Watches and Wonders 2026: Pepsi Discontinuation, Nautilus Turns 50, and AP's Return

Last updated: April 16, 2026

Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 opened April 14 and runs through April 20. 66 brands are exhibiting, Audemars Piguet returned after a six-year absence, Rolex leaned into the Oyster case's 100th anniversary with 58 new references, and Patek Philippe dropped four limited-edition Nautilus refs for the model's 50th birthday.

Here's what we're watching from a dealer's perspective: what actually matters if you buy, sell, or collect luxury watches.

We're watch dealers, not financial advisors. Everything below about prices, discontinuations, and where the market might head is speculation based on what we see coming through the shop. Take it as our read of the floor, not a prediction.

Rolex Teases the Oyster's 100th Anniversary

Rolex patented the Oyster case in 1926, and they made its 100th birthday the headline theme of the whole 2026 release. The April 10 teaser video previewed a two-tone Oyster Perpetual with "100 Years" on the dial and a handful of other pieces; the April 14 catalog drop filled in the rest. 58 new references total, two of them on Rolex's "Exceptional Watches" page, and every section of the catalog ties back to the centennial in some way.

The standouts: a Rolesium Cosmograph Daytona (Oystersteel case with a 950 platinum bezel and a sapphire caseback, a first on the steel Daytona lineage), a Day-Date 40 in a new in-house "18ct Jubilee gold" alloy, the Oyster Perpetual 41 two-tone carrying "100 Years" on the dial, a revived Yacht-Master II (the first meaningful update since 2017), and a diamond-paved Day-Date 36 at $98,100. It's a material-storytelling year, not a new-complication year.

For every reference with US retail prices and direct links, see our complete breakdown of every new Rolex for 2026.

Our take on the Oyster's 100th. Watch on Instagram →

The Big Three Under One Roof

For the first time ever, Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet will all present at the same watch fair. Audemars Piguet skipped the event in previous years, so having all three in Geneva at once is a big deal for the industry.

Rolex joined Watches and Wonders in 2023 after leaving Baselworld, and they've used the show for major launches since: updated Submariners, new GMT colorways, and the Land-Dweller collection in 2025. 2026 held off on Land-Dweller updates (first full production year after its 2025 debut) and on new pieces in most of the tool-watch range, and put the energy into dress references and material work tied to the Oyster centennial.

AP's return is the biggest story structurally. They left SIHH (W&W's predecessor) in 2019 alongside Richard Mille, opting for direct-to-collector "AP Days" at their own manufacture instead. Six years later, they're back with a 1,200 square meter booth in Hall 2, one of the biggest floor presences at Palexpo. Brands don't rejoin a major fair after that kind of exit without something material to show, and being back under the same roof as Rolex and Patek for the first time ever is its own story.

Watches and Wonders 2026 so far: our recap on Instagram. Watch on Instagram →

The Rolex Pepsi GMT: End of an Era?

The Pepsi GMT-Master II (ref. 126710BLRO) is done. As of April 14, it's gone from rolex.com alongside Rolex's 2026 new-models reveal. No formal announcement, but that's how Rolex handles discontinuations: removal from the catalog and the website, no press release. The writing had been on the wall since early 2026, when authorized dealers stopped getting shipments and listings started disappearing.

The secondary market had already been reacting ahead of the confirmation. Pepsi prices climbed roughly $3,000 between January and March 2026, from the low $24,000s to above $26,000 at dealer median. Chrono24 purchase requests surged over 500% compared to the 2025 average in the first week of March, according to DMARGE. Unworn examples were listing near $30,000 to $45,000 by mid-March. The April 14 confirmation tends to compound that move in the following weeks.

For context, retail on the Pepsi was $11,800 before the January 2026 price increases. That's roughly a 2.5x secondary market multiple.

Rolex hasn't said what (if anything) replaces it. The "Coke" (red-and-black) ceramic GMT chatter is still live, mostly because Rolex has patents for bi-color red-and-black ceramic bezels and the Pepsi's own story went white gold in 2014, then steel in 2018, before disappearing this year. But no new GMT launched at W&W 2026 to confirm the pattern. Our read: the next meaningful GMT announcement probably isn't this show.

Now that the Pepsi is officially gone, expect another leg up on the secondary market. The Submariner "Hulk" (ref. 116610LV) followed this same pattern in 2020: values climbed steadily once it was clear no new supply was coming. For more on the pattern, see our guide to discontinued Rolex models worth buying.

Nautilus Turns 50

The Patek Philippe Nautilus turned 50, and Patek marked it with four limited-edition references: a 38mm platinum 5610/1P at $112,529 (2,000 pieces), a 41mm palladium white gold 5810/1G on bracelet at $93,774 (2,000 pieces), a 41mm 5810G on composite strap with baguette diamond markers at $75,019 (1,000 pieces), and a Nautilus-cased 958G desk clock in palladium white gold at $256,315 (100 pieces).

The platinum 5610/1P is the headline commercial piece: a 38mm two-hand Nautilus that leans on the silhouette of the original 3700. The other two wristwatches (both 41mm, white gold) work the 5711A footprint with anniversary-specific finishing. The 958G desk clock is the collector flex piece at 100 units.

The Nautilus had already been on a tear in the secondary market coming into the show. Patek prices were up 16.2% year-over-year per WatchCharts, with the Nautilus and Aquanaut leading. Supply of both collections dropped noticeably in mid-2025 and demand hadn't let up. Anniversary Nautilus references have historically become some of the most sought-after Patek pieces on the secondary market. For the full Patek 2026 release (19 new refs total, including the skeleton Cubitus 5840P and a carmine-red 7129J World Time), see our complete Patek 2026 breakdown.

New Names Worth Knowing

Eleven new brands join this year's roster. Three stand out:

• Corum is back under new management and looking to re-establish itself. Worth watching for pricing resets or new collection directions.
• Sinn, the German tool watch maker, brings serious horological credibility at accessible price points. Their presence at W&W signals growing ambition.
• Credor, Seiko's ultra-high-end manufacture, is exhibiting internationally for the first time. This is Seiko making a statement about where Credor sits in the luxury hierarchy.

The overall trend: 66 exhibiting brands is the highest count yet. The watch industry is consolidating around this single annual event as the place where things happen.

What This Means If You're Buying

From where we sit, here's what matters most:

If you want a Pepsi GMT, move on it. Rolex dropped the ref from the 2026 catalog and from rolex.com, which ends the "is it really gone?" uncertainty. Secondary market prices were already elevated pre-show, and confirmation of a discontinuation usually compounds the move in the weeks after.

Discontinued 2025 models are still findable. The Celebration dial Oyster Perpetuals, Falcon's Eye Yacht-Master (ref. 226659), and several Day-Date variants were dropped at last year's show. They haven't all spiked yet. Some of these are still available at reasonable premiums.

The Nautilus 50th drop will ripple across the whole lineup. Four new anniversary refs is a lot of commercial energy for one collection. The 5711 resale market was already elevated; the platinum 5610/1P as a halo piece at 2,000 units is the kind of release that tends to pull the rest of the current Nautilus lineup with it.

New announcements create secondary market opportunities. When Rolex or Patek introduce new references, the models they replace often dip briefly before climbing. That window is where deals happen, especially on 2025 refs that got quietly pruned to make room for the 2026 catalog.

This article is our running post-show read. We'll keep updating it as the floor coverage continues through April 20.

Market data reflects secondary market pricing and trends as of mid-April 2026 during Watches and Wonders. Prices referenced are based on Chrono24 and WatchCharts data and vary by condition, box/papers, and dealer. Post-show pricing continues to move; we'll update this article as the show progresses and as secondary market reactions firm up.

PS. We're covering Watches and Wonders daily from the floor. Easiest way to see it: @watchesoff5th on Instagram.