Ever since I tried on the green ceramic Submariner close to a decade ago I have been in love with Rolex. While that sunburst green is incredible, it has since become my second favourite colour in Rolex’s Oyster Professional line. The blue that Rolex uses specifically on their GMT-Master II BLNR, their Yacht-Master II, and most importantly, the white gold blue Submariner, has caught my eye by not being only the best color within Rolex, but I think the best color I’ve ever seen.
The blue that Rolex used for their ceramic bezels (outside of the newest Pepsis) is perfection, but the dial that they have made for the white gold Submariner is really what steals the show. While the sunburst green dial looks great on the LVC, Rolex tried to do the same thing with a sunburst blue dial on their solid yellow gold and steel and gold Submariners… they’ve failed miserably. The blue takes on a cheap, applied sticker sort of look as opposed to the rich, stable color that you’d expect from a company of their pedigree. The dial looks very undignified and almost like you could peel it straight off. The purplish color that the sunburst dial turns to in lighting is very unbecoming for what is otherwise a very well done watch.
Moving on from this point though, the three watches listed above exemplify Rolex’s excellence when making a blue sports watch. By far the best of the three is the Sub with its “Smurf Blue” dial. Not only do you get the best dial/bezel combo of Rolex’s entire lineup, but the fact that you get the weight of solid gold with the stealth factor of white gold makes the watch even better. You’ll go unnoticed in a way that a yellow gold Sub never will, and can do it all knowing that you have Rolex’s flagship Submariner model on your wrist.
I’d argue that the GMT/Sub/Y-M II combo is the best three watch sports watch collection you can have if you’re someone who likes Rolex and the color blue. The Submariner gives you your iconic diver, the GMT, of course, gives you your GMT function/travel watch, and the Yacht-Master II gives you your higher complication watch with the bezel set regatta function with mechanical memory. Additionally, you then have a watch with a black face, a white face, and a blue face while all having at least blue accents.
It’s a very enjoyable collection for someone who is just getting into watches and the prices essentially double each other for each watch (GMT=$8,950, Y-M II=$18,750, & Sub=$36,850). You’d always have a watch one tier up to strive for once you’ve finished purchasing one. If you were to get all three and still wanted to keep collecting blue Rolex sports models, you have a final watch that doubles in price in the 50th Anniversary Platinum Daytona with its beautiful “Ice Blue” dial ($75,000). The weight and aesthetic of the watch will make you fall in love with it immediately after putting it on. It will also fill a hole in the collection by giving you a chronograph.
If you’re still not satisfied after spending around $140,000 on four blue watches then email me at WatchMeWatchBlog@Gmail.com I have an endless supply of blue watch recommendations