Yema
Yema Navygraf 44 mm Black Ceramic
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Yema · Navygraf
Yema Navygraf 44 mm Black Ceramic
Reference 50241OR.50
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Yema
- Collection
- Navygraf
- Model
- Yema Navygraf 44 mm Black Ceramic
- Reference number
- 50241OR.50
- Year / era
- 1972 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Annual calendar
- Movement
- Quartz
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Dial type
- Black lacquer
- Strap / bracelet
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Bezel
- Fixed brushed titanium
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Black lacquer
- Hands
- Mercedes hour hand with Chromalight display
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 82B — Quartz
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Annual calendar
- Functions
- Annual calendar, moon phase
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1972 – 1980
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Gérald Genta
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a goldsmith in Geneva and became the most influential watch designer of the 20th century. Working freelance, he sketched the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak overnight in 1970, followed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur SL and the Bulgari Bulgari — defining the integrated-bracelet luxury sports watch as a category.
Historical significance
Yema Navygraf 44 mm Black Ceramic sits within Yema's Navygraf line, introduced in 1972. It carries the house codes established since 1948 — ceramic case, black lacquer dial and quartz — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
The House
Yema
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1948
- Founder
- Henry Louis Belmont
- Headquarters
- France
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- Superman, Navygraf, Wristmaster, Rallygraf
- Signature technologies
- Shock-absorbing movement mounting · In-house hairspring production · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- Automatic, 38-hour reserve · Automatic Powermatic 80 · Quartz · Automatic COSC chronometer
- Notable watches
- Yema Superman 41 mm Ice 18k (1952) · Yema Superman 40 mm Ice Sapphire (1976) · Yema Superman 39 mm Green Stainless (1983) · Yema Superman 37 mm Meteorite Stainless (1961)
Brand history
Yema has spent more than 78 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Superman, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Henry Louis Belmont established Yema in 1948, working from France at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Yema calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1948
Henry Louis Belmont founds Yema in France.
1969
The quartz era forces Yema to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Yema enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Yema continues to produce Superman, Navygraf, Wristmaster and other icons in limited numbers.