re: Whats the point of buying a Rolex?

Agreed. When the Director of Sales asked my manager at the time what model to get he told him anything but a Sub since I already owned one. Had I known I would have told them to get a Daytona and I would have gladly paid the price difference!

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The Yachtmaster is Rolex as its absolute worst, in my opinion. They took a quality tool watch (the Submariner), added precious metals and made design changes that made it an objectively less useful wristwatch, and charged a massive premium for the privilege.

The Yachtmaster II is ugly as sin, but at least attempted to offer something unique.

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First, much to my and many others chagrin two-tone watches are coming back. That said I have had an appreciation for this YM, I just can't pull the trigger.



I have always liked this YM as well.



I agree the YMII is a little large but the fact the bezel performs some functions makes it a mechanical masterpiece in my eyes. The name "billboard" on the bezel is what bugs a lot of people including me.



I can't complain too much about precious metal "tool watches" since I have a 116619.

Since we keep discussing Rolex I can't help but post pictures the two Rolex that are my grails, and one has become my white whale. They are the watches I would most like to won.

The Milgauss 6451. This one has a perfect tropical dial that shows off the honeycomb well. I am not sure this one is 100% authentic but the picture is better than most.





The 3346 Zerographe, from 1937 only twelve thought to have been made, only four are known.

Any suggestions on where to have a Rolex serviced near Baton Rouge, I have had mine for a little less than 10 years and it is coming up on what should be the first servicing. Do I need to send it to the closest service center in Dallas, take it to the Authorized Dealer around here (Lee Michaels)?

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Do I need to send it to the closest service center in Dallas, take it to the Authorized Dealer around here (Lee Michaels)?

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I can give a first hand recommendation on Michael Hui - www.rolliworks.com, its in San Jose, CA - he will send you a high-value insured shipping label (third party) and his turn around time is two weeks. You can tell him exactly what you want - if you have parts replaced, they are authentic Rolex, he is sensitive to what you are looking for (polish/not polish, keep original or replace dials/hands, etc, and if you have damage, has state of the art laser welding equipment and uses 904L for fill. He even sends you back the guts he has to replace in a little baggie. Look at his insta and search him up on the forums and he will talk with you on the phone. I sent him my treasured 30 year old 16610 sub and came back in COSC spec, both on my time grapher and on my wrist.

A tool watch made with precious metals is something I think is silly, but I can live with. But a luxury watch merely pretending to be a tool watch is another issue entirely.

In short, my issue with the original Yachtmaster is that it’s useless.

Because the numbers on the bezel have zero contrast and because they removed the lumed pip, you won’t be able to read it while diving. On the off chance that you can read the bezel, doing so will be downright dangerous because the bezel is bi-directional. The fact that it’s pretending to be something it isn’t pisses me off.

Put another way, the Yachtmaster was to the Submariner what the H2 was to the Hummer.

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In short, my issue with the original Yachtmaster is that it’s useless.

Because the numbers on the bezel have zero contrast and because they removed the lumed pip, you won’t be able to read it while diving. On the off chance that you can read the bezel, doing so will be downright dangerous because the bezel is bi-directional. The fact that it’s pretending to be something it isn’t pisses me off.

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That is like complaining a hammer won't fit a Phillips head screw. The watch is not called a Dive Master, it is a Yacht Master. The bezel on a YM is designed to time the start of a sailing regatta so the bezel is more functional because it is bi-directional the same way the GMTs bezel is better for the intended use by being bi-directional. The lower contrast (not zero contrast) is fully functional in a sailing environment. The YMII is more functional as a regatta timer.

While the YM is not the most functional tool for its job it is far from useless in its designed role and suggesting so because it does not meet the requirements of an ISO dive watch makes no sense because it is not a dive watch.

I get the idea of taking apparent tool watches to task for being less than an ideal tool. However, in the end, maybe one out of ten thousand dive watches have ever been worn on an actual dive.

I've made close to 500 dives over the last 30 years and all my watches with over 100M of water resistance have been down but they were always a backup to a backup and pretty much any rec diver that has two dive computers fail is coming up.


As for Panerias, I have been a fan since the mid-90s. I still like them very much and they hold value better than most anything except Patek and Rolex.

As for the rest of my accumulation, there are many that I would not have in a smaller collection but I tend to be adventurous. The Hublots are there just to spit the Hublot hate. The UNs are around in the off chance I have a meeting with a Russian oligarch. The Ploprofs are around because they are one of the best dive watches ever made. The Sinn regulator is there because it is the antithesis of the Sinn brand. This is one reason I call it an accumulation vs a collection it is the opposite of a carefully curated list, while there are a lot of watches that are considered watch forum darlings many are just whimsical and make me smile for different reasons. They simply reflect the diversity of my interests.

I admit to often being a contrarian evidenced by my respect for modern Tag Heuer principally for their amazing contributions to haute horlogerie.

nice collection. I have been talking with the AP guys in Houston for the last week on the same Royal Oak you have navy dial is gorgeous.