Hands-On Review
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 Review
A hands-on evaluation of the discontinued steel regatta chronograph, 44mm on the wrist, the Ring Command bezel in real use, and where the 116680 sits in the 2026 market.
Shop Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680THE FIRST LOOK
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 First Impressions
What hits you the moment you pick up the 116680.
Pull the Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 out of its box and the first thing you notice is that it does not behave like other Rolex watches. Most steel Professional models announce themselves through restraint. The Submariner, the GMT-Master II, the Explorer II, these are tools that disappear into the wrist once you have worn them for a week. The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 does the opposite. It arrives on the wrist with the full commitment of its 44mm case, its engraved blue Cerachrom bezel, and the name "YACHT-MASTER II" written in capital letters where most Rolex bezels only carry indices. This is a watch that tells you exactly what it is the moment you strap it on.
The second thing you notice is the weight. There is a density to the 116680 that you feel before you look at any spec sheet. It sits in the palm like a solid block of steel with a watch bolted to the top of it, which is essentially what Rolex built here. The white lacquer dial is cleaner in person than it photographs, the red regatta countdown graphic is the only splash of color inside the crystal, and the Mercedes hands on post-2017 examples catch the light with a familiarity that anchors this big, weird watch back into the Rolex family tree. It should feel alien. It does not. It feels like a Rolex that grew up and decided to stop apologizing.
THE WEARING EXPERIENCE
On the Wrist with the Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680
How the 116680 actually wears, day in and day out.
Quick Specs
The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 measures 44mm in diameter and roughly 14.5mm thick, with a lug-to-lug close to 52mm. Those are large numbers by any standard and unprecedented for a steel Rolex outside the Deepsea. On a 7-inch wrist the 116680 fills the space fully without overhanging, and the broad Oyster bracelet taper helps balance the visual mass of the head. On wrists below 6.75 inches the lug-to-lug starts to push the case off the edge, and the proportions stop working. This is not a watch that wears smaller than its dimensions suggest. It wears exactly as large as it looks.
What saves the 116680 from being uncomfortable is weight distribution and balance. The Oyster bracelet carries a significant amount of the total mass, so the head does not rock or pull forward when your wrist relaxes. The case edges are beveled rather than sharp, and the underside of the case sits flat against the skin. Under a shirt cuff the 14.5mm thickness is noticeable, no question, and on a dress shirt buttoned tight the watch will catch. This is not a watch for suits. It is a watch for weekends, for warm climates, for polos and short sleeves, and for anyone who is comfortable being asked about their watch by strangers at a bar. If that sounds like a feature rather than a bug, the 116680 wears better than the numbers suggest.
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If the 44mm case size and the Ring Command regatta complication sound like a match for what you want, here is what we currently have available in the 116680 reference.
BUILD QUALITY
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 Specifications
Breaking down the 116680 from every angle: case, dial, bezel, and bracelet.
Case
The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 case is machined from Oystersteel, the Rolex-trademarked name for the 904L stainless alloy the brand adopted across its Professional line. The 44mm diameter is the largest steel Rolex case currently produced outside the Deepsea, and the finishing follows the standard Rolex template with brushed flanks and polished chamfers running along the top edges of the lugs. Lug holes are drilled, which is a detail that matters to anyone who has ever broken a spring bar tool trying to change a bracelet on a non-drilled case. The Triplock winding crown screws down with four threads and sits tight against the case with no play. The chronograph pushers are not screw-down despite the 100m water resistance rating, a choice that makes operational sense given the watch is designed to be used actively during a race.
Turn the 116680 over and the caseback is solid, screw-down, and unadorned. There is no display window into the Caliber 4161 below, which is a missed opportunity given the movement architecture, but consistent with Rolex's Professional line philosophy. The monobloc middle case construction, where the middle of the case is machined from a single piece of Oystersteel without a separate caseback ring, contributes to the watch's rigidity and water resistance. Water resistance is rated to 100 meters, which is functionally adequate for every scenario short of actual diving, and more than sufficient for the yachting contexts the watch was designed around.
Dial and Bezel
The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 carries a white lacquer dial with blue printing and a single red accent on the central regatta hand. The dial layout is busier than most Rolex references because it has to accommodate both a standard time display and the regatta countdown graphic arched above the center. The pre-2017 version of the 116680 uses thin baton hands and square applied hour markers all around the dial. The post-2017 version, which shares the same reference number, updated to Mercedes-style hour hand, a skeletonized minute hand, an inverted triangle at 12 o'clock, and a rectangle at 6. These are not minor cosmetic changes. They shift the feel of the watch noticeably and they trade at different prices on the secondary market. The Mercedes hands visually family-bond the 116680 to the Submariner and GMT-Master II, while the original baton hands read more like the Sea-Dweller of the period. Chromalight luminescence glows blue in the dark and holds charge well, although lume is not a primary concern on a watch designed for daylight race starts.
The bezel is the defining design element. The blue Cerachrom insert is engraved with a 10-minute countdown scale, platinum-filled numerals, and the "YACHT-MASTER II" name wrapping the upper half. The ceramic holds color under UV exposure, resists scratches, and looks as good ten years in as it does out of the box. What makes this bezel genuinely different from every other Rolex bezel is that it rotates 90 degrees bidirectionally and is mechanically coupled to the Caliber 4161 below. This is the Ring Command system, and it is covered in detail in its own section further down.
Bracelet
The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 comes exclusively on the three-link Oyster bracelet in Oystersteel, with solid center and outer links, polished beveled edges along the center links, and the Oysterlock safety clasp with the 5mm Easylink comfort extension built in. The bracelet tapers from 22mm at the lugs to 20mm at the clasp, which is a gentler taper than you find on a Submariner and helps the wide case look proportionally correct. Articulation is excellent, link-to-link play is minimal, and the solid end links slot tightly into the lug holes without the vertical rattle that plagues lesser bracelets. The Easylink works as advertised for in-the-moment adjustment when your wrist swells in heat. On pre-owned examples, check the center link polished chamfers for wear and check the bracelet for stretch between the links. Stretch is the single biggest tell on a heavily worn bracelet and it cannot be repaired, only replaced.
What to Check on a Pre-Owned 116680
"The three things I check first on every 116680 that comes through the shop: bezel action, bracelet stretch, and the regatta countdown programming function. The Ring Command bezel should click firmly into its 90 degree positions with no play. If there is any wobble or soft engagement, the Caliber 4161 has been through something rough. Bracelet stretch tells you how much the watch was worn and how it was treated. And I always run the full programmable countdown cycle, set it, reset it, synchronize it on the fly, because a watch that has sat in a safe for five years will sometimes have a sticky memory function. Full service at Rolex is around $1,200 to $1,500 for this caliber. Factor that in if the watch has not been serviced in the last seven years."
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Call Us Text UsUNDER THE HOOD
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 Movement Review
How the Caliber 4161 performs where it matters: on the wrist, every day.
The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 runs the in-house Caliber 4161, a self-winding chronograph movement that is architecturally closer to the Rolex Daytona Caliber 4130 than to anything else in the Rolex catalog. It inherits the 4130's column wheel chronograph, its vertical clutch, and its Parachrom hairspring, then adds the additional complication modules required to deliver the programmable regatta countdown with mechanical memory. The result is a movement with 49 jewels, a 72-hour power reserve, and a 28,800 vph beat rate, chronometer-certified by COSC and Superlative Chronometer certified by Rolex on all post-2017 examples.
In daily wear, the Caliber 4161 performs the way every in-house Rolex movement performs: boringly well. Accuracy on our long-term reference samples sits at -1 to +2 seconds per day when fully wound, comfortably inside the Superlative Chronometer spec of -2/+2. The power reserve claim of 72 hours is slightly conservative in practice, and the crown winds smoothly with no gritty feedback. The rotor is effectively silent. Where the 4161 earns its unique character is when you engage the chronograph. The vertical clutch means the chronograph seconds hand starts instantly with no stutter, the column wheel gives the top pusher a crisp tactile feel, and the flyback function lets you reset and restart without a full stop. These are traits you find in high-end chronographs. They are not typical on a steel sports watch at this price point.
Service costs and intervals are where ownership math starts to matter. Rolex's own service program will take a 116680 for a full overhaul at approximately $1,200 to $1,500 depending on required parts, and the recommended interval is roughly ten years. Independent Rolex-trained watchmakers will service the Caliber 4161 for less, often in the $800 to $1,000 range, and they can source parts for this reference without issue given how recent it is. One note for buyers: because the 4161 is a derivative of the 4130 and because the 4130 itself has been replaced by the 4131 in the current Daytona, long-term parts availability for the 4161 is something to monitor over the next decade. It is not a concern today. It is worth watching.
THE SIGNATURE FUNCTION
The Ring Command Bezel in Use on the Rolex 116680
What it actually feels like to program a regatta countdown on the 116680.
The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 Ring Command bezel is the feature that separates this reference from every other Rolex in the catalog except the Rolex Sky-Dweller. Rotating the bezel 90 degrees mechanically engages the Caliber 4161 to unlock the programming mode for the regatta countdown. From there, the top pusher increments the countdown start time between one and ten minutes in one-minute steps, the bezel returns to its locked position to save the setting, and the bottom pusher starts the sequence. Once running, the bottom pusher also performs the on-the-fly synchronization, a function that lets a skipper align the watch countdown with the official race countdown if the start sequence is delayed.
In practice, the system works exactly as Rolex designed it, and there is a tactile satisfaction to using it that most chronographs cannot match. The bezel click into programming position is firm and unmistakable. The pusher feedback is crisp. The mechanical memory resets to your last-set countdown duration with a single press of the bottom pusher, so you do not have to reprogram before each race start. Outside a regatta context, the countdown is also genuinely useful as a kitchen timer, a parking meter countdown, or a speech timer, if you are willing to accept that you are using a $17,000 steel Rolex as a kitchen timer. Most owners eventually do.
The limitation of the Ring Command system on the 116680, and the reason Rolex redesigned it for the 2026 successor, is that the programming workflow requires three discrete actions: unlock the bezel, set the countdown, relock the bezel. The new 126680 simplifies this to a single pusher press. Whether that simplification is an improvement or a loss of mechanical theater depends on whether you are buying this watch as a tool or as a technical object to enjoy operating. Owners of the 116680 tend to fall firmly in the second camp.
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Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 Current Market Snapshot
What the 116680 costs right now on the secondary market.
116680 Market Price
Prices reflect complete sets (box, papers, warranty card). Watches without complete sets typically trade 5-15% lower. Post-2017 Mercedes-hands examples command a premium over pre-2017 baton-hands examples.
The Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 market has moved meaningfully over the past eighteen months. At the April 2024 discontinuation, clean post-2017 examples with full sets were trading at or slightly above the $19,250 retail price. That premium has since softened, and current 2026 transactions settle most commonly in the $16,000 to $19,000 range for a clean post-2017 example with box and papers. Pre-2017 examples with the original baton hands trade roughly $1,500 to $3,000 below comparable post-2017 watches, reflecting collector preference for the updated dial. Unworn new-old-stock 116680 examples still exist in dealer inventory and tend to anchor the top of the range, above $20,000.
The arrival of the second-generation 126680 at Watches and Wonders 2026, priced at $20,300 retail, has introduced new downward pressure on the 116680 market. A buyer now has to decide between a discontinued first-generation Yacht-Master II at roughly $17,000 to $18,000 pre-owned, or a brand-new 126680 at $20,300 retail with the updated Caliber 4162 and simplified pusher-operated countdown. That $3,000 delta is narrow enough that some buyers will prefer new, and that dynamic is why the 116680 market is still softening. We expect prices to stabilize once the 126680 supply loosens and the 116680 finds its natural floor as a discontinued reference. The watch is not a flip. It is, however, one of the more interesting steel Rolex buys at this price point if you value the mechanical distinctiveness of the first generation.
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Shop Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680HEAD TO HEAD
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 Comparison
The 116680 against the alternatives buyers actually cross-shop.
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 vs. Rolex Yacht-Master II 126680 (2026 Successor)
This is the comparison that matters most in 2026. The 126680 is the just-launched second-generation steel Yacht-Master II, announced at Watches and Wonders 2026 with a reworked Caliber 4162 and a simplified regatta interface. Rolex moved the countdown programming from the Ring Command bezel to a single pusher press, which means the bezel on the 126680 is now a conventional bidirectional timing bezel rather than a mechanically coupled command ring. The new caliber also introduces a counterclockwise countdown display, a first for Rolex. Functionally the 126680 is easier to operate. Mechanically, it is less distinctive. The 116680's Ring Command system is the thing that made this reference unusual in the first place, and that signature is gone on the successor. If you are buying the Yacht-Master II as a tool, the 126680 is the better watch. If you are buying it as a piece of Rolex engineering history, the 116680 is now the interesting one.
"I have handled both the 116680 and the new 126680. The 126680 is the better tool watch. The 116680 is the more interesting watch to own. The Ring Command bezel is the entire personality of the first generation, and Rolex quietly removed that personality when they simplified the 126680. In ten years, collectors will look back at the 116680 the way they look at other 'last of the original design' references. If you can live with the 44mm case, the discontinued 116680 at $17,000 pre-owned is a smarter buy right now than the new 126680 at $20,300 plus tax."
| Rolex 116680 | Rolex 126680 | |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Discontinued 2024 | Current (launched 2026) |
| Caliber | 4161 | 4162 |
| Countdown Operation | Ring Command bezel + pushers | Single pusher |
| Bezel Function | Mechanically coupled Ring Command | Bidirectional timing bezel |
| Countdown Direction | Clockwise | Counterclockwise |
| Power Reserve | 72 hrs | 72 hrs |
| Hands | Mercedes (post-2017) | Updated design |
| Market Price | ~$15,000 - $21,000 pre-owned | $20,300 retail |
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 vs. Rolex Daytona 116500LN
Inside the Rolex catalog, the 116680 and the Rolex Daytona 116500LN share a surprising amount of DNA. Both are chronographs. Both use movements derived from the Caliber 4130 architecture. Both have ceramic bezels. The differences are everything else. The Daytona 116500LN is 40mm and 12.5mm thick, wears dramatically smaller, is a standard elapsed-time chronograph rather than a regatta timer, and trades in the $28,000 to $35,000 range on the pre-owned market despite having been discontinued in favor of the 126500LN. The 116680 is larger, more technically complicated, and currently trades for roughly half the price of the Daytona 116500LN. For a buyer choosing between the two, the Daytona is the better all-around watch and the safer long-term hold. The 116680 is the more interesting mechanical object and the better value per dollar of engineering.
| Rolex 116680 | Rolex Daytona 116500LN | |
|---|---|---|
| Case Size | 44mm | 40mm |
| Thickness | 14.5mm | 12.5mm |
| Complication | Regatta countdown chronograph | Elapsed-time chronograph |
| Caliber | 4161 | 4130 |
| Bezel | Ring Command Cerachrom | Fixed Cerachrom tachymeter |
| Production | Discontinued 2024 | Discontinued 2023 |
| Secondary Market | ~$15,000 - $21,000 | ~$28,000 - $35,000 |
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 vs. Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph 210.30.44.51.03.001
At the category level, the closest cross-brand alternative to the 116680 is the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph, specifically the 44mm model. Both are large steel nautical chronographs. Both have ceramic bezels. Both carry serious in-house movements. The Omega runs the Master Chronometer Caliber 9900, is priced new at roughly $9,500, and delivers METAS certification alongside a 60-hour power reserve. The 116680 is the more technically unusual watch because of the Ring Command bezel and the regatta-specific complication, and it carries the Rolex brand premium on top of that. The Omega is the more sensible purchase for a buyer who wants a large steel nautical chronograph to actually use. The 116680 is the purchase for a buyer who specifically wants what only Rolex built.
| Rolex 116680 | Omega Seamaster 210.30.44 | |
|---|---|---|
| Case Size | 44mm | 44mm |
| Complication | Regatta countdown chronograph | Elapsed-time chronograph |
| Caliber | Rolex 4161 | Omega 9900 |
| Power Reserve | 72 hrs | 60 hrs |
| Certification | Superlative Chronometer (COSC+) | Master Chronometer (METAS) |
| Water Resistance | 100m | 300m |
| Approximate Market Price | ~$15,000 - $21,000 pre-owned | ~$7,500 - $9,500 |
Cross-Shopping the 116680 Against Another Rolex?
Daytona, Sea-Dweller, GMT-Master II, or the new 126680. Our team will lay out the trade-offs in plain English and help you pick the right one.
Call Us Text UsTHE BOTTOM LINE
Is the Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 Worth It?
Is the 116680 worth your money?
Yes, for the right buyer, the Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680 is worth it in 2026. No hedging. The 116680 is a discontinued steel Rolex with an in-house regatta chronograph movement derived from the Daytona, the only Rolex besides the Sky-Dweller with a Ring Command bezel, and current secondary market pricing that has softened to a point where the value math finally works. At $17,000 to $18,000 for a clean post-2017 example with full set, you are buying a technically distinctive steel Rolex for less than what a pre-owned Daytona 116500LN costs and roughly $3,000 below retail on the new 126680 successor.
Who this watch is perfect for: the collector who already owns the obvious Rolex references (Submariner, GMT-Master II, maybe a Datejust) and is looking for the weird, technical, polarizing Rolex that most buyers avoid. It rewards the person who enjoys operating a watch, who appreciates the Ring Command mechanism as a piece of engineering, and who can live with 44mm on the wrist without apologizing for it. It also works for buyers who genuinely sail and want the regatta timer in its intended context, although that is a minority of owners.
Who should skip it: anyone buying their first or second luxury watch, anyone with a wrist smaller than 6.75 inches, anyone who needs one watch that works in a suit and on a weekend, and anyone buying primarily as an investment. The 116680 is not a flip. Prices have softened over the past year and the launch of the 126680 puts a ceiling on near-term appreciation. The strongest single reason to buy one is simple: it is the last steel Yacht-Master II with the original Ring Command system, the last expression of the 2007 design philosophy, and it is now trading at a price where that mechanical distinctiveness is no longer at a premium.
"Buy a post-2017 Mercedes-hands 116680 with full set, get one that has been serviced in the last five years, pay somewhere in the $16,500 to $18,000 range, and do not overthink it. This is not a watch you buy to flip, it is a watch you buy because you want a steel Rolex that does something no other steel Rolex does. Now that it is discontinued and now that the 126680 exists, the 116680 has settled into its identity. That is usually the moment these references get interesting."
