The Yacht-Master is the Rolex that people misfile. It looks like a Submariner, it is priced like a dress watch, and it is neither. It is a luxury sports watch built around a raised, polished, bidirectional bezel and made only in precious metal or in Rolesium — steel with platinum. We hold 111 of them, from £4,495 to £38,000.
What makes a Yacht-Master a Yacht-Master
Three things. First, the bezel rotates in both directions, unlike a dive watch's unidirectional bezel — it is for timing regattas, not decompression stops. Second, the bezel is raised and polished, with engraved and filled numerals rather than printed ones. Third, there has never been a stainless-steel Yacht-Master: the "steel" ones are Rolesium, with a solid platinum bezel.
That platinum bezel is the detail most buyers miss and it is the whole reason a Rolesium Yacht-Master costs what it does.
The reference families
The 16622 / 16623 / 16628 generation (1999–2015) is the classic 40mm: Rolesium, yellow Rolesor and solid yellow gold respectively. The 35mm and 29mm mid-size versions (168622, 169622) covered smaller wrists before the Lady range took over.
The 116621 / 116622 (2011–2023) modernised the case. The 126621 / 126622 (2019–) added the calibre 3235. The 116655 Everose with its black Cerachrom bezel and Oysterflex bracelet is the one that changed the model's image entirely, and the 226659 Yacht-Master 42 in white gold is the current flagship.
Rolesium: the misunderstood metal
Rolex coined "Rolesium" for the combination of Oystersteel case and bracelet with a solid platinum bezel. It is not plating and it is not white gold. Platinum is denser, whiter and far more scratch-tolerant in appearance than white gold, and it does not need rhodium replating.
We hold 31 Rolesium watches. Because the bezel is platinum, a genuine Rolesium Yacht-Master weighs noticeably more than a same-size Submariner. If it does not, question it.
Oysterflex is not a rubber strap
The Oysterflex on Everose Yacht-Masters is a titanium-and-nickel alloy blade overmoulded in high-performance elastomer, with a cushion system on the underside that keeps it off the skin. It is engineered like a bracelet and priced like one.
It is also consumable. Check its condition carefully; a perished or cut Oysterflex is a four-figure replacement.
Yacht-Master or Submariner?
The Submariner is a tool that became a status object. The Yacht-Master was designed as a status object from the start. If you want the watch that will be understood by everyone in the room, buy the Submariner. If you want the one that will be understood by the two people who know, buy the Yacht-Master — and pay less for more precious metal.
Our Submariners start at £6,595; our Yacht-Masters at £4,495.
And the Yacht-Master II
A completely different watch: 44mm, a programmable countdown regatta chronograph with a mechanical memory, and a Ring Command bezel that talks to the movement. It is enormous, mechanically extraordinary and divisive. Buy it because the mechanism fascinates you, not because it shares a name.
Browse the collection
Browse pre-owned Rolex Yacht-Master watches — 111 in stock from £4,495, in Rolesium, Rolesor, yellow gold and Everose.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The steel-looking ones have solid platinum bezels — Rolesium.
It is water resistant to 100m and perfectly swimmable, but the bidirectional bezel means it is not a dive instrument.
Years of normal wear, but it is a wearing part. Inspect it and budget for replacement eventually.
