What identifies an orginal Pepsi bezel on 16710 ?

[seabreeze]

I came across the answer to this once in a listing, and looked here ion the forum, but the best way to tell from a serial # if the watch was born a pepsi or if it was swapped out?
TIA

[Tools]

There is nothing associated with the serial number, it is just a unique identifier, and nothing can be assessed by it except an ambiguous "dating" estimation compiled by many enthusiasts.

[watchnwine]

Nothing specific to the SN. Sometime papers have a letter code after the model number (although rarely) and in that case, a 16710A=Coke, 16170B=Pepsi and 16710N=all black. That can sometimes be the case with the white tag as well but those almost never survive with a 5-digit. Most of the time you will never know. It's unclear to me whether a Rolex dealer can look it up but they seem to be willing to offer a replacement of any color (because it came in all three) provided they take the old one in exchange.

[0nly5iv3Digits]

Only paperwork will tell you for sure - and as noted above, not all paperwork will specify.