Rolex Yacht Master Watches

Taking about the Rolex watches, it is that one brand which has never stopped flabbergasting us. So with each new arrivals of its models, they have successfully amazed us. The same is applied to the Yacht Master.

Let us begin with some history. The Rolex Yacht Master is a sports watch which was first introduced in 1992. Now, as you might be aware that Rolex very rarely introduces the all-new model, so the last Rolex model which was introduced before the Yacht Master was the model named Daytona which was released in 1964, thus we can see that the Rolex took about 28 years to introduce us with Rolex new model. So the Yacht Master began its journey with the model Yacht Master 16628 which is built in 18-carat yellow gold and has a white dial with the Rolex 3135 calibre movement and triplock crown. Its striking similarities with the Rolex Submariner were clear for all to see. And the only difference between the Submariner and the Yacht Master was that the Yacht Master was waterproof to 100m. Thus it was not aimed at divers but instead marketed as a racing watch.

Later in 1994, the Rolex, for the first time issued a smaller professional size watch. It released two watches, one for the ladies which was the model Yacht Master 69628 and a mid-sized man's watch which was the model Yacht Master 68628. And in 1996, it added to the same collection by introducing the two-tone, that is, combined with the stainless steel and 18-carat yellow gold to the ladies and mid-size line. In 1997, the Rolex decided to gives the Yacht Master a stainless steel and platinum construction, so it released the Yacht Master in Rolesium. Rolesium is a term which was patented by Rolex in the early 1930s, and now it has become exclusively aligned to the Yacht Master model. Its bezel and dial are in platinum, while the case, band, and crown, of the watch, are in stainless steel. This model is also known as the Platinum Yacht Master and could be found on models Yacht Master 16622 (40mm men's), Yacht Master 168622 (35mm midsize), and Yacht Master 16922 (29mm ladies) watches. By the end of 1999, Rolex decided to discontinue the model two-tone Yacht Master 68623 and replaced it with the two-tone model Yacht Master 168623 in 2000. Now what distinguishes the two models is the upgraded movement in the 168623, and also it is built with the heavier 18-carat gold links, whereas the links in the 68623 were hollow.

The last addition to the Yacht Master was the two-tone, steel and gold Rolex Yacht Master ‘Rolesor' 16623. This was made available with a variety of dials including the colors like blue, white, mother of pearl, champagne, brown and silver.

Now the Rolex never really planned to deliver us a new set of the model when they started to work in the early 1990's, but sure the lovers of the Yacht Master will be forever thankful for the eventual result of what started out as a redesign of the Submariner. So it ultimately decided that the iconic Submariner was just unchallengeable to be updated with a new design, so they took a decision to launch the Rolex Yacht Master as a separate and more luxurious line instead.

The list of the Rolex Yacht Master which were available at the time:

116622 - Men Rolex Yacht Master 40 mm Rolesium (Stainless Steel and Platinum)

116623 - Men Rolex Yacht Master 40 mm Rolesor (Stainless Steel and Gold)

168622 - Midsize Rolex Yacht Master 35 mm Rolesium (Stainless Steel and Platinum)

168623 - Midsize Rolex Yacht Master 35 mm Rolesor (Stainless Steel and Gold)

169622 - Ladies Rolex Yacht Master 29 mm Rolesium (Stainless Steel and Platinum)

169623 - Ladies Rolex Yacht Master 29 mm Rolesor (Stainless Steel and Gold)

The common feature in all the Rolex Yacht Master is its bi-directional bezel. This is basically designed to measure the time progress between two points. They all come within an Oyster case and sit on the Rolex Oyster bracelet. Each of the Yacht Master has the blue Parachrom hairspring, which has been developed to be insensitive to the magnetic fields and is highly shock-resistant, which ensures the ongoing durability and accuracy of the timepiece. The 35mm and 29mm Rolex Yacht Masters feature the calibre 2235 movement whereas the 40mm versions of the Rolex Yacht Master feature the calibre 3135 movement.

In 2012, Rolex also released an all-new version of the stainless steel and platinum Yacht Master 116622, which was built with a cobalt blue sunray dial and till this date it is considered as an instant piece of a classic!

In 2015, Rolex introduced the Yacht Master Everose gold version, Yacht Master 116655 and the first 37mm Yacht Master 268655. The new Yacht Master 37 mm is listed under both Rolex men and Rolex women section on its official website.