The presentation of the new Rolex Yacht-Master I in titanium in the context of the fair Watches and Wonders 2023 has reawakened attention around this model Rolex. Lo Yacht-Master I in fact it is not one of the most famous watches of the crowned house: the reason is certainly in its resemblance to the much more famous one Submariners, which overshadows this model a bit.
So let's find out how and why this model was born and why Rolex chooses to bring an innovative material such as RLX titanium.
Rolex Yacht Master I: what it is
Softer case shape than the Submariners, less "technical" watch, open to the female public: this is what characterizes the first references of the Rolex Yacht-Master I. We are at the beginning of the nineties, and Rolex decides to launch a model similar functionally and aesthetically to the Rolex Submariner, but with two peculiarities that will remain fixed points of this watch throughout its thirty-year development: the use of metals other than steel and the bidirectional rotating bezel.
Why these choices? If the use of precious or, more recently, innovative metals, such as the titanium, serves to position it on a different market segment Yacht-Master I, the bidirectionality of the rotating bezel is not something that the buyer perceives visually. It is rather a precise technical choice, deriving from the function for which the watch is designed: a function that we will delve into in the next paragraph.
Rolex Yacht Master I: why?
Il Rolex Yacht-Master I it is one of the products Rolex more difficult to understand. What's the point of a Rolex so similar to Submariner to be confused with it at first glance? It is a “double” or the Rolex Yacht-Master I Is it a model with its own personality and raison d'être?
Let's shed some light on this together Rolex perhaps a little misunderstood.
As seen in the previous paragraph, the Rolex Yacht-Master I can be considered a "test bed" for innovations that Rolex it then transfers to the rest of the range. The most recent example is the new Yacht-Master in titanium, reference 226627. This material is not unpublished for rolex, who has already presented the Deep Sea Challenge in the same metal. Actually the use of titanium by Rolex is even earlier: through the subsidiary Tudors, which produced the appreciated Pelagos in titanium, Rolex has already had the opportunity to appreciate the qualities of this very light metal.
The bidirectional rotating bezel, mentioned above, is designed not to measure dive times, as in Submariners, but rather to time the passages between the marks during a regatta. Here because Yacht-Master: this watch is in fact designed for captains of sailing boats.
Rolex Yacht Master I: a laboratory of style and technology
Innovations such as the rotating bezel made of different material than the case and the Oysterflex bracelet have already been tested on the previous series of Rolex Yacht-Master I. The current model, as we have seen, brings titanium into the less "technical" and more "wearable" production of the House of the Crown. As per tradition rolex, the watch was tested under the harshest conditions imaginable: a competitive British sailor, Sir Ben Aisle, in fact he kept it on his wrist a titanium prototype of the Rolex Yacht Master I, with technical fabric strap, during his regattas.
But the Yacht-Master I it is not only a testing ground for new materials, it is also the testing ground for aesthetic innovations. The new course of Rolex Submariner 126610, which in the face of an increase in size sees a streamlining of the aesthetics of the case, with less massive lugs compared to the previous one reference 116610, may have been inspired by the shapes of the Rolex Yacht-Master I.
Who knows if in the current version of the Rolex Yacht-Master I, enlarged to 42 mm and with a much less "technical" and more "slender" appearance than the Submariners, we could perhaps guess some possible trends for the future of the "big brother" Rolex Submariner?
A curiosity: to protect the titanium of Oyster bracelet of the new Rolex Yacht-Master I 226627 from wear, Rolex he added ceramic inserts inside the shirts. The result, in addition to greater durability over time, is the improved fluidity of the bracelet in adapting to the wearer's wrist.
Rolex Yacht-Master I: price and availability
Il Rolex Yacht-Master I in titanium, reference 226627, is available from authorized retailers Rolex at the price of €14750. If you want a Used Rolex at the best price, we recommend you take a look at Chronosect marketplace: you are guaranteed to find only verified sellers and products original, at the best price and without commissions!
