Yellow Gold Rolex Sports Watches Are Glorious; Here Are Three of Them

Most of Rolex’s sports watches were born as tool watches designed to serve a specific purpose. The Submariner for divers, the GMT-Master for pilots, the Daytona for racecar drivers, and so on. As the need for mechanical watches as tools waned, these once-necessary utilitarian watches graduated to luxury sports watches for any and all (with the means) to enjoy (and rarely used as their intended purposes). An important part of the evolution from practical to prestige was the push of precious metal variants – specifically yellow gold. In my humble opinion, yellow gold Rolex sports watches are fantastic. Yes, they’re flashy, over-the-top timepieces that demand attention and require confidence to wear. But if you can pull it off, there really isn’t anything quite like a yellow gold Rolex sports watch. Here are three of them. 

Yellow Gold Rolex Submariner

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While the Rolex Submariner has been with us since 1953, Rolex only introduced a full gold version in 1969. That precious metal diving watch has remained in the catalog ever since. The most current yellow gold Rolex Submariner watch made its debut in 2020 in the form of reference 126618.

The Rolex Submariner ref. 126618 features a 41mm case (the largest Submariner thus far), fashioned from 18k yellow gold and water-resistant to 300 meters. On top of that case is a unidirectional rotating timing bezel made from Cerachrom, which is Rolex’s proprietary ceramic alloy. Rolex offers its luscious yellow gold Submariner with a choice of a black or blue bezel, complete with a matching black or blue dial. 

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Regardless of the colorway, Submariner watches are exclusively paired with robust three-link Oyster bracelets. Aside from the updated case dimensions, the latest yellow gold Sub also benefits from Rolex’s new-gen Caliber 3235 automatic movement with 70 hours of power reserve. A yellow gold Submariner will set you back $39,000 at retail.

Yellow Gold Rolex GMT-Master II

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The GMT-Master II in yellow gold was a mainstay in Rolex’s catalog for decades until it was unceremoniously dropped in 2018. Thankfully, it has returned this year as the GMT-Master ref. 126718GRNR. 

The striking yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 126718GRNR features a customary 40mm case but is furnished with a never-before-seen gray and black Cerachrom bi-directional bezel, which is of course marked with 24 hours for the second time zone indication. The black dial is home to four hands (a pair of hour hands, a minute hand, and a seconds hand) and a date window at 3 o’clock – all powered by the automatic, 70-hour power reserve Caliber 3285 movement. 

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For its newest yellow gold GMT watch, Rolex opted for the dressier five-link Jubilee bracelet, naturally also crafted from 18k yellow gold. If you can find a GMT-Master II ref. 126718GRNR at retail (unlikely), it’ll cost you $38,900. 

Yellow Gold Rolex Daytona

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Rolex has offered yellow gold versions of the Daytona since the earliest days of its famed chronograph collection – and hasn’t stopped making them since. The latest Daytona collection, released in 2023 with the updated Caliber 4131 movement, includes two yellow gold models. There’s the Daytona ref. 126508 with a yellow gold bezel and Oyster bracelet to match its case material. Then there’s the Daytona ref. 126518LN with a black Cerachrom bezel and black rubber Oysterflex bracelet. 

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While each model offers a distinct approach to the Daytona, they both sport the usual 40mm case, equipped with screw-down chronograph pushers and winding crowns. Dial options are varied across the duo of yellow gold Daytonas, but always with the prerequisite trio of registers at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. 

The retail price of the Cerachrom and Oysterflex Daytona 126518LN  starts at $30,600 whereas the full yellow gold Daytona 126508 starts at $39,500. 

Yellow Gold Rolex Sports Watches Are Back, Baby

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You could argue that yellow gold Rolex sports watches never went away; the brand has always offered several of them and there have always been fans ready to snap them up. However, there was a time when Rolex dropped some from the catalog, including the GMT-Master II we mentioned above as well as the yellow gold Yacht-Master, seemingly to focus on another gold alloy – Everose gold. 

Thankfully, yellow gold has returned to both the GMT-Master II and Yacht-Master collections, which I think signals a return to this most classic of precious metals. True, the yellow gold Yacht-Master 42 isn’t a full gold model – it has a black ceramic bezel and rubber Oysterflex bracelet. But it’s a start.  

Who knows, maybe we’ll see more Rolex sports watches in yellow gold in the near future; I wouldn’t be mad at a full yellow gold Air-King, Explorer, or Sea-Dweller. Yet, what I’d absolutely love to see is the comeback of a full 18k yellow gold Yacht-Master, bezel and bracelet included, like when it first came out in 1992. Now that would be glorious.

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