Rolex’s most complicated sailing watch is back on deck
The Yacht-Master II returns after a two-year-long hiatus.
Have you heard of the Rolex Yacht-Master II (from £16,950)? Yes, it’s technically impressive and visually bold, but it’s also much less loved than a Submariner or a Daytona. Until — maybe — now. This complicated enigma for sailors and collectors of unusual Rolex watches was launched in 2007, discontinued in 2024 and resurrected earlier this year.
Water resistant to 100 metres, the new and improved Yacht-Master II features a clever synchronisation feature with mechanical memory that’s genuinely useful in competitive sailing. The wearer can set a countdown from one to 10 minutes, start it, stop it, reset it and even synchronise it to the official race signal if the gun sounds a few seconds early or late.
Helpfully, the clunky Ring Command bezel used for setting the countdown has been replaced by an easier-to-use push-button design. The buttons are shaped like boat sail winches.
Widely regarded as one of the most technically ambitious Rolex wristwatches, it is not in fact the most complicated (for context: a complicated watch features mechanical functions beyond telling the time. These extra features are called complications). That prize goes to the Sky-Dweller (from £14,800) which combines a dual time zone display with an ingenious annual calendar. The most complicated watch ever made is the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication — a miniature design marvel that packs an astonishing 41 complications into 1,521 components.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Yacht-Master II is substantially larger (case: 44 millimetres) than a Submariner (41 millimetres) or Daytona (40 millimetres). If I was forced to come up with a comparison, I suppose I’d describe it as the horological equivalent of a classic racing yacht: impractical for most people, but magnificent in the right context.
