Would you pay more for a touch of nostalgia? The green Arrow GMT Master II 116710LN

We can say that this year 2 of the most discussed watches were the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona which was auctioned by Phillips and the GMT Master II BLRO from Baselworld 2018.

Suddenly prices have gone to the roof driven by our desire to own one. For me chronographs are great but not really my cup of tea, I do have my eye on a Hamilton Panda Intra-matic which is beautiful but this is another story, so I am left with the GMT function. Ever since I discovered this complication I have been obsessed by it, I am originally from Venezuela, my parents are in Italy and in live in the UK so the idea of tracking multiple time zones is very appealing for me, part of my itch was solved by the Glycine Airman which I reviewed here: Something to be proud of: Glycine Airman 18. I always wanted the classic Rolex GMT but with prices increasing I could not believe that the Green Arrow 11610LN was at the same price of the Pepsi 16710, I know the Pepsi has that really beautiful PanAM aura but the Green Arrow has a ceramic bezel with platinum inserts, updated movement with a paramagnetic blue parachrom hairspring and a maxi case, then after all of these innovations we have to go to the bracelet, which is probably the best out there and compared to the Pepsi is just miles away in refinement. So the question again is, would I pay the same amount on a Vintage Rolex for a touch of nostalgia? In my case I couldn't and went for the 116710LN and I have to say I have never been happier, I had the opportunity to try a vintage 16710 and it did not fulfil my expectations, yes it was beautiful but very far in terms of quality from my actual watch, it did feel very delicate and not in a good way. I agree that there is something about vintage watches, I currently own a IWC flieger (reviewed here: Pilot Inspired with a Secret: The IWC Flieger) and a Rolex precision (reviewed here: There is something about Rolex and I think know what it is...) which I love, both watches give another dimension to my collection but to say that I would choose these versions over their new counterparts would be a lie. I get why a person is more attached to an older and outdated model, the sentimental value cannot be crafted by a design team but to choose it when it has never been yours and tells a story of someone you do not know does not really do it for me, I just rather buy the new one and start my own story. Maybe I am getting it wrong but this whole vintage culture seems driven by the fact that we know there is a limited amount of watches or whatever we are buying out there, so our fear of passing the chance of owning a unique example make us desire them even more and pay the amounts which we are seeing now. In my case my collecting is more about owning the best version or the entry level version. The best versi

on always tells my head that this is the best they could build no compromising on time or budget and the entry level version tells me that this is rawest pure form of the watch but the DNA is still present, once the watch is with me I start to craft my own history with scratches and achievements along the way. If nostalgia is the driver then a Black Bay 58 or GMT should do the trick right?

Would you agree? Was the GMT Pepsi a better version?