The strap size depends on the reference. Yours is engraved on the case back or between the lugs at 6 o'clock.
20 or 21 mm
Verification: From our database, not yet verified
40 to 44 mm cases · 2007 to 2026
Indicative information. Check your watch before buying a strap: whatsmylugwidth.com is not responsible for an incorrect size.
The story · Since 1958
The Yacht-Master was the first Rolex fitted with an Oysterflex bracelet, and in 2023 it went into regular production in RLX titanium, after Sir Ben Ainslie spent about three years wearing a dateless prototype.
1992
year the first production Yacht-Master launched
Worn by
Rolex tied itself to sailing in 1958 through an alliance with the New York Yacht Club, founder of the America's Cup. In the 1960s a nautical Daytona prototype already carried the Yacht-Master name. The name finally reached a production watch in 1992.
The first Yacht-Master, reference 16628, launched at Baselworld 1992 in 18k yellow gold with a white dial. It shared the calibre 3135 with the Submariner but had rounder shapes, a solid gold bezel and 100m of water resistance instead of 300m.
In 1999 Rolex introduced Rolesium, pairing platinum and steel, on Yacht-Master models in several diameters. Reference 16622 combined a steel case and bracelet with a solid platinum bezel and a platinum-coated dial. Baselworld 2012 refreshed the line with blue accents and a cobalt-blue dial.
The Yacht-Master II arrived in 2007 as a regatta chronograph with a programmable countdown, set by turning the bezel through the Ring Command system. It barely changed for a decade; in 2017 Rolex marked its tenth anniversary by giving it a triangle at 12 and a rectangle at 6.
In 2015 the Yacht-Master moved to 18ct Everose gold in 40mm (ref. 116655) and a new 37mm (ref. 268655), and became the first Rolex on the Oysterflex bracelet. A titanium-nickel blade overmoulded in black elastomer gave it the strength of metal and the feel of rubber.
Baselworld 2019 brought the Yacht-Master 42 in white gold, 2mm larger than the 40mm model, followed by a yellow gold version for the line's 30th year. In 2023 the 42 arrived in RLX titanium, roughly 35% lighter than steel at around 100 grams.
Rolex launched a new-generation Yacht-Master II in 2026, a 44mm regatta chronograph in Oystersteel and 18K gold. Its countdown gained a mechanical memory and on-the-fly synchronisation.
The America's Cup winner and four-time Olympic champion wore a dateless RLX titanium Yacht-Master prototype on a NATO strap from 2020 and tested the production 42 before its 2023 release.
1960s. Before any production model existed, a nautical Daytona prototype of the 1960s already bore the Yacht-Master name.
2024. A circa 2020 Yacht-Master 42 in white gold sold in Phillips' Hong Kong online sessions for HK$203,200, above its HK$120,000 to 200,000 estimate.
2021. Ainslie's titanium Yacht-Master was first noticed in late 2021, more than a year before Rolex put RLX titanium into the line.
A new-generation Yacht-Master II whose countdown has a mechanical memory and on-the-fly synchronisation, in Oystersteel and 18K gold.
44mm case.
A 42mm grade 5 titanium case, bezel, crown and bracelet, 11.60mm thick, with bevelled lugs unique to this version. Launch price was CHF 13,400.
21mm three-link titanium Oyster bracelet with Oysterlock clasp and 5mm Easylink extension.
The first 42mm Yacht-Master, in 18k white gold with a matte black Cerachrom bezel and the calibre 3235. Launch price was CHF 26,500.
Case grew from 40mm to 42mm. Oysterflex bracelet with white gold Oysterlock clasp and Glidelock micro-adjustment.
Everose gold in 40mm and 37mm with a matte black dial and ceramic bezel; the 37mm used the calibre 2236 with a Syloxi silicon hairspring.
Debut of the Oysterflex bracelet: a metal blade core, so it cannot be cut to length and, at launch, fitted only this model.
A regatta chronograph with a programmable countdown set through the Ring Command bezel, in a 44mm case.
44mm case on a three-row Oyster bracelet with Oysterlock clasp and Easylink extension.
Steel case and bracelet with a solid platinum bezel and platinum-coated dial, the first Rolesium Yacht-Master.
Steel Oyster bracelet.
Ref. 16628: The first Yacht-Master, in yellow gold with a white dial and the calibre 3135.
Rolex Yacht-Master references in our database. Each card says where its width comes from: listed by the maker (linked to the maker's page in the details), two independent sources agree, or listed in our database and not yet verified by us.
Yacht-Master 29
Lug width: 14 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 29 mmYear: 1999Platinum dialCase material: Steel
Yacht-Master 29
Lug width: 14 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 29 mmYear: 1999Blue dialCase material: Yellow Gold
Yacht-Master 35 Steel/Gold
Lug width: 17 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 35 mmYear: 1999Champagne dialCase material: Yellow Gold
Yacht-Master Midsize
Lug width: 17 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 35 mmYear: 1999Platinum dialCase material: Steel
Yacht-Master II
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 44 mmYear: 2007White dialCase material: Yellow Gold
Yacht-Master II
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 44 mmYear: 2007White dialCase material: White Gold
Yacht-Master II
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 44 mmYear: 2010White dialCase material: Steel
Yacht-Master II
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 44 mmYear: 2011White dialCase material: Rose Gold
Yacht-Master 40 Rolesium
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmYear: 2012Platinum / Blue / Slate dialCase material: Steel
Yacht-Master 37 Everose OysterFlex
Lug width: 17 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 37 mmYear: 2015Black dialCase material: Rose Gold
Yacht-Master 40 Everose OysterFlex
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmYear: 2015Black dialCase material: Rose Gold
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmYear: 2015Blue dialCase material: White Gold
Yacht-Master 37 ref.
Lug width: 18 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 37 mmYear: 2016Grey/Blue dialCase material: Steel
Lug width: 18 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 37 mmYear: 2016Rhodium dialCase material: Steel
Yacht-Master 40 Steel/Platinum
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmYear: 2019Blue dialCase material: Steel
Yacht-Master 42
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 42 mmYear: 2019Black dialCase material: White Gold
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 42 mmYear: 2019Black dialCase material: White Gold
Yacht-Master 42 Titanium
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 42 mmYear: 2023Black dialCase material: Titanium
Yacht-Master II 44
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 44 mmYear: 2026White dialCase material: Oystersteel
Yacht-Master II ref.
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 44 mmYear: 2026White dialCase material: 18K Yellow Gold
Yacht-Master 37
Lug width: 17 mm
Source: DatabaseYacht-Master 37 Rolesor Everose / Chocolate
Lug width: 17 mm
Source: Two sourcesCase size: 37 mmBrown dial
Yacht-Master 40
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmBlack dial
Yacht-Master 40
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmBlack dial
Yacht-Master 40 Everose Cerachrom / Diamond
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmPaved dial
Yacht-Master 40 Rolesor Everose / Chocolate
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmBrown dial
Yacht-Master 40 Rolesor Everose / Chocolate
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmBrown dial
Yacht-Master 40 Rolesor White
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmWhite dial
Yacht-Master 40 White Gold - Diamond / Sapphire
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 40 mmBlack dialCase material: White Gold
Yacht-Master 42
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 42 mmBlack dial
Yacht-Master 42
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 42 mmBlack dial
Yacht-Master 42 Yellow Gold / Black
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 42 mmBlack dial
Yacht-Master II
Lug width: 21 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 44 mmNatural / Cream dial
No reference matches.
Rolex Yacht-Master references use 17 mm or 20 mm or 21 mm depending on the reference and case size, so check yours in the list below. The most common is 21 mm (13 of 33 references with a known width). These widths come from our database and are not yet verified.
No. 5 different lug widths appear across the line, often by case size or generation. Check the reference engraved on the case back or between the lugs.
Monochrome measures its three-link RLX titanium Oyster bracelet at 21mm.
No. It has a metal blade inside, so it cannot be cut; you get the length fitted at purchase plus the clasp's micro-adjustment.
When it launched in 2015, Time+Tide noted the Oysterflex worked only with the Yacht-Master it came on, not with models such as the Submariner.
The 42mm Oysterflex closes with an Oysterlock folding clasp that has Glidelock extensions for micro-adjusting length.
A three-row Oyster bracelet with an Oysterlock safety folding clasp and an Easylink extension of about 5mm, on a 44mm case.
The current line comes in 37mm, 40mm and 42mm, with the Yacht-Master II chronograph at 44mm.
The gap between the two lugs that hold the strap, in millimetres. A new strap must match it exactly: 20 mm lugs take a 20 mm strap.
Most watches use spring bars, so any strap of the right width fits. Many smartwatches use their own band system instead, such as Apple Watch bands or Garmin QuickFit.