Rolex · Yacht-Master 42
Rolex Yacht-Master 42 226658: specifications and what to check
Solid 18 ct yellow gold on an Oysterflex bracelet: metal blades overmoulded with elastomer. The bezel numerals are raised and polished rather than filled, which inverts the usual Cerachrom inspection.
Reference 226658 · specifications read from the manufacturer on 2026-09-22 · listed as current
Specifications
As published by Rolex. A field the manufacturer does not state is left out rather than filled in.
- Case
- Oyster, 42 mm, 18 ct yellow gold. Monobloc middle case, screw-down case back and winding crown
- Diameter
- 42 mm
- Water resistance
- Waterproof to 100 metres / 330 feet
- Crystal
- Scratch-resistant sapphire, Cyclops lens over the date
- Bezel
- Bidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated bezel with matt black Cerachrom insert in ceramic, polished raised numerals and graduations
- Dial
- Black, with highly legible Chromalight display with long-lasting blue luminescence
- Case back
- Screw-down
- Crown
- Screw-down, Triplock triple waterproofness system
- Bracelet
- Oysterflex — flexible metal blades overmoulded with high-performance elastomer
- Clasp
- Folding Oysterlock safety clasp with Rolex Glidelock extension system
Movement
- Calibre
- Calibre 3235, Manufacture Rolex
- Type
- Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding; bidirectional self-winding via Perpetual rotor
- Power reserve
- Approximately 70 hours
- Certification
- Superlative Chronometer (official chronometer certification + Rolex certification after casing)
- Notes
- Precision −2/+2 sec/day after casing. Instantaneous date with rapid setting and stop-seconds.
What to check before you buy
- Flex the Oysterflex along its length and look for any separation between the elastomer and the metal blades inside it. It is not a rubber strap — it is overmoulded metal, and delamination is the failure mode.
- Check the elastomer for cuts, nicks and heat damage near the clasp and lugs, and remember it cannot be refinished the way a metal bracelet can. A damaged one is replaced.
- Examine the raised polished numerals on the matt ceramic bezel. Here the markings stand proud rather than being filled into recesses, so they take contact directly and show wear on their upper surfaces.
- Assess the gold case for dents rather than scratches. Solid 18 ct is soft, and at 42mm it collects impact marks at the lug tips that will not polish out without losing material.
- Weigh it in the hand against expectation. A solid gold 42mm case is considerably heavier than the steel references, and that heft is both the appeal and a reason buyers sometimes change their minds.
Oysterflex is not a rubber strap
This is the specification most often described wrongly. Rolex states the Oysterflex is built from flexible metal blades overmoulded with high-performance elastomer — a metal spine with a rubber skin, attached to a full Oysterlock clasp with Glidelock adjustment.
That construction explains both its behaviour and its failure mode. It holds its shape like a bracelet rather than flopping like a strap, and when it goes wrong it does so by the elastomer separating from the blades inside, not by tearing like rubber.
So the inspection is a flex test. Bend it through its natural arc and look closely at the edges and the areas nearest the lugs and clasp, where stress concentrates. Any lifting, bubbling or visible gap between skin and core is terminal — it is a replacement, not a repair.
Raised numerals invert the bezel check
On the Submariner the Cerachrom graduations are recessed and filled with platinum, so you inspect the fill for evenness.
Here the arrangement is reversed: polished raised numerals and graduations standing proud of a matt black ceramic insert. They catch light, and they also catch everything else — cuffs, desks, door frames. Wear shows on the tops of the markings rather than inside them.
Look across the bezel at a low angle so the raised elements throw shadows. Consistent height and consistent polish across all of them is what you want.
Soft gold, large case
Solid 18 ct yellow gold at 42mm. Gold does not resist impact the way steel does, and a case this size makes contact often.
Assess it for dents and flat spots, particularly at the lug tips, rather than for fine scratches. Scratches in gold polish out. Dents require material to be moved or removed, and on a solid gold case every refinish permanently reduces what is there.
Rated for a deck, not a dive
100 metres with a Triplock crown and a rotating 60-minute bezel. The bezel is bidirectional here, which suits timing a race rather than a decompression stop — and it is a useful reminder that a rotating dive-style bezel does not by itself make a dive watch.
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Sources
Not affiliated with Rolex. Specifications are read from the manufacturer's own published documentation on the date shown and may change; the manufacturer's current documentation governs.