Spend five minutes in any Rolex conversation and you will hear a second language. Pepsi. Batman. Hulk. Smurf. Panda. Wimbledon. These are not model names Rolex prints on a warranty card. They are nicknames, coined by collectors, and knowing them is the difference between following the conversation and standing outside it.
Here is the fun part: Rolex almost never uses these names itself. The Wimbledon Datejust has been called that for years and Rolex has never once said it. This is a working dealer's complete guide to the Rolex nicknames that actually matter, family by family, what each one means, and where it came from.
The short answer: Rolex nicknames are collector shorthand, usually based on bezel colors, dial layouts, or cultural associations. The GMT-Master II owns the most of them thanks to its two-tone bezels: Pepsi (red-blue), Batman (black-blue), Root Beer (brown-gold), Coke (red-black), Sprite (black-green), and Bruce Wayne (all-black). The Submariner has its greens and blues, the Daytona has the Panda, the Datejust has the Wimbledon, the Day-Date is the President, and the Oyster Perpetual has the Tiffany. Rolex made almost none of them official.
The images in this article were generated with AI for illustration, conditioned on real reference photography of Rolex watches. They depict recognizable models but are not photographs of specific watches for sale.
The GMT-Master II 'Batman', black-and-blue bezel on the Oyster bracelet. Its two-tone bezel is the reason Rolex has more nicknames than any other brand.
Where Rolex Nicknames Come From
The names are a folk language, invented by the community and adopted so widely that dealers and even Rolex staff use them in conversation, if never in print.
Most come from one of three places: a bezel color combination, a dial layout, or a cultural link. Rolex prefers to let its designs speak, so the enthusiast world fills the naming gap. That grassroots origin is exactly why the names are so sticky, and why a new release gets nicknamed within hours of launch. Below, we run through them by model family, because once you understand why a family collects nicknames, the individual names stop being trivia and start making sense.
The GMT-Master II: The King of Nicknames
No Rolex collects nicknames like the GMT-Master II, because its defining feature is a two-color 24-hour bezel, and every color pairing gets a name. If you learn only one family of nicknames, learn this one, because it comes up the most.
The Pepsi is the original, a red-and-blue bezel dating to 1955 and named for the soda's colors. For decades it was the face of the GMT-Master, worn by Pan Am pilots crossing time zones, and it remains the most recognizable Rolex nickname of them all.
The 'Pepsi', the original nicknamed Rolex, named for the red and blue of the soda in the 1950s.
The Batman is the black-and-blue Cerachrom bezel introduced in 2013, the first ceramic two-tone bezel Rolex managed to produce and a genuine technical feat. Here is the distinction that trips up almost everyone new to Rolex: the exact same watch, reference 126710BLNR, gets two different nicknames depending only on the bracelet. On the three-link Oyster bracelet (the hero image above) it is the Batman. On the five-link Jubilee bracelet (below) it is the Batgirl. Same case, same dial, same black-and-blue bezel, different bracelet, different name.
The 'Batgirl', the same black-and-blue GMT on the Jubilee bracelet. Put it on the Oyster bracelet and it becomes the 'Batman'.
The Coke is the older red-and-black bezel, a discontinued combination that vintage collectors still chase, named for the other cola. Its modern counterpart is the Sprite, the black-and-green bezel launched in 2022 on a left-handed, destro case, a genuinely unusual Rolex that put the crown on the left side.
The 'Coke', a red-and-black bezel GMT. Its modern sibling, the black-and-green 'Sprite', is below.
The 'Sprite', a black-and-green bezel on the left-handed case, one of the most unusual modern Rolex releases.
Then come the gold and steel versions. The Root Beer is the brown-and-black or brown-and-gold bezel in two-tone Everose, a nickname revived from the 1970s two-tone GMTs that also wore names like Tiger Eye, Nipple Dial, and even Clint Eastwood after the 1675 he was often photographed wearing. The current Everose Root Beer 126711CHNR sits near the top of the steel-and-gold GMT range at around EUR 12,900 retail.
The 'Root Beer', the brown-toned two-tone GMT, a name revived from the 1970s originals.
Finally there is the Bruce Wayne, the all-black bezel GMT, the understated alter ego to the Batman's two-tone. Not every collector uses the name, but it follows the logic perfectly: if the black-and-blue is Batman, the all-black is the man behind the mask.
The 'Bruce Wayne', the all-black bezel GMT, the understated alter ego to the Batman.
If you are weighing the two most wanted GMTs, our Batman vs Pepsi read covers which one is the smarter buy, and the full GMT-Master II guide covers the whole family.
The Submariner: Fifty Shades of Green and Blue
The Submariner's nicknames almost all come from Rolex's on-and-off love affair with color, first green, then blue.
The Hulk is the discontinued 116610LV, all green: green Cerachrom bezel and a matching sunburst green dial. It ran from 2010 to 2020, and its discontinuation only sharpened demand, because Rolex has never made another all-green Submariner. The name is pure comic-book logic, and it is one of the few nicknames that describes both the bezel and the dial at once.
The 'Hulk', the all-green 116610LV. Green bezel, green dial, and no successor since 2020.
The Kermit is the green-bezel, black-dial version, both the original 2003 model that marked the Submariner's 50th anniversary and the current 126610LV. The very first 2003 run is prized for its bezel font and nicknamed the Fat Four or Flat Four. Collectors have also floated Starbucks and Cermit for the newer green-bezel model, though neither has fully stuck.
The 'Kermit', a green-bezel, black-dial Submariner. The all-green version is the 'Hulk'. Rolex named neither.
On the blue side, the two-tone Submariner earns two names depending on the metal. The Smurf is the white-gold 116619LB, blue bezel and blue dial, a heavy and expensive full-gold-case diver. The Bluesy is the more common Rolesor version in steel and yellow gold with a blue dial. Same blue family, two very different price points.
The 'Smurf', the white-gold blue-on-blue Submariner. The two-tone steel-and-gold version is the 'Bluesy'.
The Daytona: Panda and the Legends
The Daytona's nicknames split between dial layouts and the famous people who wore them.
The Panda is any Daytona with a white dial and three contrasting black sub-dials, for the obvious resemblance to a panda's face. It is the classic steel Daytona look and the one most buyers picture first.
A 'Panda' Daytona: white dial, black sub-dials. The single most pictured Daytona configuration.
Flip the scheme and you get the Reverse Panda, a black dial with white sub-dials, equally collectible and arguably the sharper-looking of the two in the metal.
The 'Reverse Panda': black dial, white sub-dials. The negative image of the classic Panda.
Then come the legends. The Paul Newman is the exotic-dial vintage Daytona, reference 6239 and its siblings, that set the auction world alight when the actor's own example sold for 17.8 million dollars in 2017, still the reference point for vintage Rolex value. The John Mayer is the platinum ice-blue-dial 116506 the musician championed on his watch show, a name that shows how a single collector can christen a reference. Even the plain steel manual-wind vintage Daytona has a nickname, the Big Red, for the red Daytona script across the dial.
The Dress Watches: Wimbledon, President, and Tiffany
Even the dressy Rolex models get nicknames, and three are worth knowing.
The Wimbledon is the Datejust with a slate-grey dial and green Roman numerals, named for the colors of the tennis championship Rolex has timed since 1978. Rolex has never officially called it that, as we explain in our Wimbledon Datejust story, yet it is one of the most requested Datejust dials at any dealer counter.
The 'Wimbledon' Datejust, grey dial and green Roman numerals. Collectors named it; Rolex never has.
The President is the Day-Date, named both for the dedicated three-piece President bracelet Rolex introduced with it in 1956 and for the world leaders who wore one, from Eisenhower to Lyndon Johnson. Made only in gold or platinum, never in steel, it turns 70 in 2026, and the nickname is now so entrenched it is effectively the model's real name, which we unpack in why the Day-Date is called the President.
The 'President', the gold Day-Date on its namesake bracelet, worn by US presidents since the 1950s.
The Tiffany is the newer entry, the turquoise-dial Oyster Perpetual from the 2020 release, whose robin's-egg blue lacquer dial reminded everyone of Tiffany and Co.'s signature box color. It was never a collaboration, but the name stuck so hard that the turquoise 41mm OP became one of the most hyped Rolex releases of its decade.
The 'Tiffany' Oyster Perpetual, named for the turquoise dial's resemblance to the Tiffany blue box.
The Nickname Cheat Sheet
Here are the ones worth memorizing, at a glance, including a few text-only names you will hear from vintage collectors.
| Nickname | Model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pepsi | GMT-Master II | Red and blue bezel |
| Batman | GMT-Master II | Black and blue bezel, Oyster bracelet |
| Batgirl | GMT-Master II | Black and blue bezel, Jubilee bracelet |
| Coke | GMT-Master II | Red and black bezel |
| Sprite | GMT-Master II | Black and green bezel, left-handed case |
| Root Beer | GMT-Master II | Brown and gold two-tone bezel |
| Bruce Wayne | GMT-Master II | All-black bezel |
| Hulk | Submariner | All-green, bezel and dial |
| Kermit | Submariner | Green bezel, black dial |
| Smurf | Submariner | White gold, blue on blue |
| Bluesy | Submariner | Two-tone steel and gold, blue dial |
| Panda | Daytona | White dial, black sub-dials |
| Reverse Panda | Daytona | Black dial, white sub-dials |
| Paul Newman | Daytona | Exotic-dial vintage, actor's own |
| John Mayer | Daytona | Platinum ice-blue dial |
| Wimbledon | Datejust | Grey dial, green Roman numerals |
| President | Day-Date | President bracelet, US presidents |
| Tiffany | Oyster Perpetual | Turquoise Tiffany-blue dial |
Vintage circles add still more: the Milgauss with the lightning-bolt seconds hand and green sapphire crystal is the GV or Glace Verte, the orange-hand Milgauss is the Anniversary, the 1655 Explorer II is the Freccione or Steve McQueen, and the white-dial Sea-Dweller is the Great White. The language keeps growing.
The Bottom Line
Rolex nicknames are the collector world's way of turning reference numbers into stories, and they stick because they are more memorable than any catalog name. Learn the bezel colors on the GMT-Master II, the greens and blues on the Submariner, and the Panda, Wimbledon, President, and Tiffany, and you can hold your own in any Rolex conversation.
Now you speak the language. Go find the one you want to call your own at 5dwatches.com, Pepsi, Panda, Tiffany and all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do Rolex watches have nicknames?
Because collectors coin them, not Rolex. The names usually come from bezel color combinations, dial layouts, or cultural associations, and they spread through the enthusiast community until dealers and buyers all use them. Rolex prefers to let its designs speak, so it rarely uses the nicknames officially, even famous ones like the Wimbledon.
What are the Pepsi and Batman Rolex?
Both are versions of the GMT-Master II, named for their two-tone bezels. The Pepsi has a red-and-blue bezel, the original color pairing from 1955, named for the soda. The Batman has a black-and-blue bezel introduced in 2013 and is called the Batman on the Oyster bracelet and the Batgirl on the Jubilee bracelet. The bezel is the same; the bracelet decides the nickname.
What is the difference between the Batman and the Batgirl Rolex?
There is no difference in the watch itself. Both are the black-and-blue bezel GMT-Master II, reference 126710BLNR, with the same case, dial, and Cerachrom bezel. The only difference is the bracelet. On the three-link Oyster bracelet it is nicknamed the Batman, and on the five-link Jubilee bracelet it is the Batgirl. Rolex offers the same watch with a choice of bracelet, and collectors coined a separate nickname for each. Neither name is official, and which one you prefer usually comes down to whether you like the sportier Oyster or the dressier, more comfortable Jubilee.
What is a Panda Daytona?
A Panda Daytona is any Cosmograph Daytona with a white dial and three contrasting black sub-dials, named for the resemblance to a panda's face. A Reverse Panda flips the scheme to a black dial with white sub-dials. The nickname describes the dial layout, not a specific reference number.
Why is the Rolex Day-Date called the President?
For two reasons. It debuted in 1956 on a new three-piece link bracelet that Rolex named the President, and it became associated with world leaders and US presidents who wore one, including Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson. The nickname is now so entrenched that most people call the model the President by default.
What is the difference between the Hulk, Kermit, and Starbucks Submariner?
All three are green Submariners. The Hulk is the discontinued 116610LV with a green bezel and a green dial. The Kermit is the green bezel with a black dial, both the original 2003 version and the current model. Starbucks and Cermit are collector nicknames some use for the newer green-bezel, black-dial Submariner.
Why is the turquoise Oyster Perpetual called the Tiffany?
Because its robin's-egg blue lacquer dial, released in 2020 on the 41mm Oyster Perpetual, closely matches the trademarked Tiffany blue of Tiffany and Co.'s packaging. It was never an official collaboration, but the resemblance was so strong that collectors named it the Tiffany and the dial became one of the most sought-after modern OP configurations.