The Yachting, Time, and the Rolex Yacht-master

I was recently captivated by an article about the Yacht races held in St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands  – the 41^st Annual International Rolex Regatta to be specific. That was held in March of this year. Talk about the high life, this is exciting stuff, regardless if you own a yacht or just want to take 5 minutes and picture yourself on one with the wind in your face and the bright sun and salty sea spray whipping at you. I suppose owning a Rolex Yacht-Master prompted me to search deeper into the yachting world once I read the article. I don’t own a yacht and probably never will, but that doesn’t keep me from owning a tremendous Rolex time piece with a bit of history to it. Part of the allure of owning these types of watches is the ability to own something that is a true engineering feat of accuracy with impressive looks. The Rolex Yacht-Master just looks awesome.

I sometimes notice people looking at my watch, and then, they quickly look away when I catch their eye. Perhaps they think I’m a snob that owns a yacht because I own a Rolex Yacht-master. I don’t even own a canoe. But, I do absolutely love these watches and what they represent. Looking back at the beginning of the Yacht-Master’s prototype design history, back in 1967, which incidentally came along a few years after the introduction of the Daytona.  The watch actually launched in 69. Hard to imagine that reggae was first introduced to the states from Jamaica in 1967, and Ronald Regan was first sworn in as governor of the great state of California. A little kid named Bill Gates was 13 and  attending  Lake Side preparatory school; the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely hearts Club Band album. Where does the time go? Let me check my Rolex, supposedly it does not just tell time, it tells history – if you read the Rolex advertisements.

Back to some Rolex history –Turns out the Yacht-Master was not the first watch designed by Rolex with the nautical theme in mind- actually the second, behind the Submariner.  The Sea-Dweller came later. The original Yacht-Master resembles the early years of the Rolex Daytona model called the Yacht-Master Chronograph; they didn’t really come to modernize it until the 1980s and then re-introduced a newer version of the Yacht-Master in 1992 which had the 3135 movement. Then in 1994 again introduced a mid -sized 3/4 version as well as a woman’s version of the Yacht-Master. It was not until the Basel Watch Fair in 1999 did Rolex introduce the largest 40 MM version, that presumeably has become the industry favorite and certainly one of mine as I look down at my wrist. Look at the time, gotta run for now. Take care my fellow Rolex enthusiasts and check out the latest in yachting news. Sails up!  

The post The Yachting, Time, and the Rolex Yacht-master appeared first on Bezel & Barrel written by Michael DiMartini.