Rolex Just Revealed Its 2026 Releases: Here's What We Saw
Watches & Wonders 2026, where Rolex unveils most if not all of the year’s new releases, doesn't open until April 14th. But Rolex isn't making us wait in the dark. The brand dropped two separate teaser videos in the days before the show — one on Friday, one on Sunday — each hitting a different note ahead of what looks like a big year for the Crown.
The Friday clip, which we wrote about here, was brief and thematic, leaning heavily into the 100th anniversary of the Oyster case. The words "100 YEARS" appear on a dark dial of what looks like a two-tone Oyster Perpetual with a gold bezel. Sunday's video was the more typical pre-show intelligence dump — a rapid series of watches, partially obscured to keep the mystery, with enough exposed for the eagle-eyed among us to accurately predict what's coming.
The Yacht-Master II Is Coming Back
A knurled rotating bezel on the same watch as non-screw-down "pump" pushers.
Among the pieces shown, Rolex appears to include a watch with chronograph pushers resembling those of the discontinued Yacht-Master II — specifically, they lack the screw-down pushers found on the Daytona. The three dots on the crown indicate a Triplock, while the larger dot in the center suggests white gold rather than steel. A blue bezel is visible as the watch turns, with minute graduations extending past the 15-minute mark — an unusual design for the Yacht-Master family. This also lines up with the "leaked" images we examined ahead of the show, which showed a redesigned Yacht-Master II with a new bezel configuration and pusher layout.
A blue graduated dive-style bezel visible alongside the pump pushers.
This shouldn't be a complete shock. The Yacht-Master II was discontinued in 2024, making this one of the shortest gaps between a Rolex discontinuation and a potential relaunch. The timing makes more sense when you consider what Rolex has been building toward. A patent published in 2023 describes a new countdown chronograph that eliminates the Ring Command bezel entirely, programming the timer through pusher inputs alone — a significant simplification over the original, which required rotating the bezel and unscrewing the crown to set the countdown.
Original Rolex Yacht-Master II. Image Source: Monochrome Watches
The original Yacht-Master II was always a divisive watch. The 44mm case was dominated by the Ring Command bezel — a mechanism that duplicated information already on the dial and added considerable visual bulk (including the large "YACHT-MASTER II" text on the bezel in case you forgot what watch you're wearing). The underlying complication was genuinely impressive: a programmable regatta countdown accurate to the minute, with flyback and fly-forward synchronization for adjustments mid-race. The mechanics were very impressive. The execution left room for improvement..
If the new version moves countdown control to the pushers and trades the Ring Command for something closer to a standard sport bezel, that's a meaningful redesign. Rolex has strengthened its partnership with SailGP since stepping back from Formula 1, which gives the brand good reason to keep a regatta instrument in the lineup. Whether a steel version is coming isn't confirmed — the crown markings (three 'Triplock' dots, one larger in the center) suggest white gold.
A Display Caseback on a Steel Daytona?
A display caseback on a Daytona with steel or platinum case.
The Sunday teaser moved fast, but frame-by-frame we see a display caseback on a Daytona. Rolex has used exhibition casebacks on the 1908 and certain precious metal Daytona references, but a steel Daytona with a display caseback would be new ground. We can see the three Triplock dots on the crown, all the same size, which means this is either steel or platinum. There's been ongoing speculation about whether Rolex would bring a redesigned steel Daytona to market at a higher price point this year. We'll need to see the actual release to confirm what we're looking at.
The 100-Year Oyster Perpetual
The Oyster 100th anniversary, celebrated on the dial and crown of this two-tone OP.
Rolex is marking the Oyster centennial with a commemorative release — something the brand rarely does, having downplayed anniversaries in recent years. The "100 YEARS" dial text is visible in the Friday clip, and the "100" embossed gold crown on what appears to be a two-tone case in the Sunday video likely connects to the same watch.
What It All Means
Two teasers in one pre-show weekend is unusual for Rolex, and separating the anniversary messaging from the broader lineup preview was deliberate. The 100-year Oyster is clearly a standalone story the brand wants told on its own terms.
Fluted bezel, single baton indices, black dial.
The Sunday video also showed a brief close-up of what appears to be a Day-Date or Datejust — black dial, fluted bezel, single baton indices — a reminder that Rolex's announcements tend to run wider than the pre-show conversation suggests.
The Yacht-Master II return, if confirmed Monday, would be the third new collection launched by Rolex in four years, after the 1908 and the Land-Dweller. The short gap between discontinuation and relaunch also raises a broader question: whether future exits from the catalog — the Pepsi GMT among them — are better understood as pauses than permanent farewells, particularly when a patent is already waiting.
We'll be on the ground at Watches & Wonders starting Monday. Full coverage as it happens.
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