Born in the early 1950s, the Rolex Submariner dive watch remains the prototypical tool watch.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the proliferation of the Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus system allowed the masses access to the wondrous undersea world for the first time in history.
With a tank of air, a pair of fins, a mask, and a regulator, a regular Joe could experience the sea in all its glory. However, a few extra bits of kit made the experience that much safer: Namely, a good knife and an accurate, water-resistant wristwatch. With the exception of a few specialist tools made for special operations personnel during the War, however, not much existed in the way of the latter. In the early 1950s, several watch companies simultaneously developed the first crop of modern, commercially available SCUBA diving watches—one of these in particular would become so popular so quickly that its aesthetics would influence countless makes and models that followed in its wake. The Rolex Submariner, produced in 1953 and exhibited at the Basel Watch Fair in 1954, changed the tool watch landscape forever. With its stainless steel case, rotating bezel with timing insert, 100m of water resistance, and luminous black dial and hands, it established an aesthetic that remains the gold standard for dive watches several decades after such timepieces were eclipsed in utility by the more sophisticated dive computer. That the watch is still in production over 70 years following its debut is a testament to the longevity of its design and the dedication of its engineers. Development of the Submariner was an iterative process and remains so. The early days were the Wild West, however, with concurrent references leapfrogging each other, adding new technologies and features as they became available and tweaking aesthetics in ways so subtle that it would take decades before collectors even took notice. To catalog every minute tweak to the Submariner reference is well beyond the scope of this piece. However, in examining some of the most important references and sub-references from each decade—beginning in the 1950s and carrying through to 2025—we’re able to parse through the Submariner story to understand the big picture. Keep in mind that pricing estimates are just that—estimates—and that the market for these wildly cool watches is ever fluctuating. As a design object, the Submariner belongs to a list of products—the Porsche 911, the Fender Stratocaster, the Eames chair—so iconic that a layman could recognize them. All remain in production decades after their release. Indeed, there’s little doubt that the “Sub” is among the most important watches ever made, and will remain so as long as Rolex sees fit to produce it.This is the first Submariner, said to have rolled off the production line in 1953 but not to have been introduced to the public until the Basel Watch Fair in 1954. It featured a 37 mm stainless steel case, a smaller 5.3 mm crown, pencil-style hands, and a bezel without individual minute hash marks. The dial exhibited the typical Submariner design language: Circular, rectangular, and triangular indices with luminous fill. Though this reference isn’t functionally very different from the 6204 seen above, later examples were the first to feature the famous “Mercedes” hands. There’s still no red triangle on the bezel insert—which would become a signature of early Rolex sport models—or any minute hashmarks.Though it antedates the references 6204 and 6205, this is the lowest-number Submariner reference in existence. It’s the first Submariner to feature an “Explorer” dial with “3-6-9” indices, and the first to feature an 8 mm “Brevet” crown. Its slightly thicker case means that it carries a higher 200 meter water-resistance rating than its predecessors, and it also has a long Mercedes handset and a no-hash bezel insert. One version of this watch features a smaller Rolex coronet and wordmark and no “Submariner” text; a later version features a larger coronet and wordmark and “Submariner” text. Less than 300 pieces are said to have been produced throughout all versions.Made concurrently with “Small Crown” Subs, the ref. 6538 “Big Crown” is the reference worn by Sean Connery in 1962’s—thus it’s sometimes also referred to as the “James Bond” Submariner. Produced in either four- or two-line variants, the four-line versions read “200m=660ft/Submariner/Officially Certified/Chronometer.” This is also the first Submariner to feature “Chronometer” denoted on the dial, which is executed in a different color to the model name. The bezel insert features either a red triangle but no hashmarks , or hashmarks and a red triangle at 12 o’clock . In the vintage version pictured, the red has worn off.Launched in 1959, the ref. 5512 represents the beginning of “modern” Sub production: The larger 40 mm case now featured beveled lugs and crown guards—in the beginning, these were square, but these later transitioned to an “eagle beak” shape before taking on a pointed shape. The crown itself likewise sat between the old “Small Crown” and “Big Crown” sizes at 7 mm. Production began with glossy “gilt” dials that used a galvanic printing process; by roughly 1967 Rolex transitioned to “matte” dials with printed white text. The solid outer chapter ring disappeared during this transition, and radium lume gave way to less radioactive tritium in the early 1960s. Production of this reference was long, beginning in 1959 and extending until roughly 1980. By the early 1960s, two-line dials gave way to four-line dials, which carries the watch’s Chronometer certification. Introduced in roughly 1962, the ref. 5513 is functionally a ref. 5512 Submariner with two lines of dial text and no Chronometer certification. While earlier versions had gilt dials, later versions had matte dials with white printing. An “Explorer” dial was made in the mid-1960s, while a mid-’60s gilt version with no chapter ring also exists. In fact, there are so many small variations in 5513 production that cataloging them would necessitate much more room and time than we have here today—suffice it to say that one could devote a lifetime to just this reference number alone, especially as the 5513 was produced all the way until 1989! The ref. 1680 was the very first Submariner Date. Introduced around 1969, it featured a “Cyclops” magnifying window over the crystal for easy registering of the date at 3 o’clock, plus red dial text that has given these early Date models the nickname “Red Sub.” Today, the “Red Sub”—produced in several “Marks” over a six-year period—remains one of the most collectible vintage Submariners on the market, with prices starting at roughly the $18,000 mark and rising from there for more pristinely preserved models. The first solid-gold Submariner was another riff on the ref. 1680 seen above. Its 18-karat yellow gold case and matching bracelet are paired with a black bezel insert featuring gold-toned indices and hashmarks, while the dial is matte black with so-called “nipple” markers filled with luminous material. Produced starting in 1969, the black 1680/8 was later made with a blue dial and bezel insert in the 1970s.This special version of the Submariner was made to order for the British Ministry of Defense and issued to its special operations units. Featuring fixed spring bars—which could only receive a one-piece pass-through strap—a fully hashed bezel insert, and a tritium dial with circled “T” indication and luminous “gladiator” or “sword” hands, this unique, highly utilitarian take was produced across three reference numbers in perhaps 1,200 examples. When they come up for sale or auction, they regularly command six-figure sums, with examples maintaining their original bezel inserts and hands hammering for significantly more.While production of this reference technically began at the tail end of the 1960s, we’ll classify it as a ‘70s watch to differentiate it from earlier versions of the 5513. This matte-dial take on the non Chronometer-certified Submariner without date features a feet-first depth rating and a so-called “Maxi” dial — aka one with larger lume plots for better visibility. Rolex also produced a “Maxi”-dial version of the ref. 5512 during the same period, the differences being of course the movement contained within, and two additional lines of dial text. This watch is functionally a blue-dialed version of the aforementioned ref. 1680 in yellow gold with a black dial. Produced from roughly 1971 through 1979, this watch could be ordered with an optional President bracelet — the iconic gold bracelet that traditionally accompanies the Rolex Day-Date. This watch heralded the vast swathe of precious-metal Submariner Date references available today in the modern Rolex catalog.The sequel to the ref. 1680, the ref. 16800 debuted in 1979 with several notable upgrades: First, it boasted a ratcheting, unidirectional bezel—a seemingly innocuous change, this helped prevent accidental miscalculation of bottom or decompression time during a dive. Furthermore, it featured a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and the first 300m depth rating in the Submariner family, plus the Quickset date-equipped cal. 3035 movement. In the late 1980s, this reference was itself upgraded to the 168000, the first Submariner to be made with 904L steel. The final ref. 5513, produced in the late 1980s, looks not dissimilar to a modern Submariner in that its glossy black dial boasts white gold surrounds on the indices. These luminous indices—still using tritium—are applied to the dial, rather than painted on, making for a uniform look that largely ended the era of minute changes in aging characteristics within a single reference. The ref. 1680/3 was the first two-tone Submariner. Released around 1983 or early 1984 , it featured a stainless-steel case with a yellow gold crown and bezel paired to an Oyster bracelet with steel outer links and gold inner links. A black or blue bezel insert is paired to a black or blue dial with yellow gold “nipple” indices, gold printing, and a gold Mercedes hands. Featuring a date window, a Cyclops magnifier, and four lines of text, its spiritual successors are a host of two-tone references in other combinations of precious metals. The references 14060 and 14060M don’t look all that different from the final-generation 5513s from the late 1980s—and to that end, they’re functionally the last of the “old school” Subs, with vintage proportions and looks. That being said, they were the first Submariner references to make the switch from Tritium to LumiNova and then to Super-LumiNova, both of which need to be “charged” in light before they’ll glow and which don’t patinate as they degrade like their radioactive forebears. Someone in the market for a Submariner with modern appointments but 1960s or 1970s looks would be well served by these references. The chronological counterpart to the refs. 14060 and 14060M, the ref. 16610 Submariner Date was the first to make the transition to LumiNova and then to Super-LumiNova. Equipped with a quick-set date function and sapphire crystal, the ref. 16610 was the last Sub Date generation to maintain vintage proportions. In 2003, Rolex celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Submariner with the ref. 16610LV, which has come to be known in the collector community as the “Kermit.” Equipped for the first time with a green bezel insert—the “LV” is for “lunette vert”—it features a “Maxi”-style dial but with modern white gold surrounds, plus a date at 3 o’clock and a Cyclops magnifier. Produced for several years and then discontinued, the Kermit presaged several followup models with either green bezels or green bezels and dials, all of which have proven extremely popular with collectors.The steel ref. 116610—which used Rolex’s new “Super Case”—represented a sea change in the Submariner Date story: Still measuring 40 mm in diameter, it increased significantly the diameter of the lugs and crown guards and used a “Maxi” dial, making for beefier proportions and a thicker look that’s immediately identifiably next to the previous-gen ref. 16610. The watch’s bezel insert was likewise crafted in ceramic-based Cerachrom , closing the door on 50-plus years of aluminum bezel inserts that would patinate over time. Finally, a redesigned Oyster bracelet with an updated clasp and solid center links appeared. While the Submariner Date received the aforementioned updates in 2010, it would take until 2012 for Rolex to release the Submariner version, which it produced until 2020. It was powered by the brand’s cal. 3130 automatic movement. Released in 2008, the ref. 116619—a.k.a. the “Smurf”—was the first Submariner Date produced in white gold. Housed in a 40 mm “Super Case” and outfitted with a blue Cerachrom bezel insert and blue dial, it has a distinctive look that echoes that of the “Hulk” seen below. The ref. 116610LV took the green bezel of the previous-generation “Kermit” and upped the ante, adding a green dial with a handsome sunray finish. Fitted with a steel Oyster bracelet equipped with the brand’s EasyLink extension system and powered by the Chronometer-certified cal. 3135 movement, the “Hulk” was succeeded in late 2020 by the ref. 126610LV, which maintains the green Cerachrom bezel insert but returns to the black dial color of 2003’s “Kermit.” In 2020, Rolex debuted a new crop of Submariners that increased the watch’s case size to 41mm but slimmed back down the crown guards and lugs. The ref. 124060, the “no-Date” reference, is produced in 904L Oystersteel like its predecessor and still features a Cerachrom bezel insert and Oyster bracelet. Powered by the cal. 3230 automatic movement, it boasts a Chromalight-equipped black dial with four lines of text and a Rolex coronet within the “Swiss Made” signature above 6 o’clock. The Oyster bracelet features an Oysterlock clasp and Glidelock fine adjustment system, ensuring that the Sub is still the ideal watch for SCUBA divers.The current Submariner Date family is based around the ref. 126610LN, likewise introduced by Rolex in late 2020. Measuring 41mm, it’s powered by the cal. 3235 and is joined by a host of references in yellow Rolesor, yellow gold, and white gold and by the aforementioned green-bezel, which collectors call the “Starbucks.”Oren Hartov covers the watch industry for Robb Report, GQ, Esquire, MONOCLE, and more. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music and a military veteran, he can be found writing songs and playing…Chopard’s Newest Imperiale Watch Is a Colorful Ode to the SeasonsAccess to the Bottles We’d Pour Ourselves.Liam Neeson on Not Rewatching ‘Naked Gun’ Films, Why the World Needs Silly Movies and Ending His Action Star Era: ‘I’m 73, for F—’s Sake’
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