This video contains the following current and late-model Rolex sports watches with the following measurements:
Rolex Deepsea Sea-Dweller 116660: 44mm, 53mm Lug-to-Lug
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116680: 44mm, 51mm Lug-to-Lug
Rolex Sky-Dweller 326135: 42mm, 51mm Lug-to-Lug
Rolex Explorer II 216570: 42mm, 51mm Lug-to-Lug
Rolex Datejust II 116334: 41mm, 51mm Lug-to-Lug
Rolex Yacht-Master 16623: 40mm, 48mm Lug-to-Lug
Rolex Daytona 116528: 40mm, 47mm Lug-to-Lug

Vetting the credibility and credentials of a seller is the greatest challenge faced when buying a watch online; determining the fit and sizing of a watch is the second greatest challenge. Lug-to-Lug measurements are the key to understanding how a watches wear "in the flesh."
Nominal measurements like "case size" are listed across the internet on innumerable online stores, but few possess real inventory in-house. WatchBox only advertises watches that are in-house inventory. For this reason, WatchBox is able to measure its Rolex and other popular brand watches to illustrate the real-world fit difference between the models - regardless of their listed "size."

Join WatchBox's Tim Mosso for an overview of several current Rolex models, their lug-to-lug measurements, and subjective impressions of their fit on the wrist.

WatchBox offers a no-questions-asked seven-day return policy, so after viewing these videos, buyers retain the right to try the watches at home prior to making a final commitment.

Shop Rolex: https://www.thewatchbox.com/watches/rolex/

I am Tim, welcome to WatchBox and thanks for logging on. Well, I'm back with a couple of watches from our inventory after taking a little vacation for a few days. So to reintroduce Rolex and for that matter myself to the channel, I wanted to focus on more of a guide to buying watches than a specific showcase of any individual watch. Now I find that Rolex is sort of a bellwether for the industry and a standard of reference for watch consumers, and perhaps no manufacturer has seen more changes in the size and shape of its cases and bracelets than Rolex over the past 30 years. And there are a lot of references like the Deepsea, like the Yacht-Master II, like the Sky-Dweller that are bigger and shaped differently than better known classical Rolex references. And the number one question people ask when buying a watch over the internet is how does it fit? And more precisely, what is the lug to lug measurement? Now lug to lug measurement, for those of you who are out there in “cyberspace”, you know that means essentially the true size of the watch. Its span from one extremity of the case to the other. And that's the biggest measure of how a watch is going to fit—more than mass, more than thickness, more than perhaps the nominal diameter of the watch. For instance, in the case of this Deepsea, it's 44 millimeters. But I can tell you, having measured it, the lug to lug measurement is 53 millimeters.

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to move that little Pepsi, this Sky-Dweller, and our Yacht-Master II out of the frame for the time being. And I'm going to talk a little bit about the fit of the Deepsea, because in a lot of ways, the Sea-Dweller family was the first of the Rolex model lines to wreak havoc on our notion of how a modern Rolex fits. From the early 80s, when the solid end links debuted, to the 2008 launch of the Deepsea, the Sea-Dweller has been a little bit of a pioneer in the changing profile of Rolex on the wrist. And you can see on my wrist six and a third inches, 16 centimeters in circumference. The Deepsea wears with a lot of presence. This is the key number to remember, 53 millimeters lug to lug so while it is a forty four, it's a big 44. And it's worth mentioning that it's the biggest 44 that Rolex offers. Another key distinction that I want to make regarding Rolex bracelets since I mentioned the advent of solid end links first on the Sea-Dweller family, I want to emphasize that they add approximately one and a half to two millimeters per side when you have solid end links. That is the center section of the bracelet when it's solid and it bends outward to meet the bracelet rather than being a pivoting portion in its own right, it adds a virtual three to four millimeters to the total span of the watch across the wrist. That's what you need to know with the Deep sea, which is the biggest both in shape and size, as well as lug to lug measurement in the current Rolex catalog.

Now, to emphasize the difference that shape can make on a watch, I want to bring in another forty four millimeter Rolex. In this case, the most complicated modern Rolex, the Yacht-Master II, now when the Yacht-Master II launched. It was considered to be a bit of a monster, somewhat ahead of the Deepsea in the launch schedule. It was also a monstrous complication. Now I do have a video demonstrating how to set the regatta timer, so I'm going to focus on fit here. Already you can see, although a monster, it's not quite the monster that the Deepsea is. You could see even with the solid end links, 51 millimeters from lug to lug. So you add your virtual three or four with the solid end links, you can see that it wears lower on the wrist. It wears a little bit narrower from lug to lug and on my wrist, six and a third inches, that's sixteen centimeters is a better match for the size of this watch. So both 44, but the Yacht-Master is easier to wear because it is a paired down case. It has about three millimeters less span across the wrist than the otherwise identically sized deepsea. That's why the nominal case measurement in millimeters should be one of many factors that you take into consideration.

In 2011, we saw something completely new, the six digit reference sort of revival Steve McQueen Explorer II. Now, I know Steve McQueen never wore this watch. He never wore one that looks like it in the sixteen fifty five reference. That doesn't matter because Bart Simpson never wore Rolex either, and he's got one named after him. A whole series, in fact. And the bottom line is that this watch, 42 millimeters. Wears more like the Yacht-Master II than it does the Deepsea. And for that matter it also wears broader, flatter, and a little bit more massive than even the Sky-Dweller. And the key thing to remember is, well, it's a 42 millimeter. It's the same 51 millimeters lug to lug as the Yacht-Master. So though smaller, nominally 42, it's just as broad from lug to lug and with the solid end links you get that little bit of extra flair. Marista sixteen centimeters, but eyes closed, this feels exactly the same as the Yacht-Master II, and that's the Explorer II current reference two one six five seven zero and stainless steel.

Now, moving on, I want to talk a little bit about one of the other big boys introduced in the late 2000s. The bigger, bolder date just two. Now this one is rated at 41 millimeters, that's the minimal space again, from one round portion to another round portion of the case. Not counting the crown, not counting the lugs. It's not a diagonal measurement. And we can see on my wrist this one. We're not a little bit smaller than the 42 Explorer II, but a lot smaller than the 42 millimeter explorer two, now although it has the same 51 millimeter lug to lug measurement, it's much more paired down, far less massive. And I can tell you that although Rolex will tell you it's one millimeters worth of difference, the feeling on the wrist, both in terms of heft and in terms of span side to side, is very distinct. So while the distance between extremities may be exactly the same at 51 millimeters, there's a world of difference between this, the Explorer II and the Yacht-Master II. So the Datejust II, while bigger and bolder than a Datejust, is a step down in wrist real estate.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the original 40 millimeter Yacht-Master in the same video as the Yacht-Master II. Now, this one is a very traditional two tone 40 millimeter Yacht-Master II. This is the way Rolex used to be. This is the closest thing to a classical paired down pre-supercase 40 millimeter Rolex. Now while it does have the solid end links, all Yacht-Masters have had those, the 40 millimeters in this case is a total distinction from the others. So remember how the 44 millimeter Yacht-Master were 51 millimeters, well the 40 millimeter original yachtmaster as opposed to the Yacht-Master II, this wears 48 millimeters from lug to lug. So 48 millimeters from lug to lug, but considerably slimmer, lighter on the wrist, it's completely different sensation the way you feel it is almost a dress watch on the wrist in comparison to the latter Yacht-Master II. And for that matter, although it's only one millimeter smaller than even the Datejust II, it wears three millimeters smaller across the wrist. And in terms of mass, a big difference.

Now, I want to wind up by looking at a current generation, six digit Daytona case, now this one definitely has the big bling going on. Full gold, this is the one one six five to eight 18 karat yellow gold case and bracelet. So the mass of this one is its defining feature, but being a very paired down form compared to the modern super case submariners and GMT-Master IIs, by no means does this one feel overwhelming in spite of its sheer heft. Well, one of the heavier Rolex watches you can buy, it's worth mentioning that this particular watch, 40 millimeters in diameter is only 47 millimeters lug to lug. So even a little bit more paired down than the original five digit Yacht-Master we just looked at. The defining features of this watch are really how slim it is, how fine it is, how low it sits on the wrist, and also how paired down it is at the edges of your wrist. Now the Daytona's had solid end links since 1999, but even with that extra three to four millimeters of span projecting outward from the lugs, you don't get the sense that this one is going to be any trouble on a wrist, even a smallest six inches or 15 centimeters. If you're OK wearing the mass of a full gold watch. And let's face it, that's a nice problem to have. You can have no issues with the fit of any contemporary Rolex, Daytona, even in precious metals. I'm Tim and this is WatchBox.com.