The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
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At 8:30 AM last Wednesday (Geneva time), when everyone stateside was tucked into their beds, the entire set of new Rolex novelties hit the internet. We immediately turned our focus to a certain left-sided crown GMT-Master II with a green and black bezel, and the new Air-King with crown guards and professional case. But those weren't the only releases from The Crown this year. In fact, when the HODINKEE team visited the Rolex booth (I really need to stop calling these things booths) at Watches & Wonders, one collection took us all by surprise: The Yacht-Master.
Now, I don't have a complete understanding of the personal lives of my colleagues, but I think it's fair for me to say that not one of us is a competitive yachts-person and yet nearly every one of us was jazzed to handle the new 42mm Yacht-Master in yellow gold on the Oysterflex bracelet. Yellow gold has a tendency to do that.
In fact, this is one of the reasons I am so happy that trade shows are back and we're able to handle watches in person and report back to you, the readers, on our observations. I think it's likely that we would have overlooked this release as nothing more than a change in metal. But to my mind, this new case material results in a Yacht-Master the way it always should have been: Flashy, but no less sporty. The yellow gold execution just feels right.
Of course, that wasn't the only news to come off the yacht. We weren't able to see it, but Rolex unveiled a new white gold variant with something called a Falcon's Eye dial which looks about as cool as anything I've seen out of the "house that Wilsdorf built" in years. I'll reserve full judgment until I see it in person, though.
Yacht-Master with Falcon's Eye dial
But there was even more yacht-watch action that had the room waiting to touch and feel (I'll never stop saying that). I'm talking about the 40mm white gold Yacht-Master with diamond-set lugs, and a rotating bezel fully set with an array of colorful sapphires.
I don't want this point to be lost on anyone. The bezel has no text, numerals, or any useful markings. It's just adorned with sapphires and yet – Rolex still made it rotate. You just have to love that. It almost bears repeating the "no sapphire left unturned" joke I made in the introductory article. Well, I guess I just repeated it anyway.
It really is interesting that the watches you think we'd scoff at in press photos are the ones we were most excited to try on in person. The sapphire YM made its way around the table multiple times, as each of us wanted a second and third time with it on the wrist. From a size perspective, I have always loved the 40mm YM, and the colorful blingy-ness of this one really makes it a larger-than-life timepiece.
But it was the YG YM that really caught my eye. Prior to W&W, we wrote an article about Rolex watches we hoped to see this year. I chose one I knew we would never see, which was a Submariner with a Yacht-Master bezel. I just love the matte-ceramic look and feel of this bezel with the tone-on-tone raised numerals. For a model range that comes predominantly in precious metals, it is interesting to see such a utilitarian, toolish look paired with gold. This is in contrast to the steel Submariner, which utilizes a shiny Cerachrom bezel.
On the wrist, the 42mm version wears exactly like you would expect a 42mm watch to wear. It isn't deceptively small, or overly large – but it is big. I have a six-and-a-third-inch wrist and I am not sure I could wear this one daily. Much of that has to do with the Oysterflex bracelet – and yes it is technically a bracelet and not a strap. You see, as comfortable as it is (and it's mighty comfortable), it bows out slightly and doesn't hug the wrist as tightly as a traditional bracelet does. Unfortunately, this makes a 42mm watch wear exactly as advertised, which in my case makes the watch a tad too big (though fingers crossed for a future 37mm version).
This was a bit of a bummer for me to experience in the room because as a design object, the yellow gold Yacht-Master is a total stunner. The black dial, maxi lume plots, and the date window all work to form a well-proportioned timepiece. Of course, this is a purely aesthetic update and the watch continues to feature the Superlative Chronometer-rated 3235 caliber.
I really think the entire YM collection is criminally underrated by the general watch-loving public, but I also understand that price is a factor in these things, and at $28,300 the yellow gold model isn't necessarily a bargain. Of course you can always spring for the steel model with platinum bezel in 40mm sizing, but that really feels like a different watch entirely.
My high-level observations of this watch are that it's a logical addition to the Yacht-Master fray. I suspect we'll see more of these in the wild than we did the white gold model because WG is a metal that flies under the radar. If you're buying gold, you want someone to know. It has the heft you want from a solid gold watch, but it's balanced by the cushioned comfort of the Oysterflex. In a world where steel Rolex sport watches are trending around the price of this model on the secondary market, is it so crazy to spring for YG and get your name on the warranty card?
Live photos, Tiffany Wade. For full specs and pricing, check out our Introducing post.
For more information about Rolex, visit the brand's website. The HODINKEE Shop features pre-owned and vintage Rolex watches.
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