1 / 3 Replica collection · Yacht-Master · Diver
Model reference: 226658-0001
A 42 mm yellow-gold Yacht-Master with a black dial, a black bezel carrying raised polished numerals and a black rubber strap over metal blades.
Ask about this watchOpens a WhatsApp chat with the model, the reference and this page already written into the message. Nothing is sent until you press send. Prefer to write it yourself? Use the inquiry box further down.
About this watch
The Yacht-Master 42 in gold looks like a dive watch until you read the bezel. The scale is not printed: the numerals and marks are raised and polished on a black insert, so the bezel is read by reflection as much as by contrast.
The gallery shows the difference across frames — the numerals catch the light in the straight-on view, the three-quarter frame shows how the bezel sits above the case flank, and the detail frame shows the clasp and the case side together. Case size, bezel construction and the fit of the strap are the three things worth settling before an inquiry.
On this bezel the numerals and marks are raised and polished rather than printed, so they are visible mainly where they catch light: at some angles they read brightly against the matte black insert, and at others they almost disappear. That is a design characteristic, not a fault.
It also changes how the bezel is used. Without a fine printed scale, the bezel is read as a set of reference points — the ten, twenty, thirty, forty and fifty marks and the graduations between them — rather than as a minute-by-minute instrument like the Submariner’s. In the straight-on frame the full ring is visible; in the three-quarter frame only part of it catches the light.
A Yacht-Master bezel turns both ways, which distinguishes it from a dive bezel with a one-directional ratchet. Bidirectional rotation suits setting a reference point in either direction and returning to it, rather than counting a single elapsed interval safely.
Two things are worth checking on the individual watch: how much free play there is before the bezel engages the next position, and whether the action is even all the way round. Both are easier to judge from a short video than from still photographs.
The dial is black with a brushed finish that lightens towards the edges as it turns, and the markers are applied with light fills and metal surrounds. Against a gold case and a black bezel, the dial reads as the quiet part of the watch: the colour story is carried by the case.
The date sits at three o’clock under a raised lens in the crystal, which adds a bright curved edge to the right-hand side of the dial. In the frames here the dial, markers and hands are all clearly resolved, which is what makes the layout easy to compare with the steel Yacht-Master reference in this collection.
Forty-two millimetres is a step up from the 40 mm reference in this collection, and on a gold case the extra millimetre shows mostly in how much of the wrist the watch covers. The bezel also sits proud of the case, adding to the visual size without changing the diameter.
Diameter is only one of three numbers that matter. Ask for the lug-to-lug length and the case thickness as well, then compare all three against a watch you already wear. Because the strap leaves the case differently from a link bracelet, the way it drapes changes how large the watch looks on the wrist.
The strap is black on the outside, built over curved metal blades with cushions on the inner side, and it ends in a folding safety clasp. That construction is why it holds a curve when it is taken off and why it does not creep on the wrist the way a plain rubber band can.
Length is adjusted through the clasp, so the questions to ask are which sections are fitted, what wrist measurement that corresponds to, and how much adjustment remains. Ask for a photograph of the strap laid flat as well: it shows the fitted length and any creasing at the fold points.
In this collection the Yacht-Master appears in a 40 mm blue-dial configuration and now in this 42 mm gold one. Both have a bezel without a printed dive scale, which is the family trait; the size, the metal and the bezel colour are what differ.
The practical difference is weight and presence. A gold case on a rubber strap puts the mass in the case rather than around the wrist, which some people prefer and others do not. Settle that question with a wrist measurement and the case dimensions, then bring the reference 226658-0001 into the inquiry.
Specification
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Model reference | 226658-0001 |
| Model size | 42 mm |
| Dial | Black, with an outward-brushed finish |
| Hour-marker layout | Applied markers with light fills and metal surrounds; minute divisions between them |
| Hand arrangement | Broad hour hand, longer minute hand, thin centre seconds |
| Date display | 3 o’clock, under a magnifying lens |
| Bezel design | Black insert with raised polished numerals, bidirectional |
| Bezel graduations | Ten-minute numerals with divisions between them, raised rather than printed |
| Strap design | Black strap over curved metal blades, with cushions on the inside |
| Clasp | Folding safety clasp with a length-adjustment extension |
| Colour combination | Black dial and black bezel against a yellow-gold case, on a black strap |
Questions
The message below is pre-written with the model, the reference and this page. The button opens a WhatsApp draft for you to review before sending.
Related
White Panda dial, three contrasting subdials and a black tachymeter bezel, paired with a silver-tone three-link bracelet.
Black no-date dial, a graduated black bezel and a silver-tone three-link bracelet. A balanced, uncluttered sports-watch design.
Continue reading
How an Oyster-style three-link bracelet and a Jubilee-style five-link bracelet differ in link pattern, articulation and the way they pair with a dial.
Read the guide →Six frames that answer more than a long description: daylight dial, bezel straight on, bracelet closed, clasp, case back and a short video of the moving parts.
Read the guide →
