Pre-Owned Rolex Yacht-Master II 44mm 18K Yellow Gold White Dial | Black Tag Watches

Pre-Owned Rolex Yacht-Master II 44mm 18K Yellow Gold — White Dial, Box & Papers Dated 2021 (Ref. 116688)

Rolex has produced exactly two chronographs in its modern history. One of them is the Daytona. The other is the Yacht-Master II — and it is arguably the more mechanically ambitious of the pair.

Available now at Black Tag Watches (Aventura, Florida), this pre-owned example — reference 116688 — is cased in 18K yellow gold with a blue Cerachrom Ring Command bezel, powered by the calibre 4161 regatta chronograph, and offered in mint condition with its full original delivery dated 2021.

What Is the Rolex Yacht-Master II?

Rolex's Most Technically Distinctive Modern Complication

The pre-owned Rolex Yacht-Master II 116688 is the yellow-gold execution of Rolex’s most technically distinctive modern complication. Unveiled at Baselworld 2007 and made available in yellow gold from March 2010, the Yacht-Master II is a regatta chronograph — a specialised chronograph purpose-built for the starting sequence of competitive sailing, when a skipper must synchronise their boat’s approach to the start line against an official race clock counting down from a preset number of minutes. To answer that requirement, Rolex developed an entirely new movement architecture from scratch. The result is one of only two chronographs the maison has ever produced in its modern history — the other being the Daytona — and the more mechanically ambitious of the two.

A Discontinued Reference with a Fixed Supply

The reference was discontinued at Watches and Wonders 2024 after seventeen years of production. That discontinuation is the defining context for any buyer approaching the 116688 today: Rolex retired the entire first-generation Yacht-Master II collection, the calibre 4161 was retired with it, and the Ring Command bezel-as-function-key architecture exited the catalogue. Supply is now fixed and shrinking. This example, offered with full original delivery dated 2021, is one of the cleaner remaining configurations of a reference that will not be produced again.

Dial & Case Design: Yellow Gold, Blue Cerachrom Ring Command

The Case and Its Unapologetic Presence

The 44mm case is rendered in 18K yellow gold and weighs 257g complete on the bracelet — a specification that reads as unapologetic on the wrist and is, in the reference’s own logic, the point. This is not a discreet complication watch. A 44mm regatta chronograph in solid yellow gold is a deliberate statement of both mechanical content and material substance, and the Yacht-Master II makes no attempt to hide either.

The Ring Command Bezel as a Programming Interface

The blue Cerachrom bezel is the reference’s operational centre. Rotatable through 90 degrees bi-directionally in a ratcheted movement, it is mechanically linked to the movement itself and functions as a programming interface rather than as decoration. To set the countdown, the bezel is rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise until it clicks; the crown then adjusts the red triangle-tipped countdown hand rather than the time hands; rotating the bezel back to its original position locks the programmed value into the movement’s mechanical memory. No other Rolex uses its bezel this way — as a function key that communicates mechanically with the calibre.

The White Dial Layout

The white dial reads cleanly under this operational architecture: a small-seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock, a red-tipped programmable countdown hand tracking against a graduated arc from 1 to 10 across the upper dial, and applied square hour markers with yellow-gold surrounds carrying luminescent material for sub-surface legibility. “Yacht-Master” appears on the bezel in raised yellow-gold Arabic numerals; the dial script sits centred beneath the Rolex crown.

Movement: Manufacture Rolex Calibre 4161 — Regatta Chronograph

Derived from the Daytona, Rebuilt for Regatta Timing

Inside is the manufacture Rolex calibre 4161 — an automatic column-wheel chronograph with vertical clutch, running at 28,800 vph (4 Hz) with a 72-hour power reserve, 48 jewels, and COSC chronometer certification. The 4161 is a direct descendant of the Rolex calibre 4130 — the Daytona movement — retooled for regatta timing by adding the flyback function, the programmable countdown mechanism, and the mechanical-memory reset that returns the countdown hand to its programmed starting value at the press of a pusher. Rolex-specialist sources place the calibre’s development at more than 35,000 hours, and the architecture requires the Ring Command bezel to communicate with the movement mechanically rather than through a conventional pusher-only interface.

The Mechanical Memory: What Separates the 4161

The programmable countdown from one to ten minutes maps to the standard pre-race countdown intervals used in international yacht racing. The mechanical memory is the specification that separates the calibre 4161 from every other production chronograph on the market — a chronograph that remembers what you asked it to time, and returns to that value at reset rather than to zero. For collectors evaluating the Yacht-Master II on mechanical merit, the mechanical memory is the reference’s central horological argument, not a marketing feature.

Movement Specifications

Specification

Detail

Calibre

Calibre

Base lineage

Calibre 4130 (Daytona)

Architecture

Column wheel, vertical clutch

Complications

Programmable countdown 1–10 min, mechanical memory, flyback

Jewels

48

Frequency

28,800 vph (4 Hz)

Power reserve

72 hours

Certification

Certification

Condition, Provenance & Documentation

Complete Original 2021 Delivery

Condition is mint. Provenance is complete: the watch is offered with its original Rolex presentation box, instructions, warranty booklet, and warranty card dated 2021. For a discontinued yellow-gold Yacht-Master II with full original delivery from within the production window, this is the appropriate configuration in which to acquire the reference — the case markings, serial, and warranty card serial are all verifiable, and Rolex service centres will service the reference under the standard programme.

Condition and Accessories

Detail

Information

Condition

Mint

Box

Original Rolex presentation box

Papers

Instructions, warranty booklet, card dated 2021

Bracelet

18K yellow gold Oyster, Oysterlock clasp

Extension

Easylink 5mm comfort link

Wrist size

190mm as supplied

Full Specifications — Rolex Yacht-Master II 116688

Specification

Detail

Brand

Rolex

Collection

Yacht-Master II

Reference

116688

Production

2007 announced / 2010 yellow gold – 2024 discontinued

Case

18K yellow gold, 44mm

Weight

257g with bracelet

Bezel

90° bi-directional Cerachrom, Ring Command

Dial

White

Countdown

Red-tipped hand, 1–10 min arc

Small seconds

Sub-dial at 6

Movement

Rolex calibre 4161, regatta chronograph

Complications

Programmable countdown, mechanical memory, flyback

Jewels

48

Frequency

28,800 vph (4 Hz)

Power reserve

72 hours

Certification

COSC Superlative Chronometer

Bracelet

18K yellow gold Oyster, Oysterlock, Easylink

Wrist size

190mm

Condition

Mint

Box & Papers

Full set, dated 2021

Why Buy a Pre-Owned Rolex Yacht-Master II 116688?

A Reference Now Trading on a Different Structural Argument

The Yacht-Master II 116688 occupies a corner of the Rolex secondary market that has shifted materially over the past two years. Historically the reference was overlooked precisely because it was niche — a 44mm regatta chronograph in solid yellow gold is not the reference most Rolex buyers begin with, and that neglect kept prices reasonable relative to the mechanical content underneath. Watches and Wonders 2024 changed that calculus: Rolex discontinued the entire first-generation collection, the calibre 4161 was retired, and the Ring Command architecture exited the catalogue. Supply is now fixed and shrinking, and the yellow-gold 116688 — as the original 2007-launched configuration — benefits from being the reference that opened the model line.

Gold Floor, Full Documentation, One of Two Rolex Chronographs

Combined with a gold floor beneath the reference that steel Rolex sport pieces do not have, and with full documentation dated to 2021, the 116688 is now trading on a different structural argument than it was during production. Against contemporary yellow-gold Rolex sport-luxury references — and against the current AP, Vacheron Constantin, and Patek complicated-sport markets — this discontinued Yacht-Master II offers direct entry into one of only two chronographs Rolex has produced in its modern history, at a level meaningfully below primary-market retail on the current second-generation successor. For the collector who understands what the calibre 4161 represents, the value proposition is straightforward.

Available at Black Tag Watches — Aventura, Florida

Black Tag Watches is a pre-owned luxury watch dealer based in Aventura, FL, specialising in rare, certified, and fully documented timepieces from Rolex and the world’s leading Swiss manufactures.

View the Rolex Yacht-Master II White Dial Yellow Gold — Full Details & Pricing

A yellow-gold Yacht-Master II with the calibre 4161 that took Rolex more than 35,000 hours to develop — the discontinued original of a reference that is now the maison’s rarest chronograph line.

Posted in Black Tag Watches Blog.
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