The Rolex Yacht-Master II is a professional regatta chronograph, designed for competitive sailing. It features a programmable countdown timer, essential for race timing. This watch is ideal for those who thrive in the thrill of the race.
The Rolex Yacht-Master II is the most complicated watch Rolex has ever put into series production, and the only one built around a single purpose: starting a sailing race on time. Introduced in 2007, it pairs a 44mm Oyster case with a programmable regatta countdown that a skipper can set, memorize and reset on the fly while the committee boat sounds the warning signals.
Rolex retired the original collection in April 2024 after seventeen years, then brought the model back at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 with two new references and a new movement. That makes the Yacht-Master II one of the very few Rolex sports collections where a discontinued generation and a current generation sit side by side on the pre-owned market, and it is the reason reference numbers matter so much on this model.
Every Rolex Yacht-Master II at Watch My Diamonds is inspected and authenticated in our New York office before it is listed. We stock both the discontinued 1166xx references and the current generation, and we buy and trade these watches as well as sell them.
Unique Features and Innovations
No other Rolex works the way the Yacht-Master II does. The countdown is mechanical rather than electronic, and the whole watch was engineered around making that countdown usable in a chaotic pre-start sequence, with wet hands, on a moving deck, while watching a start line rather than a wrist.
Programmable Regatta Countdown
The countdown can be programmed from one to ten minutes to match the length of the pre-start sequence. A mechanical memory returns it to your chosen duration on every reset, so you never reprogram between races.
Ring Command Bezel
On the 2007 to 2024 references the bezel is mechanically linked to the movement. Rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise until it clicks and the crown stops setting the time and starts setting the countdown.
Calibre 4161 and 4162
A column wheel and vertical clutch chronograph made for this model alone. The 2026 calibre 4162 adds the Chronergy escapement and a 72-hour power reserve, rated to within -2/+2 seconds per day.
Blue Cerachrom Insert
The blue ceramic insert resists scratches and will not fade in sunlight or saltwater. Reference 116689 is the exception, wearing a platinum insert in place of blue Cerachrom.
Rolex Yacht-Master II Price
A Rolex Yacht-Master II at Watch My Diamonds costs between $20,800 and $25,298, depending on the reference, its condition, and whether the watch still has its box and papers. Steel references trade closest to their original retail price. The solid gold references carry the widest gap between retail and secondary market value, which is where buying pre-owned saves the most money.
The Active tab below lists the two current references and their 2026 US retail prices. The Discontinued tab lists the four first-generation references and the last retail price Rolex published before each left the catalog.
Active
Discontinued
Yacht-Master II Model Ref.
Material
Retail Price
126680
Oystersteel
$20,300
126688
18ct Yellow Gold
$57,800
Yacht-Master II Model Ref.
Material
Last Retail Price
116680
Oystersteel
$18,750
116681
Everose Rolesor
$25,400
116688
18ct Yellow Gold
$43,550
116689
18ct White Gold
$48,150
Retail prices are set by Rolex and are listed here for reference. Discontinued references are no longer sold at retail and are priced entirely by the pre-owned market.
Rolex Yacht-Master II Size
Every Yacht-Master II ever built measures 44mm across, which makes it one of the two largest watches in the Rolex catalog alongside the Deepsea. The 2026 references are 13.90mm thick, a fraction slimmer than the roughly 14mm first generation, and both measure about 50mm from lug to lug.
That is a genuinely large watch and it wears like one. On a wrist under 7 inches the lugs will reach the edge, so it is worth trying the size before committing to a reference. The Oyster bracelet helps: its Oysterlock safety clasp carries an Easylink extension that adds 5mm of length without tools, which covers the wrist swell you get on a hot day on the water.
Water resistance is 100 meters on every reference, sealed by a Triplock winding crown. That is built for a wet cockpit and for swimming, not for diving - the Submariner and Sea-Dweller exist for that.
Historical Background
Rolex launched the Yacht-Master II in 2007 in two precious metals: reference 116688 in 18ct yellow gold and reference 116689 in 18ct white gold, the white gold version distinguished by a platinum Ring Command bezel. Everose Rolesor followed in 2011 as reference 116681, and the Oystersteel reference 116680 arrived in 2013 alongside the upgraded calibre 4161.
The collection was then discontinued in its entirety at Watches and Wonders 2024. For two years the mechanical regatta countdown disappeared from the Rolex catalog with no successor of any kind, and prices for clean steel examples firmed as collectors worked out that nothing was replacing it.
Rolex brought the model back in 2026 as reference 126680 in Oystersteel and reference 126688 in 18ct yellow gold. The Ring Command bezel is gone: programming now runs entirely through the two winch-shaped pushers, the countdown scale has moved off the dial onto a sloped flange, and the countdown hands rotate counterclockwise so remaining time reads more naturally at a glance. The calibre 4162 replaced the 4161.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Rolex Yacht-Master II discontinued?
The first generation is. Rolex discontinued references 116680, 116681, 116688 and 116689 at Watches and Wonders 2024, ending a seventeen-year production run. The model returned in 2026 with references 126680 and 126688, so the Yacht-Master II is a current Rolex again, but every 1166xx reference is now available on the pre-owned market only.
What is the difference between the Yacht-Master and the Yacht-Master II?
They share a name and very little else. The Yacht-Master is a 37mm, 40mm or 42mm time-and-date sports watch with a bidirectional rotatable bezel. The Yacht-Master II is a 44mm regatta chronograph with a programmable countdown timer and a movement built for no other model. The Yacht-Master II is larger, far more complicated and considerably more expensive.
How does the Rolex Yacht-Master II countdown work?
You program the countdown to match the length of the race committee's pre-start sequence, anywhere from one to ten minutes. On the 2007 to 2024 references you rotate the Ring Command bezel 90 degrees counterclockwise until it clicks, then set the duration with the crown. On the 2026 references you program it with the pushers instead. Either way a mechanical memory holds the setting, so one push resets the countdown to the same duration for the next start.
How much does a Rolex Yacht-Master II cost?
Retail for the current Oystersteel reference 126680 is $20,300, and the 18ct yellow gold reference 126688 is $57,800. On the pre-owned market the first-generation steel 116680 is the most affordable way into the model, while the solid gold references command a significant premium. Our own Yacht-Master II stock currently runs from $20,800 to $25,298.
What size is the Rolex Yacht-Master II?
It is 44mm in diameter across every reference ever made, 13.90mm thick on the 2026 generation and roughly 14mm on the first generation, with a lug-to-lug measurement of about 50mm and 100 meters of water resistance. It is one of the largest watches Rolex produces.
Is the Rolex Yacht-Master II a good investment?
It is a specialist watch and it has never traded the way a Daytona or a steel Submariner does. The 2024 discontinuation firmed up prices for clean steel examples, and the 2026 relaunch brought fresh attention to the whole collection. The sensible way to buy one is because you want the only mechanical regatta countdown Rolex has ever built, and to treat any appreciation as a bonus rather than the reason.
Rolex Yacht-Master II Average Price Chart
Yacht-Master II • Last 12 months • Average
Over the last 12 months the average price for Rolex Yacht-Master II at Watch My Diamonds ranged from $27,912 (Apr 2026) to $28,725 (Dec 2025), averaging $28,285 across 10 tracked months. The current average is $28,421.44, based on 9 priced listings.
