Values & guides
A five-digit code that prices a listing in seconds, and the traps that quietly cut the number.
<p>116680. Five digits and a metal code tell you most of what a Yacht-Master II is before you see it. The first four identify the model and the 44mm case; the last two carry the material. Read them right and you can price a listing in seconds.</p><p>The metal digit is where the money hides. A trailing 80 is Oystersteel and sits at the bottom of the range. An 81 is Everose Rolesor, steel married to Rolex pink gold, and asks a mid premium. Solid yellow gold ends in 88, white gold in 89, and both trade on bullion weight as much as on demand.</p><p>Generation splits are subtle. Every Yacht-Master II runs the Ring Command bezel and caliber 4161, the regatta movement with a programmable countdown from one to ten minutes. Early steel examples came on the older Oyster bracelet with a folding clasp; later ones tightened the finishing. Dials stayed close, so a buyer pays for condition and completeness rather than a facelift.</p><p>Traps hide in the details. The blue Cerachrom bezel insert on steel models scuffs and dulls on hard-worn pieces, and a swapped insert kills value fast. Watch for polished-away case flanks; the 44mm lugs lose their edge quickly under a careless buffer. Box and card matter more here than on a sports Rolex, because resale on the II already runs soft against retail.</p><p>As a lookup in prose: 80 steel is entry money; 81 Everose Rolesor is the sweet spot for wrist presence without full gold cost; 88 yellow gold and 89 white gold price off metal and rarely recover their premium once used. The steel 116680 is the reference worth chasing, since it carries the lowest buy-in and the deepest pool of buyers when you sell.</p>
Live inventory for this model — updated continuously as pieces arrive and sell.
