The 40 mm or the 44 mm regatta model, which metal and strap, and what comes with the watch
Choose the size first. The 40 mm Yacht-Master shows the time and date, and has a bezel that turns both ways, so it suits most wrists. The Yacht-Master II is 44 mm and adds a countdown to the start of a sailing race, and it wears big. Then pick the metal, and a bracelet or the rubber Oysterflex strap. A watch is final sale, so ask everything before you pay.
Which Yacht-Master: Rolex Yacht-Master 40 mm or Yacht-Master II 44 mm
Take the 40 mm Yacht-Master unless you race boats or want a big watch. It shows the time and the date under the Cyclops lens, and the bezel turns either way to time a meeting or a parking meter. It sits flat on the wrist and slides under a shirt cuff.
The Yacht-Master II is the regatta watch, wide and tall on the wrist. Its dial carries a countdown hand and a ten-minute scale in large numerals, so it reads busier. Buy it for the countdown, or for presence on a large wrist.
Regatta countdown: how the Yacht-Master II Ring Command bezel works
The bezel sets the countdown. Turn it to open the setting, turn the crown to choose up to ten minutes, then turn the bezel back to lock it. One pusher starts the count at the warning signal, and the other resets it, or pulls it back in step with the official count if your start was off by a beat. Rolex calls this bezel Ring Command. Before you pay, ask the desk to confirm the countdown starts, stops and resets on that exact watch.
Metal and strap: Rolex Yacht-Master 16622, 116655, 116680 and 116681
Read the reference before the photos, because it fixes the metal. Here are four our listings have shown.
- 16622: the 40 mm in steel with a platinum bezel and a platinum dial, on the steel Oyster bracelet.
- 116655: the 40 mm in 18K Everose, Rolex's rose gold, with a black ceramic bezel insert, on the black Oysterflex strap.
- 116680: the Yacht-Master II in Oystersteel with a blue ceramic bezel and a white dial.
- 116681: the same Yacht-Master II in steel and Everose, two-tone down the bracelet.
Oysterflex is rubber molded over a flexible metal blade. It wears light and shrugs off salt water and sweat. Gold shows scratches sooner than steel does.
Papers and year: Yacht-Master box, Rolex card and papers
Read the short block under each description first. It says whether the Rolex card or the papers come with the watch, and the box is usually offered as an add-on. The card or papers carry the serial and the day the watch first sold, so the year in a title is usually that date. A watch without papers is still a real Rolex once it has been checked in person. Ask the desk how one without papers was dated.
Buying: final sale, authentication and sourcing a Yacht-Master
Every watch here is final sale, so settle each question before the payment. Our watch team checks each Yacht-Master in person before it goes on the site. Ask in the live chat about the bracelet or strap length, the papers and the last service, or call or text 212-872-9692 from 10 AM ET. Each watch ships tracked. When the reference, metal or dial you want is not listed, the desk looks for it through the trade and tells you what turns up.