Rolex Yacht-Master 40: Malaysia Price And Review

Rolex’s sea-farer gets seriously shiny.

Introduced in 1992, the Rolex Yacht-Master was designed to exude a more glamourous disposition compared to the decidedly hardy Submariner. Rather than focus on the tool-watch virtues of the similarly nautically inspired collection (of which of the Yacht-Master also has in spades, mind you, but more on that later), Rolex seemed to take on a more ‘lifestyle’ tack with the collection, playing up its innate sportive luxury by cladding the collection in precious metals for a distinct sense of yacht-chic.

With this year’s new Yacht-Master 40, Rolex goes even further up the luxury route. Adding rainbow sparkle to the watch, coloured gemstones are set in the bi-directional rotating bezel – 38 sapphires in blue, orange, yellow, pink, along with eight green tsavorites, and to top it off, a diamond at 12 o'clock. The bejewelled ostentation is complemented by uppity athleticism, courtesy of an Everose case and black elastomer strap.

On the dial, Rolex opts for a glossy black finish as opposed to the matte finish on the non-gem-set version. The hands and hour markers are unchanged from previous models, with 18K Everose gold and luminescent Chromalight appliqués as well as the Cyclops lens over the date window.

Despite the watch’s unabashed flaunt-worthiness, the Yacht-Master 40 lives up to its moniker’s promise of being an outdoorsy sports watch. The timepiece is water resistant to 100m, enhanced by its triple-lock crown system and hermetically sealed screw-down caseback.

Meantime, its Superlative Chronometer certification is a confidence booster, which promises owners 12/+2 daily rate variation and comes with a five-year guarantee on the watch. Inside the watch is Rolex’s proprietary automatic Calibre 3135, one of the brand’s most trusted workhorse movement that was introduced in 1988, and is now a mainstay in many other models, including the Submariner and Datejust.

But back to the bling. While Yacht-Master 40 is all about the glitter, it must be said that a lot of work went into making this blinding beauty what it is. The setting of the stones is no simple affair as Rolex has taken measures to ensure each stone shines with the same brilliance. This is achieved through a painstaking process of first sourcing the stones, and then sorting each stone out by hand in their workshops.

Sounds excessive? You bet. But then again, this Yacht-Master 40 isn’t for everyone. For those who have the wallet and the personality to pull this off, however, it is a conversation starter of the highest order.