rolex yacht master dials for sale

Pre-Owned Rolex Yacht-Master Watches

Rumoured to be a replacement for the Submariner that was considered too dramatic a change right at the last minute, the Yacht-Master was designed to be a more elegant imagining of the classic diver's watch. The sculpted cases and sparkling dials are the perfect combination for a summer trip to the Mediterranean.

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Shop New Arrivals

Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114300 39MM Stainless Steel, Smooth Bezel Dark Rhodium Dial, B&P (2019) $ 7,995

Rolex Sky-Dweller 326933 42MM Steel & 18k Gold, Fluted Bezel Champagne Index Dial, B&P (2022) $ 19,295

Rolex Submariner 126610 41MM Steel, Black Ceramic Bezel Black Chromalight Dial, B&P (2023) $ 14,995

Rolex Submariner 16610 40MM Steel, Serial Engraved Rehuat No Holes Case, B&P (2008) $ 10,995

• Yacht-Master

Rolex Yacht-Master 116622 Blue Dial

Join the product waitlist & get first dibs.

Product Details

Rolex yacht-master 116622.

Rolesium is celebrated for its resilient yet opulent finish, which pairs Oystersteel with 950 platinum. Both metals are forged entirely in-house, creating a stunning white metal finish that is nearly flawless and will maintain a mesmerizing luster for a lifetime of wear. Rolesium offers the durability needed for daily wear while also bringing a level of elegance and class to the tough Yacht-Master regatta watch. It's prepared to sail the vast ocean while also being suitable enough for the board room or a round of golf. Add this contemporary edition of the Yacht-Master with a striking blue dial to your watch box today in excellent pre-owned Rolex condition.

Authenticity

* All Pre-Owned Rolex watches are guaranteed to be 100% genuine and certified authentic. Certificates are issued by WatchCSA, the industry's leading independent authority on watch authentication. WatchCSA Certified Pre-Owned certificates are provided for an additional fee at checkout. All watches are shipped to fit the average size wrist (7 1/4" - 7 1/2" for men and 6 1/4" - 6 1/2" for women). Additional links can be purchased if needed. Note that "B&P" means "box and papers" where stated.

Shipping / Returns

Each order is ready for shipment within one (1) business day after the order is approved and processed. All watch orders are shipped FedEx overnight and are fully insured at no charge to the customer. Please be advised that for any deliveries from Bob's Watches, a recipient aged 21 years or older must be present to provide a signature upon receipt of the package.

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Product Reviews ( 7 )

Immaculate condition with like-new appearance. Watch works flawlessly. Beautiful watch over-all.

Like a new . Excelent beautyfull

Excellent quality preowned Rolex at a fair price. Prompt service and good selection.

I’m local in Newport so it was easy to go see the watch. Service was fantastic and the watch is in great condition, better than description. I will most definitely do business with Bobs again

No hassle super fast shipping, reasonable pricing, impeccable product-like BRAND NEW not even a tiny bit of scratch anywhere! Would definitely buy again here at Bob’s, sadly waitlisted on a few other watches.

The watch is exactly was I have been looking for, for the better part of a year. The case has a slimmer design than the submariner, which is better for cuffed shirts. It is the right blend of dress & casual, which is exactly what I needed.

super fast delivery, very helpful and professional on the phone. Watch very nice overall.

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All of Rolex’s New Watches From Watches & Wonders 2024

Rolex just announced their novelties at the world's largest watch show in geneva..

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Rolex just announced its novelties for 2024, and these releases are confirming our take on Watches & Wonders as a moment of iterative updates of classic watches. The 2024 collection is decidedly nothing like the wild puzzle pieces and emoticons we saw from The Crown last year. The exception here may be the Daytona, which is studded with diamonds and sports what one could call a “Pearl Panda” dial (and, of course, its reverse).  The much anticipated GMT-Master II Coke (known for its red and black bezel) didn’t happen this year, but instead we get a lovely gray and black bezel (as seen on last year’s two-tone GMT-Master II) with a pop of Rolex’s signature green for the GMT hand and the option of an Oyster or a Jubilee bracelet—very classy.

If anyone was complaining last year that Rolex had strayed too far into the circus of color–that The Crown was just having too much fun flitting about—then this year proves that Rolex was always going to return to its quiet place at the center of the horological galaxy. Will this return to normalcy make any of these watches easier to get at retail? We will assume a resounding “hell no” to be the obvious answer. For many, including some of our own staff, these more conservative models will be the ones to own over the long haul, because they’ll remain timeless, versatile, and rugged companions—which, looking back over the past 100 years, is exactly what a Rolex was always meant to be.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, please welcome the Rolex 2024 lineup to the stage.

GMT-Master II in Steel on Gray and Black Ceramic Bezel

Two new Oystersteel versions of the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II—one with an Oyster bracelet, the other with a Jubilee bracelet, both with a 24-hour graduated Cerachrom bezel insert in gray and black ceramic—will delight travelers with a sentimental streak for the understated steel GMTs of last century. As well as an alternative time zone, the green 24-hour hand points to a location that carries emotional significance for the wearer, which we simply call home. (Whether, for die-hard fans, that’ll be the manufacture’s HQ in the Acacias district of the city in which the piece has been unveiled remains to be seen!)

The same green hue is used for the GMT-Master II inscription upon the black lacquer dial, offering a second subtle flash of color on arguably the most elegantly muted iterations yet of a navigation tool watch first unveiled in 1982. But that’s not just any green; it’s Rolex green, so you’re assured a splash of quiety luxury every time you check the time—at home or wherever you may roam.

Case Size: 40 mm Movement: Calibre 3285 Power Reserve: 70 Hours Price: $10,900 on Jubilee, $10,700 on Oyster

Rolex Deepsea in Yellow Gold and Cerachrom Bezel

It’s the first ever Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea to be presented in 18-karat yellow gold. It’s also the first time the Deepsea has worn a Cerachrom bezel, and this is the first time that Rolex has separated the Deepsea from the Sea-Dweller lineup. That’s a lot of firsts.

That gold’s striking juxtaposition to the rich blue of the lacquer dial and ceramic bezel is not being lost on the crowds mingling in the Geneva Palexpo convention center at the time of writing. But serious dive watch geeks right now are busy marveling at a new technical masterstroke: the compression ring within the Ringlock system in this new piece—the part of the watch’s architecture that equips it to withstand depths of up to 3,900 meters—is now crafted from ceramic.

Technical diving innovation is an ongoing mission for Rolex, and the Deepsea has always been renown for its compression resistance. The Crown isn’t quoting any new depth figures, however—which is fine, because the 3,900 meters on offer since the Deepsea’s launch in 2008 imposes roughly 65 times the pressure the human body can endure. Ceramic also offers anti-deformation properties, though, and there’s no doubt that this piece’s waterproofness will be more robust than previous models, to be tested only should you drop it overboard in the middle of the ocean.

Tool watches being fit for purpose whatever they’ll end up (not) being used for is one of the industry’s core underlying tenets: and, as well as offering a strikingly aquatic vibe, the deep blue dial admirably complements legibility features such as the Chromalight display, the contrasting shapes of the hour markers, and differentiated hands which, like the triangular ‘zero’ marker on the bezel, are also filled with Chromalite, Rolex’s proprietary luminescent material.

Case Size: 44 mm Case Material: yellow gold Movement: Calibre 3235 Power Reserve: 70 Hours Movement: caliber 3235 auto-winding mechanical with date Price:  $52,100

Cosmograph Daytona With Diamond Bezel and Mother-of-Pearl Dials

Can a reinterpretation of a classic be simultaneously faithful and bold? Yes. Beyoncé’s take on The Beatles’ Blackbird proved it when new album Cowboy Carter hit streaming platforms two weeks ago, and Rolex are proving it today with these two new iterations of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona.

Both are in 18-karat white gold; both have mother-of-pearl dials whose boundaries are graced with eight diamonds and three Chromalight hour markers; both are graced with a bezel set with 36 brilliant-cut diamonds. The differences? The one whose dial is white with dark chronograph counters comes with an Oysterflex bracelet; the inverted version of that color scheme comes with Oyster bracelet. Notably, this is the first time we’ve seen a mixing of mother-of-pearl colors from Rolex, and we’re already calling these the the “Pearl Pandas.”

This is not the first iteration of a piece originally created for hardcore racing drivers, back in 1963, to forego the useful tachymetric scale for jewels, but we’ve never heard anyone complain about that. It’s arguably the most eye-catching bejeweled Daytona to date, however.

Case Size: 40 mm  Movement: Calibre 4131 Power Reserve: 72 Hours Movement:  caliber 4131 auto-winding chronograph Price:  Oysterflex $61,400, Oyster bracelet $70,100

Day-Date 40 & 36 in Precious Metals

Nearly seven decades after the Day-Date became the first wristwatch to display the day of the week spelt out in full, Rolex has used new iterations of the model to demonstrate its dedication to incredmentally nudging small details toward perfection.

One new Day-Date 40 in 18-karat Everose gold introduces, for the first time, a slate ombré dial around whose deep black edge are found faceted, deconstructed Roman numerals and faceted index hour markers in 18-karat pink gold. (Some fans may remember this one from the ad during The Oscars.) Another, in 18-karat white gold, features a dial whose white mother-of-pearl surface calls to mind overlapping clouds: an effect which interacts seductively with the ten baguette-cut diamonds set onto the dial as hour markers.

In a new variant of the Day-Date 36, in 18-karat yellow gold, we see the deconstructed Roman numerals and faceted index hour markers previously reserved for the piece’s larger sibling set around a white lacquer dial; in another, in 18-karat Everose gold, the blue-green dial hue introduced on the Sky-Dweller last year has been adorned with ten baguette-cut diamonds as hour markers.

President bracelets—a moniker coined when Lyndon B Johnson wore a yellow-gold Day-Date in 1965—are a given for all of these sophisticated iterations.

Case Size: 40 mm/36 mm  Movement: Calibre 3225 Power Reserve: 70 Hours Price: Day-Date 40 Ombré dial $41,500, Mother of Pearl $47,050, Day-Date 36 White Roman dial $35,000, Blue with trapeze cut diamonds $80,000

Sky-Dweller in Rose and Yellow Gold

Arriving two whole decades after the last entirely new model Rolex added to its repertoire (the Yacht-Master), the Sky-Dweller, when it was unveiled to the world in 2012, was interpreted as being The Crown’s contribution to the gargantuan watch trend then riding the crest of the zeitgeist.

Subtle mutations since then have demonstrated far longer-term aims for the line: the latest example being these two new 18-karat gold versions—in 18-karat Everose gold with a slate dial, and 18 ct yellow gold with white dial—each, for the first time, sporting a Jubilee bracelet.

Displaying the time in two time zones simultaneously (local time with conventional center hands, reference time in 24-hour format on an off-center disc) as well as offering an annual calendar (‘Saros’) which automatically differentiates between 30- and 31-day months, Rolex’s most complicated wristwatch also features a Ring Command system using the bezel that allows the wearer to select functions with ease.

Case Size: 42 mm Movement: Calibre 9002 Power Reserve: 72 Hours Movement: caliber 9002 auto-winding annual calendar with second time zone Price: Everose $52,900, Yellowgold $49,000

1908 in Platinum with Ice Blue Dial

Rolex are calling this update on a piece launched only last year a “visual masterpiece”—and calling them out for hyperbole here would be churlish. Crafted in 950 platinum (which essentially refers to 95 percent purity), the new version’s ice blue dial, with its rice-grain guilloché texture, combines to stunning effect with the otherwise smooth minute track’s crimped pattern filet sauté—not to mention the piece’s brown alligator leather strap.

Named as a doff of the cap to the year Hans Wilsdorf registered what remains the only genuine household name in fine watchmaking, the piece packs other details that fall into the “ultra-subtle, but impossible to ignore once you know they’re there” category: not least the chamfering on the top edges of the middle case lugs and a bezel whose smooth, domed effect gives way to fluting lower down.

It’is great to see The Crown leaning into the 1908 series, as the previous Cellini models that this replaces somehow lacked that  je ne sais quoi that this watch appears to have heaps of. Also, this is Rolex’s slimmest watch, just as a dress watch should be.

Case Size: 39 mm Case material: Platinum Movement: Calibre 7140 Power Reserve: 66 Hours Price: $30,900

Allen Farmelo

Allen is Robb Report's digital watch editor. His writing and photography have appeared in Fortune, Hodinkee, WatchTime, International Watch and many others. When he's not obsessing over vintage…

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• Watches & Wonders 2024

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List Of Rolex Watches Discontinued At Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024 Including Every Yacht-Master II

As always, new Rolex releases bring the quiet discontinuation of Rolex watches, and Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024 is no different. Here’s a quick look at the watches Rolex discontinued from April 09, 2024.

Rolex Daytona Le Mans 126529LN

One of the most collectible and rare Rolex watches right from the moment when it was released in June 2023 , the Rolex Daytona “Le Mans” reference 126529LN was always destined to be unobtainable for the overwhelming majority of VIP customers of the brand. In a rather shocking development, Rolex drops it from its collection after less than a year, as the Rolex Daytona Le Mans was in production just from June 2023 until April 2024. Basically, it is a Daytona in 18k white gold with a black Cerachrom ceramic bezel with a red “100” marker in honor of the centenary of Le Mans. In other words, the Rolex 126529LN was produced just for the centenary of this legendary race, and no longer. It is back in 18k yellow gold for 2024.

Rolex Datejust 36 126200 & 126233 With A Palm Dial & Fluted Dial

The Rolex Datejust 36 reference 126200 with so-called Palm dials and Fluted dials also got the axe for 2024. These laser-etched dials were beautifully made as they displayed depth and fascinating light-plays between their bright and dark surfaces. They well and truly were a tour de force of Rolex’s in-house manufacturing know-how, and are discontinued after just 3 years in production for the Rolex Datejust 36 Palm dials and Rolex Datejust 36 Fluted dials.

The Entire Rolex Yacht-Master II Collection

It is extremely rare for Rolex to drop an entire collection, and such a development is all the more surprising for a watch fitted with an expensively developed, fully bespoke movement. The Rolex Yacht-Master II is such a watch, as its Rolex 4161 caliber with its programmable countdown regatta chronograph operated through a crown, two pushers, and a Ring Command is as quirky as they could ever get not just in the world of Rolex, but in the world of luxury watchmaking in general. This is to say that we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yacht-Master II or its 4161 caliber return at some point. The Yacht-Master II was updated a few years ago with the Rolex “Professional” style handset replacing the straight hands that debuted on the piece in 2007, but the collection was otherwise left largely untouched by Rolex, other than dropping the 18k white gold reference 116689 in 2022.

These are the most important and notable discontinuation news of Rolex watches for 2024. We will keep our eyes out for others that might have slipped through, but Rolex axing the laser-etched dials on the Datejust 36, dropping the Yacht-Master II collection in its entirety, and producing the Rolex Daytona “Le Mans” for such a brief period in the brand’s history is big news for 2024. You can learn more at the brand’s website. 

Rolex just announced 6 new watches for 2024. Take a look.

• Rolex just unveiled its 2024 offerings at Watches and Wonders in Switzerland.
• The watchmaker says it's striving for "harmonies of materials, colours and textures" this year.
• The collection is comparatively less flashy than recent offerings .

Rolex just unveiled its new offerings for 2024 at the annual Watches and Wonders exhibition in Switzerland.

While no new model lines were announced, the Geneva-based watchmaker said it's striving for "harmonies of materials, colours and textures" in this year's variants of tried-and-true favorites.

From mixing metal finishes, to contrasting materials like diamond and mother of pearl, the brand is taking a relatively understated (for Rolex, at least) approach than in recent years.

Business Insider spoke with Bob's Watches CEO Paul Altieri about each model following the much-anticipated announcement.

Take a look at the new lineup.

A grey and black bezel GMT-Master II

While the GMT's classic red and blue "Pepsi" color combination is a proven winner, this year's gray and black bezel brings a more subtle option to the model, while still representing the division of day and night hours that are the hallmark of the original.

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Altieri told BI that rumors swirled in the watch community that the Pepsi colorway would be replaced by a black and red "Coke" variation prior to the gray and black bezel's unveiling.

New variations on the classic Day-Date

The Day-Date is in many ways Rolex's playground for unique combinations of faces and metals, and this year the model's two sizes, 36mm and 40mm, each feature two new variants.

The larger version now comes in Rolex's custom Everose gold with a slate ombré dial (pictured here), or in white gold with a mother-of-pearl dial. Meanwhile, the smaller sibling is available in yellow gold and a white dial, or in Everose gold with a blue-green dial (pictured at the top of this story).

An encore for last year's all-new 1908

Rolex introduced the Perpetual 1908 last year in homage to the year that founder Hans Wilsdorf named the company. In a departure from last year's conservative brown and black options, the 1908 now features a platinum case and a meticulously etched ice-blue dial.

The new details take the collection to "the next level of exclusivity" while bringing classical elegance that's rare in Rolex's catalog today, Altieri said.

Dozens of diamonds for the Daytona

The iconic Daytona features two new mother-of-pearl color combos — one light face with dark counters and one dark face with light counters — set against a bezel of three dozen brilliant-cut diamonds.

When we said the lineup was less flashy, we weren't talking about this one.

The blinged-out timepiece carries "a long tradition of ultra-luxurious Daytona watches," Altieri said.

A snappy new bracelet for the Sky-Dweller

The big news for the Sky-Dweller this year is less about the watch itself and more about the new version of Rolex's Jubilee bracelet. With satin-finished outer links surrounding polished inner links, the bracelet also has ceramic inserts to help it stay comfortable and flexible for years to come. The dials in slate and white don't look half bad, either.

The Deepsea goes gold

Rolex's ultimate dive watch, the Deepsea, is rated for a depth of 12,800 feet (or nearly 15 Bank of America HQ skyscrapers ) — far deeper than the 1,000-foot rating of the more common Submariner.

For 2024, the watch is available in 18-carat gold, contrasting against a bright blue ceramic bezel. Titanium is used for the case back and the specialized pressure valve, offering a distinctive gray accent.

The new Deepsea is "easily the most noteworthy" watch in this rollout, Altieri told BI. The bezel, in particular, makes it Rolex's "most luxurious dive watch," he added.

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Rolex Yacht-Master 40 Rhodium Grey Dial Automatic Men's Watch 16622

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Yacht-Master

A valuable tool watch

A technical and elegant watch, the Yacht-Master is a reliable nautical instrument on the wrist.

Its graduated bidirectional bezel allows for precise measurement and reading of time intervals when navigating. This tool watch benefits from innovations that improve its legibility and wearers’ comfort in all circumstances.

Graduated bidirectional bezel Precision and legibility on the wrist

The bidirectional bezel with raised 60-minute graduations is a key feature of the Yacht-Master. Entirely crafted in precious metal – 18 kt ct Everose gold or 950 platinum – or fitted with a black Cerachrom bezel insert in high-technology ceramic, it is an essential part of the watch’s identity.

With its polished markers and numerals, which stand out clearly from the matt surface, the bezel guarantees optimal reading of time intervals, for example, the sailing time between two buoys. Furthermore, the detailed graduation of the first 15 minutes offers extra precision when reading navigational time.

The bidirectional rotating mechanism relies on a ring bearing 120 notches for precise and fluid adjustment to the nearest half-minute. Lastly, the bezel has a knurled edge, making it easy to manipulate in all conditions.

Gold, Rolesor and Rolesium Precious alloys and exclusive combinations

Rolex gold is an intrinsic part of the Yacht-Master’s identity: 18 kt ct yellow, white or Everose gold are comprised of 750‰ pure gold and blends of silver, copper and palladium. They are all entirely created and cast in our own foundry.

The Yacht-Master in 18 kt ct Everose gold is available in two diameters: 37 mm and 40 mm. Each of these versions is also available with a diamond-paved dial. The 18 kt ct yellow gold and 18 kt ct white gold versions are reserved for the Yacht-Master 42.

Rolex gold is also combined with Oystersteel – a particularly corrosion-resistant alloy – for the Everose Rolesor versions of the Yacht-Master 37 and Yacht-Master 40. They combine a bezel and centre links in Everose gold with a middle case, winding crown, case back and outer links in Oystersteel.

The Yacht-Master 37 and the Yacht-Master 40 are also available in Rolesium versions, an alliance of platinum and steel. They combine a platinum bezel with a middle case, winding crown, case back and bracelet in Oystersteel.

RLX titanium Robustness and lightness

RLX titanium made its first appearance in the Yacht-Master range in 2023. The grade 5 titanium alloy selected by Rolex is a particularly lightweight metal and is noted for its mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. Its use for the Yacht-Master 42’s case and bracelet has reduced the weight of the watch by around a third compared to a similar watch in steel. RLX titanium is complex to work with and has required the introduction of special production processes.

The combination of polished, high-sheen and technical satin finishes illustrates our excellence in machining and finishing techniques. Together, they produce a subtle blend of textures and light, setting off the gleaming polished surface of the crown guard and the lustrous high-sheen on the top edges of the lugs against the matt of the technical satin finishing – with its pronounced grain – visible on the rest of the case and bracelet.

Bracelets, clasps and extension systems Comfort and security on the wrist

Chromalight display and cyclops lens for optimal legibility.

Equipped with the Chromalight display and the Cyclops lens, the Yacht-Master combines two exclusive Rolex features that improve legibility.

The Chromalight display provides optimum legibility, whatever the light conditions. The luminescent material is applied by experts to the hands and the large hour markers which have simple shapes (triangle, circle and rectangle) that are characteristic of Rolex professional watches. Brilliant white in daylight, this material emits an intense blue glow in the dark.

Introduced in 2008, the Chromalight display was optimized in 2021 to maintain the intensity of the blue glow for longer. The performance of this luminescent substance clearly exceeds the standards required by watchmaking norms.

Designed to improve the readability of the date thanks to its magnifying effect, the Cyclops lens is both an aesthetic and technical signature of the brand. This Rolex invention was patented in the early 1950s. Like the crystal of the watch, it is made of virtually scratchproof sapphire and benefits from a double anti-reflective coating.

Calibres 3235 and 2236 Superlative performance

Sergei Pavlovich Korolev – the Father of Practical Astronautics

Sergei Korolev (1907 – 1966), Soviet Union 1969 CPA 3731 stamp

On January 12, 1907, lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer during the Space Race Sergei Korolev was born. Korolev is regarded by many as the “father of practical astronautics “. He was involved in the development of the R-7 Rocket , Sputnik 1 ,[ 1 ] launching Laika , Belka and Strelka  and the first human being, Yuri Gagarin ,[ 2 ] into space.

“Today we are witnesses to the fulfillment of the dream that occupied some outstanding people, among them Tsiolkovsky. He had prophesied that mankind will not stay on Earth forever. Sputnik is the first confirmation of his predictions. The opening up of space has begun.” – Sergei Korolev, on the night of October 5, 1957, after the successful launch of Sputnik 1.[8]

Sergei Korolev – Youth and Education

Korolev was born in Zhytomyr , the capital of Volhynian Governorate of the Russian Empire. His parents, Russian teachers Maria Nikolaevna Balanina (née Moskalenko),  from a wealthy merchant family with Greek and Cossack roots, and Pavel Yakovlevich Korolev, who was  of Belarusian origin, separated just three years after his birth. Korolev grew up with his grandparents in Neshin . When he was ten years old, the family moved to Odessa . There he completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer and roofer. Korolev showed an early interest in aviation and, in addition to his job, worked at the local glider club, constructing his first glider K-5 at the age of 17. In 1925, Korolev began studying at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute . When the Kiev faculty was closed, he transferred to Moscow Technical University (MWTU) in 1926 and graduated. Before that, he completed an internship at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (ZAGI), where he came into contact with the design of powered aircraft. In 1929, together with S. N. Lyushin, Korolev developed and built the Koktebel glider. In the same year, under the guidance of Andrei Tupolev, Korolev created his first powered aircraft SK-4 as his diploma thesis.

First Experiments with Rockets

In the 1930s, Korolev began building rockets as part of MosGIRD, a group founded in 1931 to research recoil propulsion systems. There he received essential impulses for his later work from Friedrich Zander . Together with Zander, whom he considered a mentor, he was involved in the design and construction of the first Soviet hybrid rockets GIRD-09 and GIRD-X , among others. In 1933, he moved to the Rocket Research Institute (RNII) and became head of the Rocket Missile Department in 1934. In the same year, his scientific treatise The Rocket Flight into the Stratosphere was published.

The Great Terror

While working on the RP-318-I rocket-powered glider, Korolyev was arrested by the NKVD’s secret political police during the Great Terror on June 27, 1938. After two days of torture and threats against his family, he signed a confession in which he was forced to identify himself as a member of a counterrevolutionary Trotskyist conspiracy and a participant in acts of sabotage to obstruct development work. He had been denounced under duress by Valentin Glushko ,[ 3 ] who had been arrested three months earlier and who himself spent the period until 1944 in prison. Although innocent, Korolev was sentenced without formal trial on to ten years of hard labor in the gulag and five years of loss of civil rights. After spending time in several prisons and prolonged transportation, he arrived at the notorious Maldyak labor camp in 1939, where he nearly starved to death and became so ill with scurvy that his lower jaw was severely damaged and he lost many teeth.

In the First Circle of Hell

Through interventions of his mother with the support of the well-known pilots Mikhail Gromov and Valentina Grisodubova, the USSR Supreme Court overturned the previous sentence and Korolev was recalled from Maldyak only in November 1939. After renewed interventions by his mother and Gromov with NKVD People’s Commissar Lavrenti Beria , he was sent to the special design office of aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev , who had already supervised Korolyov’s thesis and was also imprisoned. The ZKB-29 special camp for scientists and engineers was under the control of the NKVD and was described from personal experience by Alexander Solzhenitsyn in the novel The First Circle of Hell . The ZKB-29 developed the Tupolev Tu-2 dive bomber in Omsk in September 1942.

Petlyakov Pe-2, co-developed by Sergei Korolev

Korolev applied for a job at an aircraft engine plant in Kazan , where Glushko headed the OKB-16 special design bureau for rocket engines under Sharashka conditions. Korolev participated in the development of the Petlyakov Pe-2 multirole aircraft to improve takeoff performance and climb performance with a switchable rocket engine. In 1944, Korolyov and Glushko were paroled from prison early and continued their work on rocket developments as employed engineers of OKB-16. However, Korolev was not officially rehabilitated until April 18, 1957. Korolev’s six-year imprisonment in the Gulag was erased from Communist accounts of the history of technology.

Becoming Chief Designer

After World War II, Korolev rose to become the chief designer of the initially military-only Soviet missile program within the NII (Scientific Research Institute). Korolev’s identity was kept secret during his lifetime, and in public he was referred to only anonymously as the “chief designer.” Korolev’s goal was to develop a civilian rocket program. In 1945, now holding the rank of colonel in the Red Army, he was ordered to Soviet headquarters in Berlin with other engineers and technicians. He was given the task of studying the German rocket program and locating associates of rocket engineer Wernher von Braun who remained in Germany.

The first A4 rocket (from German stocks) is transported to the launch site on a truck trailer. It was launched on 18 October 1947 from the Kapustin Yar test site, Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, CC-BY-4.0

The Soviets placed a priority on reproducing lost documentation on the A4 rocket, and studying the various parts and captured manufacturing facilities. That work continued in East Germany until late 1946, when 2,000+ German scientists and engineers were sent to the USSR through Operation Osoaviakhim . Most of the German experts, Helmut Gröttrup being an exception, were engineers and technicians involved in wartime mass-production of A4, and they had not worked directly with Wernher von Braun. Korolev returned to the Soviet Union in 1946 with plans of German designs and German rocket designers. Among others, Wernher von Braun’s assistant Helmut Gröttrup and aerodynamicist Werner Albring worked on rocket technology development under Korolev’s direction in Kaliningrad (in Moscow oblast) and on Gorodomlya Island (now Solnetchny settlement) in Lake Seliger during this period. The first design resulting from this cooperation was the R-1 rocket of 1948, a copy of the German A4 based on materials available in the Soviet Union. Unlike the U.S., which brought German scientists to the U.S. with its Operation Overcast and ensured their naturalization and retention in the U.S. as early as 1946 with Operation Paperclip, the Soviet Union merely siphoned off their knowledge and used it in the crucial steps for spaceflight.

The Soviet Space Programme

Among Korolyov’s greatest achievements were the construction of the R-7 – the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile – and the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957,[ 1 ] but most importantly, the first space flight by a human, Yuri Gagarin , in 1961.[ 2 ] The R-7  was a two-stage rocket with a maximum payload of 5.4 tons, sufficient to carry the Soviets’ bulky  nuclear bomb  an impressive distance of 7,000 kilometres. However, despite the Soviet R-7 initial success, it experienced later failures as it was not intended to be a practical weapon. Sputnik 1 was designed and constructed in less than a month with Korolev personally managing the assembly at a hectic pace. The satellite was a simple polished metal sphere no bigger than a beach ball, containing batteries that powered a transmitter using 4 external communication antennas. Sputnik 1 was successfully completed and launched into space on 4 October 1957 using a rocket that had successfully launched only once before. After gaining approval from the government, a modified version of Korolev’s R-7 was used to launch Yuri Gagarin into orbit on 12 April 1961, which was before the United States was able to put Alan Shepard into space.

Variants of the R-7 Rocket, (NASA)

Korolev’s group was also working on ambitious programs for missions to Mars and Venus , putting a man in orbit, launching communication, spy and weather satellites, and making a soft-landing on the Moon.

Health Problems and Early Death

In December 1960, Korolev suffered a heart attack, which was followed by others. His cardiac arrhythmias were joined by internal bleeding and intestinal problems. Korolyev was admitted to a Moscow hospital. Doctors were going to remove painful hemorrhoids in a routine operation in January 1966, but in the meantime they discovered a large tumor in his colon and put him under general anesthesia. Tracheal intubation, necessary due to circulatory weakness, failed due to scurvy-related jaw abnormality as a late consequence of Gulag imprisonment; this caused his death on January 14, 1966. The Soviet government honored him by burying his urn in the Kremlin wall. In 1996, the city of Kaliningrad in Moscow Oblast, where he headed the experimental design bureau OKB-1 as chief designer from 1950, was renamed after him.

Losing the Race to the Moon

With Korolev’s death, the Soviet space and lunar programs suffered a bitter loss. Although work on the N1 lunar rocket was continued by his collaborator Vasily Mishin , it was discontinued in 1974 after several launch failures.[ 4 ] The identity of the chief designer remained a state secret in the Soviet Union during his lifetime. While in the U.S. his adversary Wernher von Braun made a high-profile appearance in the press and on television, Korolev was not known even in his own country. When, after the successful launch of Sputnik 1, the Nobel Prize Committee asked Nikita Khrushchev for the name of the chief designer, he replied that it had been the work of the entire Soviet people and that they had thus deserved the award. Only on the occasion of the state funeral in Moscow was this secret revealed.

References and Further Reading:

• [1]  The Sputnik Shock and the Start of the Space Race , SciHi Blog
• [2]  Yuri Gagarin – the first Man in Space , SciHi Blog
• [3]  Valentin Glushko and the Space Race , SciHi Blog
• [4]  The Russian Dream to Land a Man on the Moon , SciHi Blog
• [5]  “Sergei Korolev: Father of the Soviet Union’s success in space” .  www.esa.int .
• [6]  West, John B. (1 October 2001).  “Historical aspects of the early Soviet/ Russian crewed space program” .  Journal of Applied Physiology .  91  (4): 1501–1511.
• [7]    “Sputnik Biographies–Sergei P. Korolev (1906-1966)” .   history.nasa.gov .
• [8]  Joachim Kutzner, Kurt Kobler:  Der Sputnikschock.  4. April 2004
• [9]  The 2021 John J. Rhodes Lecture: Expanded Space Exploration , A Discussion with NASA Astronaut, Dr. Shannon Walker & Ambassador Barbara Barrett, Barrett Honors College @ youtube
• [10] Sergei Korolev at Wikidata
• [11] Timeline for Sergei Korolev , via Wikidata

Harald Sack

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