When Rolex unveiled the Yacht-Master II in 2007, it introduced the brand’s most complicated watch to date and its first purpose-built regatta chronograph, a timer for the countdown rituals that precede a yacht race. Its feat was the Ring Command bezel, mechanically linked to the movement, which turns the case itself into a control for the mechanism within. More than a sports watch, it was a statement of ambition, bringing a novel complication to Rolex’s otherwise conservative catalogue.
The 44mm Oyster case is forged in stainless steel and capped by a blue Cerachrom bezel that doubles as the Ring Command control. The white dial is given over to the regatta function: a programmable countdown of up to ten minutes, set and synchronised through that bezel, with a mechanical memory that returns to the chosen figure. Red accents trace the sequence, and a running seconds subdial anchors the dial below centre.
