Personalized Yacht-Master II

[ByronB]

Okay fellow TRF members, I thought that some of you might appreciate a pic of my new "personalized" 116680. I finally have what is essentially the watch that I have been wanting since the introduction of the Yacht-Master II back in 2010. I fell in love with the white gold version upon first sight. The problem for me was I knew that besides the prohibitively high price of entry, gold watches do not tend to hold up as well to daily use as well as stainless watches in my experience because I had stretched out several two-tone jubilee and oyster bracelets in the late 80's and 90's. When the stainless version came out a few years later, I was excited initially, but the fact is I just never warmed up to the bright blue ceramic bezel. I personally was not a big fan of the blue hands either. When the 2017 refresh came out, I took a second look. I certainly liked it more, but I still felt that if it weren't for that bright blue bezel I would probably have to have that watch.

The last time I had fallen in love with a watch was back in '99 when the original Yacht-Master 16622 came out, and I purchased my first one in 2000. That model has been my daily ever since. I have always been enamored with the look of the sandblasted/polished Platinum bezel. Here we are 20 years later, and I finally upgraded to a watch that fits my 8+ inch wrist much better than the 40mm case, yet still has a similar overall look and the durability of my trusty 16622. I sourced a Platinum bezel from a 116689 and exchanged it with the blue ceramic bezel that came on my new 116680. Voila! I am so excited about the look of this watch!

For what it's worth, I realize that YM II's are not one of the favorites of the majority of the Rolex community. I have no problem with that. To each his own, and I am the only one that really needs to like it. I do feel that one of the most common complaints of the bezel shouting "YACHT-MASTER II" has now been at least partially addressed on this 116680 because in my opinion the bezels on the precious metal versions seem not quite as "loud" as the steel version with the blue ceramic bezel due to the characters being basically the same color as the background. I also am one of the minority in that I find the countdown timer useful for simple daily chores.

I am sure that this pic will not serve to change the mind of any of the haters of this watch, but maybe a few folks will respect the personal touch that I chose to give to mine. It sure works for me!