The Rolex Submariner is arguably ‘the’ most well-known watch in the world. So popular, the design is now the embodiment of a diver’s watch. This also begs the question, why has Rolex released the Yacht-Master— a watch so similar looking to the Submariner with apparently minimum to no character or design elements of its own.
Fair enough… Of all the products we use in our daily lives, the concept of attention to detail arguably applies the most to the watches, and then interestingly, it applies to watches both in terms of manufacturing and then in terms of the experience of ownership.
When it comes to the ownership experience, if you believe in this terminology, you’d be surprised to know how different Submariner and Yacht-Master really are.
Let’s start off with the function and then move towards the design and aesthetics of the Rolex Submariner and Rolex Yacht-Master.
The Diver Pedigree:
Being a dive watch, the Rolex Submariner comes with 300m of water resistance and a unidirectional bezel designed to time the dive. The unidirectional bezel in all diver watches is for the safety of the divers.
For instance, if the bezel accidentally moves in a clockwise direction, the time already spent underwater would be manipulated, and the diver would be at risk with the safety reserve.
A counterclockwise rotating bezel (unidirectional), even if turned accidentally, would result in the diver coming out sooner than the longest they could stay at that depth; hence, safety is not compromised.
The Rolex Yacht-Master, on the other hand, comes with 100 m of water resistance with a bi-directional rotating bezel. While surfing, you may take a dive, but going deeper than 100 m wouldn’t humanly be possible, so a water resistance of 100 m makes sense. This also means that there are no safety concerns about timing the dive with a bezel in any particular direction. So you have in the Yacht-Master the ability to rotate the bezel either way.
Case Size: Elephant in the Room Maxi vs. NOT Maxi
Both watches come with a 40mm case, but the wearability on the Yacht-Master is not only smaller; it’s considerably smaller than the Submariner. When I put on the Yacht-Master for the first time, I was surprised to the point that it felt like wearing a 39mm watch.
The Rolex Submariner comes with a “Maxi” case size. Now, as much as the Yacht-Master may appear to be a Maxi case in isolation. Let me tell you it’s not quite a” Maxi” case.
The Submariner comes with a broader case-shape, and angular profile. Whereas the Yacht-Master has a more traditional, circular, and rounder profile with less aggressive and bolder looks.
The case of the Rolex Yacht-Master comes all polished and has softer and rounded corners at the lugs to maintain the elegance and somewhat formal looks of the watch. On the Submariner, the top surfaces of the lugs are brushed, and the case sides are all polished. The corners of the lugs are also very sharp to maintain the aggressive and bolder looks.
Why is the Submariner larger than the Yacht-Master? There are five reasons, or let’s say five design characters.
Lug-Lug Height:
The first one is the lug-to-lug height of the Yacht-Master, which is 47.2 mm; compare this with the Submariner, which has a 48.5 mm size, even though both watches are marketed as 40 mm watches. The case height of the Yacht-Master is shorter by more than 1 mm, which translates into a watch that contours and works better for smaller wrists.
39 is the new 40?
Let me share another perspective. The now-discontinued 39mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual comes with 48mm lug-to-lug, which aligns with its smaller size as compared to the Submariner. But the Yacht-Master even wears smaller than the 39mm Oyster Perpetual by almost 1mm.
If you have owned a Submariner or even the OP39, then when you put on the Yacht-Master and feel why it looks smaller and the contour is better, you know the answer now.
The 40mm sub wears like a 42mm watch due to the maxi size. The 40mm Yacht-Master wears like a 39mm watch due to a slimmer case profile.
Interesting how the paper specs can deceive you.
Lug Width:
The second difference that makes the Yacht-Master a smaller-looking watch is the lug thickness. It comes with only 2.5mm thicker lugs as opposed to the Submariner’s 4mm thickness at the lugs.
When you add 1.5 mm thickness on each lug and then multiply that by four, you have a much wider watch on the wrist. The wider lugs on the Submariner, along with sharper edges and corners, make it more angular as opposed to the Yacht-Master, which, because of its more conventional, thinner lugs and rounded edges, looks rounder and circular in overall presentation and wear.
Crown Guard:
To maintain the beefier looks of the Submariner, it comes with a wider and more substantial crown guard. The Yacht-Master also comes with a crown guard, but it’s smaller in overall size and substance when you compare it with the Submariner. The polished finish and rounded corners of the crown guard also further help minimize the overall size of the watch in Yacht-Master.
Lug Profile/Case Contour:
Another very interesting design difference is the profile of the lugs. See how the lugs on the Yacht-Master curve down to follow the wrist profile, whereas with the Submariner, the lugs flare straight out on the inner side, but on the outer face, the lugs do taper down a little to help with the wrist wear.
The contoured and curved lugs on the Yacht-Master are another reason that helps with how easily it wears on smaller wrists.
Case Thickness:
The Rolex Yacht-Master comes with 100 m of water resistance. Which means it could shed some extra thickness off the case as well. The Submariner comes with three times more water resistance at 300 m.
The Yacht-Master therefore comes with an 11.5mm case thickness as compared to 12.5mm on the Submariner.
The thicker case of the Submariner works better with its overall beefier looks, and in that way, both watches maintain the design proportions and aesthetics.
The Bezel Color Effect:
The last difference for the Yacht-Master, which helps with the smaller wear, is the platinum bezel. Although it is not narrow or thinner by any means, because it comes in the same metallic texture as the case and bracelet, it seems to reduce the overall watch face on the wrist when compared with the Submariner, which comes with a ceramic and colored bezel that increases the overall watch face.
Legibility:
In terms of legibility, the Yacht-Master is arguably more legible than the Submariner. Although the dial size is the same, the Yacht-Master comes with bigger hour markers and even wider lume material, especially for the seconds hand. The difference is small but is there.
Lume Coverage:
To help understand the size difference and also show the difference in lume. Here’s how both of these watches compare with each other in the dark.
The lume brightness is more or less the same, but the Yacht-Master has slightly bigger hour markers, and you can see that the second hand on the Yacht-Master is easily more legible due to the larger lume circle.
The Rolex Submariner comes with the lume pip at 12 o’clock which the Yacht-Master doesn’t carry.
Dial Appearance:
Both watches come with a beautiful “Sunburst” pattern in the dial, and you simply can’t go wrong with either of them. The Submariner in this comparison has a green dial while the Yacht-Master is Rhodium. Both colors are beautiful in their own way. The quality of machining for the radial sunburst lines also matches for both watches.
The Yacht-Master comes with colored text and a seconds hand that I personally love, as it adds contrast and fun to the dial. The Submariner has plain white text on the dial, and there’s no color in any of the dial hands, which does make it more versatile and timeless.
Bracelet:
The Yacht-Master comes with polished center links and brushed side links as opposed to the Submariner, which comes with all brushed links. The Submariner comes with a Glide-Lock clasp system to enable you to adjust the clasp on the go and lengthen and shorten the bracelet’s total length without the use of tools. This is especially for wetsuits and dive suits where you need the watch worn over the suit. Whereas the Yacht-Master comes with a conventional flip-lock clasp and a 5mm extension link.
The Click:
I did mention the bezel being unidirectional and bidirectional in these watches. Here’s another difference: the click on the bezel is different on both of these watches. Not only does it feel different, but it sounds very different as well. In the watch world, certain things are felt only by the ears, like the beats of the movement, and so is the case with clicks on the bezel. I will let you gauge the difference and make a guess.
If you guessed the first watch to be a Submariner, you either don’t turn your bezel enough or maybe you haven’t heard the bezel action before. The first clicks came from the Yacht-Master, and the second one was from the Submariner. The sound on the Submariner is at least 10 times clearer, crisper, and louder. I do love the sound of the Submariner personally, to the point it can actually be a deal maker for me, but then I also want a bezel to be bidirectional, as I don’t dive. The Submariner comes with a ceramic bezel, which takes daily beating better but can crack when dropped from height, whereas the Yacht-Master comes with a platinum bezel to add a luxurious feel, although it can be dinged or dented but won’t crack when dropped.
One bezel will provide you better tolerance to daily hits while the other provides better endurance to accidental drops.
Verdict:
There’s no right or wrong choice here. They are both beautiful watches, and you simply can’t go wrong with either. As a timeless and historic watch, the Submariner receives the love that it deserves. When it comes to daily beating, the ceramic bezel on the Submariner does offer better tolerance, so you can say it’s a little more rugged watch due to the bezel, all brushed finish, and then in the line with bigger watches, it does appeal to many due to its masculine and bolder looks. There’s simply no reason not to love Submariners.
Calibre24 has some of the best Rolex Submariner configurations available for purchase, like this Hulk, available for sale. Click here to view the Rolex Submariner collection.
The Yacht-Master, on the other hand, is often left out of consideration when it may be a better watch for many buyers. It feels smaller, has better contour to the wrist, has a thinner case with a considerable amount of precious metal, and has much better lume in the dark. Comes with more formal looks and can be dressed up easily. Offers a bidirectional bezel, which is easier and fun to put to use in everyday life. Yet it receives less love. Maybe due to the fact that the strengths it offers are still unknown to the watch community.
Maybe just because it’s a relatively newer offering by Rolex and it doesn’t carry with it the history as long as the Submariner which came out in ’50s. Then, of course, the Submariner is where this case design started for Rolex.
Calibre24 has some of the best Rolex Yacht-Master configurations available for sale. Click here to view the Yacht-Master collection.
