-catalog GMT-Master II. At first glance, these may look like “SARU” models (blue sapphires and rubies) which Rolex has made a few versions of in the past. But if you look closely, the sapphires on the upper half of the bezel are definitely black, not blue.

Rolex has also previously released a “Bruce Wayne” GMT with both blue and black sapphires. Plus, blurry stock photos of an off-catalog “Sprite With Ice” have been circulating online. So, this “Rolex Coke With Ice” seems to round out a theme of gem-set equivalents of existing GMT bezel colorways. And like the icy Sprite, the white gold Icy Coke comes with cufflinks!

Why Is It So Expensive?

Well, Rolex does some of the finest gem-setting in the world, and obviously Rolex is a premium brand that can charge healthy markups for their work, but the $181,000 sticker price of the 126758 RUSA is much higher than even the 126755 SARU (which was just north of $100,000 when it debuted in 2018). We haven’t yet been able to confirm it, but supposedly Rolex has begun using pigeon blood rubies, which are much more costly than typical rubies. And we expect the price of the white gold Icy Coke to be fair higher, because baguette diamonds are much more expensive than round ones–and the lugs and outer bracelet links of the 126779 RUSA are covered in baguettes.

“The picture does not do the rubies justice,” notes cheezy-taters of the 126758 RUSA. “Genuinely the most impressive red I’ve ever seen.” Regardless if the surprisingly-high price tag is a result of pigeon blood rubies or inflation or both, the target demographic for RUSA models probably isn’t sweating the Rolex price increases too much.

Where to Buy a Rolex 126758 RUSA or 126779 RUSA?

If you’re familiar with the Rolex supply chain, you’ll know that authorized dealers don’t choose what Rolexes they receive. While they can usually order watches like Datejust models to spec, for sports models and special pieces they just get what Rolex sends them. And given that there are over a thousand authorized Rolex retailers worldwide, not every store will get a 126758 RUSA or 126779 RUSA.

Your odds of finding the “Coke With Ice” simply going store-to-store are low (you might be better off contacting a trusted grey dealer). But hey, maybe you’ll stumble upon another off-catalog Rolex we’ve never seen before. Although it’s interesting that Rolex has (sort of) released a new Coke GMT, most enthusiasts will probably choose to wait for a version that’s about 1/16th of the price.