Soft drinks, superheroes, a frog and a film star. What the best-known Rolex nicknames mean, which watch each one actually points to, which origin stories are fact and which are lore, and why a good name can move a price.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Finely Owned is independent and isn’t affiliated with Rolex. Pieces are pre-owned and sold by independent resellers, not the brands.
The black and blue bezel that earned the nickname, on a steel 40mm case with a black dial. Listed as pre-loved, sold by What Goes Around Comes Around.
Red over blue, the oldest color story in the GMT line. The title lists reference 16700, so confirm the exact model and bezel with the seller. Listed as pre-loved, sold by What Goes Around Comes Around.
Collector’s note: pre-owned. Offered by What Goes Around Comes Around, an independent reseller. Authenticated by the seller. Returns follow Amazon Luxury policy. Listings change, and price and availability are set by the seller on Amazon. Ask the seller for the serial and papers before you buy. Finely Owned is independent and isn’t affiliated with Rolex. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The appraisal
Someone at the far end of the table says “Nice Batman,” and everyone nods, except the woman wearing it.
“Batgirl,” she says, without looking up from her plate.
It’s the same black and blue bezel, the half-and-half ring that clicks around the dial, but hers sits on five small, rounded links instead of three broad, flat ones. That bracelet is the whole difference, and she knows it, and she enjoys being right about it more than she would admit. Her watch is worn properly: a faint dullness on the bezel’s edge where it meets shirt cuffs, the clasp a little hazy, the crystal clean.
Rolex never called it either name. Its own descriptions stick to materials and colors, which is accurate and impossible to say over dessert. The nickname is shorter, warmer and, for better or worse, the word the next buyer will type into a search bar.
What does it say about her? That she knows the reference number and chose to use the joke instead.
Where it came from
Rolex names its watches by model and reference number. It’s precise and not very sociable. Collectors filled the gap. Sotheby’s describes nicknames as “an integral part of Rolex culture,” coined by collectors to tell colorways and dials apart.
None of them are Rolex’s own terms. Some started with a color, some with a famous wearer, and at least one with a mistake. Nobody can point to the first person who said “Pepsi” or “Batman,” so the honest answer to “who named it?” is usually “collectors, somewhere, at some point.” Where a source exists for an origin story, we name it below. Where it doesn’t, we call it lore.
The names spread the way slang does: on forums, in auction catalogues, in magazines and at the counter. They also spread because they’re easier to say out loud. A collector on the Rolex Forums once pointed out that a string of letters such as “BLRO” may be shorter to type than “Pepsi,” but takes twice as many syllables to say.
Read next: the Oyster Perpetual and its turquoise dial.
Famous wrists and moments
“Drive Carefully Me”
The most valuable nickname belongs to a real person’s watch. According to Phillips, around 1968, the actor Joanne Woodward bought her husband, Paul Newman, a Rolex Daytona with what collectors call an “exotic” dial: contrasting subdials, square markers and an Art Deco-style typeface. She had the case back engraved “DRIVE CAREFULLY ME.” Phillips says she worried every time he went on the track, and that he’d been badly hurt in a motorcycle accident a few years earlier.
Phillips says this was the only exotic-dial Daytona Newman owned, and that it inspired the nickname that collectors now use for every Daytona with that dial. In October 2017, it sold at Phillips in New York for $17,752,500, which Phillips called a world record for a wristwatch at auction at the time. There’s a small twist for anyone who knows our Oyster Perpetual story. Phillips believes Woodward probably bought the watch at Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue, while the modern “Tiffany blue” Oyster Perpetual has no connection to Tiffany at all.
The McQueen that wasn’t (Lore)
The original Explorer II from the 1970s is still widely called the “Steve McQueen.” There are no known photographs of McQueen wearing one. FLOAT and Sotheby’s both note that the evidence points to a Submariner instead. How the name started is disputed, and we don’t repeat any version as fact. What we can say is that the nickname outlived the correction. Italian collectors have their own name for the same watch, “Freccione,” or “big arrow,” after its orange 24-hour hand.
Why the Rolex Explorer II Costs What It Does tells the full Explorer II story.
A paint company with a following
According to Phillips, the vividly lacquered “Stella” dials on some 1970s gold Day-Dates take their name from Stella SA, the Geneva company that supplied the lacquer. It’s one of the few nicknames with a documented, unglamorous origin: a supplier’s name on an invoice.
The names worth knowing
A nickname points to a look, and the look can span several watches. For each name, we’ve noted where the origin story comes from, or labeled it lore.
Soft drinks
- Pepsi: a blue and red bezel on the GMT-Master and GMT-Master II. Sotheby’s says the GMT-Master arrived in the 1950s as a pilot’s watch with a 24-hour hand for a second time zone. Origin: the colors match the soft drink’s logo. Lore: the retailer Chronext says the colors were originally Pan Am’s, but we haven’t seen that in a Rolex source.
- Coke: a red and black bezel on GMT-Master II references including the 16760, which collectors also call the “Fat Lady” because of its thicker case (Sotheby’s).
- Root Beer: brown and gold bezels, first on GMT-Masters of the 1960s and 1970s. Sotheby’s says Rolex echoed the look in 2018 with an Everose gold GMT-Master II.
- Sprite: the black and green GMT-Master II of 2022, with its crown on the left. Sotheby’s notes that left-hand-crown Rolex models of the 1950s and 1960s were typically special orders, which made the Sprite the first in regular production.
Superheroes and friends
- Batman: the black and blue ceramic bezel GMT-Master II, introduced in 2013 (Sotheby’s), on the Oyster bracelet.
- Batgirl: the same bezel colors on the Jubilee bracelet. Watchfinder dates the Jubilee version to 2019.
- Kermit: the Submariner made for the model’s 50th anniversary in 2003, with a green aluminum bezel insert. Sotheby’s calls it the only Submariner with a green aluminum insert, made for seven years. Lore, with a footnote: the reseller Watchfinder says Rolex once registered “Frogman” as a possible name before settling on “Submariner.” We haven’t seen that in a Rolex source.
- Hulk: the Submariner with both a green dial and a green ceramic bezel, which succeeded the Kermit.
- Starbucks: the 2020 Submariner Date with a green bezel and black dial.
- Cookie Monster: the white gold Submariner with a blue bezel and black dial.
Dials and details
- Paul Newman: a vintage Daytona with an exotic dial, named after the actor (Phillips; see above).
- Panda: a Daytona with a white dial and black subdials. Not everyone agrees on this one. Some collectors say “Panda” belongs only to certain vintage dials, and object to using it for the modern white-dial Daytona.
- Polar: the white-dial Explorer II.
- Double Red: the Sea-Dweller with two lines of red text on the dial (Sotheby’s).
- Stella: see above.
- Tiffany blue: collectors’ name for the turquoise dial on the modern Oyster Perpetual. Rolex calls it turquoise blue, and the dial has no connection to Tiffany & Co.
A green-bezel Submariner Date, the one collectors named after a coffee cup. Ask the seller for the reference and what comes with it. Listed as pre-loved, sold by Rebag.
Collector’s note: pre-owned. Offered by Rebag, an independent reseller. Authenticated by the seller. Returns follow Amazon Luxury policy. Listings change, and price and availability are set by the seller on Amazon. Ask the seller for the serial and papers before you buy. Finely Owned is independent and isn’t affiliated with Rolex. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What owners say
These are owners’ own accounts, paraphrased in our words. Each is one person’s experience, not a fact about every watch.
The girlfriend who hates the Batgirl. In a July 2025 r/rolex post, a collector shared his girlfriend’s ratings of his three watches. The Batgirl came last. She thought the blue and black looked like a cartoon, said it didn’t look like a Rolex, and disliked the nickname too. Her favorite was his Datejust 36, because its gold was the look she pictured when she thought of a Rolex. He said she always tells him to wear the Datejust and he rarely listens: the Batgirl was getting the most wrist time.
The search box test. In a December 2020 Rolex Forums thread, a collector who doesn’t use nicknames himself tried typing them into the search box on Rolex’s own website. Kermit, Batman, Pepsi, Smurf, Root Beer and Paul Newman all brought up the right watch, he said. Hulk, Starbucks, Batgirl, Polar, Coke and Rainbow didn’t. In the same thread, a member who owns both green Submariners said that “I own a Kermit and a Hulk” is simply easier to read, type and understand than two reference numbers. That was one person’s test, years ago, and a website’s search box changes, so treat it as a snapshot, not a rule.
“One four oh six oh em.” When a January 2023 Rolex Forums thread asked members what they really thought of nicknames, the answers split. One collector said he felt a bit silly telling people out and about that he owned a “one four oh six oh em.” Another said he uses nicknames with friends who aren’t as deep into watches as he is, and sees no need to be pretentious about it. A third said that Coke and Pepsi make sense to him, but the superhero names don’t.
The buying guide
More appraisals: The Watches Worth Knowing: Stories Behind the Dials, including Why the Rolex Explorer II Costs What It Does.
Related stories: the Rolex Datejust and the Rolex Oyster Perpetual.
What holds value
- Accuracy. A nickname adds value only when it describes the watch correctly. A Batman on a Jubilee is a Batgirl. A Kermit with a replacement bezel insert may not be a Kermit at all.
- Originality on vintage. On older pieces, a replaced bezel insert, a service dial or new hands can change the nickname and the price.
- The story behind it. A name tied to a documented story, like the Paul Newman, carries more weight than a name invented last month.
Box and papers
If a warranty card comes with the watch, its details should match the watch. Ask for photos of the serial and reference numbers. The reference, not the nickname, is what the papers will say. Pre-owned pieces don’t necessarily come with boxes or papers, and an independent resale doesn’t carry Rolex’s own guarantee, so read the listing’s warranty field.
Read next: what box and papers really tell you.
Service
Rolex’s terms say that modifications by outside parties void its warranty. If a vintage piece goes for service, ask that the original bezel insert, dial and hands be returned to you even if they’re replaced, because on a nicknamed watch, those are often where the value is.
Read next: servicing a Rolex.
What to check
- Find the reference. A nickname can cover several references. “Pepsi” spans decades of GMT-Masters. The reference number is what identifies the watch.
- Match the details. Bezel colors, dial color, bracelet type and crown side should all agree with both the nickname and the reference.
- Be wary of borrowed names. A listing that uses a valuable nickname for a different configuration is either careless or hopeful. Ask.
- Sold by. Name the reseller and read how it authenticates. In Amazon Luxury, pre-owned watches come from independent resellers in its program, such as What Goes Around Comes Around.
- The 30-day window. Amazon Luxury returns must be unused and unaltered, so don’t size, service or alter the watch until you’ve decided to keep it. Expect to sign on delivery.
Red over black, the quieter cousin of the Pepsi. The title lists reference 16700, so confirm the exact model and bezel with the seller. Listed as pre-loved, sold by What Goes Around Comes Around.
The green-bezel Submariner Date collectors named after a coffee cup. The listing doesn’t show the reference or describe the bezel, so ask the seller for both. Listed as pre-loved, sold by Rebag.
Collector’s note: pre-owned. Offered by Rebag and What Goes Around Comes Around, independent resellers. Authenticated by the seller. Returns follow Amazon Luxury policy. Listings change, and price and availability are set by the seller on Amazon. Ask the seller for the serial and papers before you buy. Finely Owned is independent and isn’t affiliated with Rolex. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Why a name moves a price
A nickname turns a reference number into a story people can repeat, and Sotheby’s notes that once collectors started calling similar exotic-dial Daytonas “Paul Newmans,” their desirability and value rose with the name. Buyers search for the name, so it gathers its own following. But the name doesn’t make the watch. Reference, condition, originality and papers do.
Rolex spent decades engineering precise names for its colors. Collectors replaced them with soft drinks and cartoon characters, and you pay for both: the watch, and the story everyone at the table already knows.
Sources
- Sotheby’s, From Pandas to Pepsi: A Guide to Rolex Nicknames (Apr 27, 2026)
- Phillips, Paul Newman’s “Paul Newman” Daytona sets world record (Oct 26, 2017)
- Phillips, Winning Icons, lot 8: Cosmograph Daytona “Paul Newman”
- Phillips, Paul Newman’s Legendary “Paul Newman”
- Phillips, Rolex “Stella” dial lot
- FLOAT, Rolex Explorer II “Steve McQueen” / “Freccione”
- Watchfinder, Essential guide to Rolex nicknames
- Chronext, Coke, Pepsi, Root Beer: the world of Rolex nicknames (Sep 19, 2018)
- Rolex, Oyster Perpetual 36, turquoise blue
- Rolex, Terms of Use
- Owner accounts: r/rolex, “GF Reviews my Trio”; Rolex Forums, “Nicknames for Rolex”; Rolex Forums, “Rolex Nicknames – Your Real Opinion?”
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Finely Owned is independent and isn’t affiliated with Rolex.
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[…] Read next: the stories behind Rolex nicknames. […]
[…] Read next: the stories behind Rolex nicknames. […]