Yema
Yema Wristmaster 44 mm Slate Quartz
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 · Wristmaster
Yema Wristmaster 44 mm Slate Quartz
Reference 33696OR.51
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Yema
- Collection
- Wristmaster
- Model
- Yema Wristmaster 44 mm Slate Quartz
- Reference number
- 33696OR.51
- Year / era
- 1967 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- GMT / second time zone
- Movement
- Quartz
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 250 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 13C — Quartz
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- GMT / second time zone
- Functions
- Dive time, running seconds
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1967 – 1980
- Limited-edition quantity
- 250 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Yema Wristmaster 44 mm Slate Quartz sits within Yema's Wristmaster line, introduced in 1967. It carries the house codes established since 1948 — quartz tpt case, slate grey dial and quartz — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
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.