Rolex Yacht-Master 16622 – most impractical sports watch from the whole Rolex range?

 

Today I will be taking a closer look at the watch, which is flashy and discreet at the same time. It has a slight elegant presence, while maintaining sporty design code. Let’s take a quick look at the Rolex Yacht-Master 16622.

For many years, I have been a dedicated fan of the Yacht-Master, because of its emphasized and versatile design, everything about this watch is ‘more’. Instead of a normal stainless-steel bezel, it has a massive bezel made of platinum with mirror-polished diving scale to make it even more flashy. Instead of brushed and polished finish to the case, it has polished finish only. 

Whether it comes in two-tone, solid gold or stainless-steel version I always say ‘yes’ to this timepiece. I like to call it as the prettier and more elegant Submariner’s brother. 

Despite this watch being flashy and looking a little bit extravagant on the wrist, it benefits from not being as noticeable as Submariner or other iconic model, at least not at a glance.

The Yacht-Master case is 40mm in diameter, thinner than most Oyster cases and has more rounded edges, making it pretty nice dress-watch. Of course, you can wear it as your sports watch, however its platinum bezel gets scratched easily and polished surfaces make all scratches two times more visible. Furthermore, Yacht-Master was not designed as diver watch, so it doesn’t have 300m water resistance like well-known Submariner or 1220m like Sea-Dweller. But, water resistance in this watch is approximately 100 meters, which is more than enough for taking it for swimming without worrying about any damages.

The factor I tend to look for in all watches I come across is level of legibility, because obviously watches are made to tell time. Yacht-Master provides really great depth of legibility when using it on a daily basis. Homogeneity of its design, combined with a slight, but striking contrast of the red seconds hand and ‘Yacht-Master’ writing give it a nice, interesting flavour. Hour markers provide very, very strong and bright luminescence in low-light conditions. 

The Yacht-Master is not everyone’s cup of tea. It has as many lovers as enemies. Some may love for its sporty/dressy versatility and some may hate it for that.