Rolex did make the case of the Ref. The former change was purely for aesthetic reasons, aimed at giving the watch a more rugged appearance, whilst the latter was intended to make the operation of the crown more user friendly.
The most significant change is, of course, the introduction of the now instantly recognisable Mercedes-style sports hands. Rolex will continue to tweak the design of these hands over the coming years, but already we are witnessing the birth of an icon. Again, Rolex follows its own decision-making process here, which we as mere mortals, will never be privy to. But you would be wrong….
The fact that the Ref. Yes, it was released after the Ref. And yes, is lower than both these numbers. Nobody knows. The popular theory is that it was in development at the same time or prior to the Ref. Like the Ref. The most distinctive thing about the Ref. To make things even more interesting, there are two variations of this dial hence Series 1 and Series 2.
Everything else is pretty much the same as the Ref. Inside is an updated movement in the form of the self-winding A calibre. Similar in most ways to its predecessor but with a larger diameter of Needless to say that this reference, with its unusual Explorer dial, is also one of the most coveted Rolex watches and usually fetches big numbers at auction. Every couple of years a new reference was coming out, with subtle tweaks and updates. Very unlike the Rolex we know today.
Invariably there was some overlap between the production of new and existing models, and in the case of the Ref. Although as you will see, these two references are distinctly different from each other in several key ways. Firstly, the Ref. The case of Ref. And of course, this being Rolex, both were produced in more than one version.
In fact, there are three distinct versions of the Ref. The first version of the Ref. This is the first time the depth rating appeared on a Submariner dial and it would go on to become a key trait of the model, as well as the later Sea-Dweller. Outside of these changes, the dial is virtually identical to previous models, although the Mercedes sports hands were further tweaked, and the seconds hand was painted bright white to make it more legible.
Likewise, the bezel on the first series is unchanged. A key update though on this model is the introduction of the self-winding calibre The use of this slimmer movement means a bubble-back caseback is no longer required, giving the Ref.
A further two versions of the Ref. The second one introduced the famous upside-down red triangle to the bezel and a slightly tweaked seconds hand the round lume plot reduced in size.
As the name suggests, the Rolex Submariner watch was designed specifically to be worn underwater, and they quickly became the watch of choice for divers around the world thanks to their unrivalled water resistance properties.
The very first Rolex Submariner watch was launched as far back as at the annual Basel Watch Fair and is now recognised as one of the best watches in the world, being water-resistant up to 1,ft or metres. These Rolex Submariner watches also represent some of the most sought after and rare Rolex watches in the world today. Later models in the range also had smaller winding crowns ref: and had improved movements and even a chronometer in some models.
This would become the default look for Submariner watches going forwards. This was a marked shift from the watch being a functional and specialist timepiece to one that now had more mass-market appeal, probably in small part to the watch appearing in several James Bond films. Ten years after they first launched their first Submariner with a date window, Rolex launched their five-digit reference numbers, beginning with the and subsequent references and As Rolex phased out the traditional gilt dials, both Submariner references moved over having matte dials with white printing instead.
Like the , the would eventually transition over to a "feet first" depth rating, but this is an earlier model that still has the metric units first. While a lot of the watches we've shown here have substantial patina, with faded bezels and dials, the watch here is basically a time capsule.
The rich black color of the matte dial, the rich custardy hue of the lume, and the glossy black of the aluminum bezel insert are all intact. This is pretty close to what this watch would have looked like right out of the box in the late s. This watch sits right up there with the Explorer dial variant as one of the most collectable s out there today.
The watch we have here is also what we'd call a "full-spec" MilSub, as it's retained all the key variations that define this watch against a typical In many cases, watches were modified after being decommissioned and aren't quite what they used to be. What you want though is a piece like this. Now about those distinguishing features. What you're looking for is the following: the special bezel, graduated in one-minute increments all the way around a bezel that never appeared on any civilian Submariner , the sword-shaped hands, the circle-T logo at six o'clock to note that the watch uses safe tritium lume instead of radium, and fixed bars between the lugs not removable spring bars.
If any of those things have been altered, you might still be looking at a genuine MilSub, but one that's lost a bit of what makes it so special. With all vintage watches, having proper documentation will invariably increase a piece's value. But with military watches, paperwork and documentation is even more important than usual. The potential profit to be made by doctoring up a typical and faking a MilSub is substantial, and there are people out there trying to do it with some regularity.
So if you're looking to buy one for yourself, going through a trusted source and looking for one with a proper paper trail is essential. MilSubs are a rabbit hole all their own, and you can learn a bit more about the very earliest versions right here if you're interested.
Spoiler alert: You should be interested. As the stories of the and weave in and out from one another, this is their last point of contact. Made for over a decade, there are dozens of variations within this one family of watches alone. The watch you see here is nearly identical to the last shown above, with a matte dial and a feet-first depth rating. The lume plots are the larger "maxi" size and we've reached an era where the tritium lume generally ages to a lighter pale yellow color instead of a dark orange and beige tone.
This is essentially the last generation of the true vintage no-date Submariner. This is the youngest watch that you'll see in this story. Dating to approximate , it's one of the last s made before the reference was retired after its 27 years in continuous production indicated by its serial number beginning with "L".
You'll notice immediately that the watch is very different from those we've looked at thus far. This is because it sits halfway between a true vintage Submariner and the five-digit references that Rolex would start making around This is the "missing link," if you will, between the Submariners of yesteryear and the ones that you can still buy today if you're lucky enough to find one, that is.
The most important traits introduced with these late series s are the glossy black dial and the white gold surrounds that encapsulate each of the tritium hour markers. You'll also notice a number of changes to the fonts on the dial, the detailing of the bezels, and more. However, in terms of case, profile, and movement, this is every bit as much a as the earlier watches.
The Submariner with a date! It might seem hard to believe today, but it took 16 years before the very first Submariner rolled out of Rolex with a date complication at three o'clock. It's worth noting that the earliest Sea-Dwellers, which featured a date from the beginning, came out two years earlier too. It did however use the same caliber as those early Sea-Dwellers, the caliber Not all Submariners are born equal — that much we know. However, what I didn't expect in early was for this insane creation to come across my desk: a white gold prototype Submariner with a blue dial, a bark-finish bracelet, and an only partially knurled bezel.
It looked like the stuff of dive watch nightmares. Check out the full story here. When adding the date, this time with the magnifying Cyclops over the top, Rolex gave the Submariner a totally new reference in the The earliest iterations of the feature red "Submariner" text in the four-line signature at six o'clock, giving the watch its common nickname: The Red Sub.
For a period of time in the mids, the Red Sub was the entry point into collecting special vintage Rolex watches — it was the watch that you'd step up to after having owned a more basic matte dial sport watch or a Datejust. It was also one of the few Submariners with a date that drew as much attention as the no-date models. Now, as collecting has gotten more sophisticated, there are a lot of options here, especially once you get into gilt dial watches, but there's no question that the Red Sub is still one of the most classic Submariners of all time.
What a lot of people don't realize is that while the Red Sub is certainly rarer than a lot of other Submariners, it's not one of those "one year only" kind of references.
In fact, the watch was made from until and went through a few iterations or "Marks" during that time. Depending on who you talk to, there are seven or eight distinct versions of the Red Sub some people collapse the Mark II and Mark III into one , and you'll even notice that the two examples we have here are noticeably different, with the former showing meters first in the depth rating the latter showing feet first.
For the date Submariner, Rolex obviously needed a new movement with the additional complication. They opted to use the caliber , a version of which was also being used to power GMT-Masters and Datejusts and had been since its introduction in From the beginning the movement ran at 2. These movements rolled out slowly to various models, but if your hacks, you know it had to come after this date. You had to know this was coming, right?
I mean, how much cooler does it get? In , Rolex finally? For some people, this meant the death of the Submariner as a true sport watch; for other people, this was the Submariner's ascendance into being a true luxury watch. Personally, I see it both ways, but I choose to celebrate the pure awesomeness that is a solid gold Sub instead of standing on principle and complaining about.
Plus, let's be honest, Rolex doesn't care about what I say on the matter anyway. The solid gold we have here is the same shape and dimensions as its steel cousin, down to the Oyster bracelet, just rendered in 18k yellow gold. The bezel looks familiar too, though the numerals and markings are in a matte gold color instead of silver, to coordinate better with the case. Likewise, the date disc is also a champagne color, which prevents it from looking jarring against all that gold.
The biggest difference is the dial, which collectors call a "nipple dial" because of the raised hour markers with luminous centers. I don't think I have to explain that any further, do I? The version you see here also has a meters-first dial, which is extremely rare, only produced for the first year or two of the reference. After that, you'll only see much more common feet-first examples. The solid gold Submariner was a hit and Rolex continued to evolve the model over the years it's still part of the collection today, by the way.
One of the first major variants was the one you see here, with its distinctive bright blue dial and bezel. Now, over time, a lot of these dials and bezels faded to various shades of blue and purple, but this one is still looking rich and saturated like it was when new. Personal tastes vary here, but I love when you get a punch of color like this.
Another thing to note here is the President bracelet mounted on this watch. No, this was not a later addition, swapped in from a Day-Date. Back then, if you wanted the watch on this bracelet your retailer could special order it for you — you'll notice that the end links match up properly and everything here, so there's no funny business at all. This is the biggest and baddest of all the date Submariners, these watches were made for the French Compagnie maritime d'expertises COMEX for short , which specialized in underwater engineering.
Their workers needed watches for long stints working underwater and living in submerged habitats, and Rolex was happy to oblige. These watches feature the COMEX logo on the dial, just above the depth rating and "Submariner" signature at six o'clock, filling up the bottom portion of the dial.
What you see here is the "big numbers" COMEX, which is a bit rarer and tends to be more desirable in a funny bit of contrast to the logo printing on the ref. The two watches are technically identical, and some feature COMEX logos on the dials while other are seemingly normal. What sets these pieces apart though are the helium escape valves like what you'd see on a Sea-Dweller on the left flank of the case. This makes these watches a sort of hybrid between Rolex's two best-known dive watches.
Once you get past the early examples with the red text, the solid gold variations, and the COMEX watches, the is one of the simpler Submariner references to understand. Since it was never produced during the era of gilt dials, changing lume, and quick iterations on branding and logos, there are far fewer variations than you see with something like the or This is what a typical, matte dial without the red "Submariner" looks like.
You've got a packed four-line signature at six o'clock and the date sitting under the Cyclops at three o'clock. One variation you'll find in the date is that earlier date wheels feature sixes and nines that are "open" — meaning the characters look like they were drawn with one stroke and there's a separation where the circular part meets the straight part — and later date wheels feature sixes and nines that are "closed.
We've now shown you nearly three dozen Submariners, and, to be honest, this isn't even close to everything. These are the most critical touch points for understanding how the Submariner evolved, its key features, and what collectors care about today. As mentioned earlier, there are truly countless dial variants, nicknamed sub-references, and unusual historical side notes.
This is, in the truest sense, a bottomless pit. However, all the watches we've shown you above break down into roughly four categories: those without crown guards, those with gilt dials, those with matte dials, and those with military provenance. We thought it would be interesting to interview experts in each field, inviting them to shed some additional light on what you should be looking for when you're shopping for your next Sub.
Big crown and small crown Subs from the s were made with radium dials, and their corrosive nature often ate away at the original gloss finish of the surface of the watch's dial. As a result, they often appear to be in deceivingly superior condition. You think you're getting one thing, but you're actually getting something else entirely. We more typically see it on s gilt Subs, so when it appears with additional red depth reading on an early big crown, the iconic James Bond Submariner, you have the perfect storm of rarity of case and dial design.
Produced in , in my view it represents the holy grail of no crown guard Subs. It is also common to see these gilt dials re-lumed. I examine the condition of the gilt dials first, given how sensitive the lacquer is to damage, then the condition of the case, which I prefer to have the original proportions and chamfered edges if possible.
The multiple in value between a poor condition model and exceptional model is extremely high for Submariners, and only growing with time.
The minute markers on this version are almost like dots and the lacquer seems to stay preserved very nicely on these. The first one of these I ever held was one we sold at Christie's in Geneva while I worked there. It was consigned by the original owner who bought the watch new in in Knightsbridge and wore it during his service as a police officer in London.
That watch is now in the collection of a prominent Rolex collector in Hong Kong. However, the one area where these dials are prone to damage is where the edge of the dial and larger minute markers meet the mid case. During a service, as the dial and movement are placed in the case and rotated into position, it's not uncommon for the larger minute markers to break or chip.
Consequently, it's not uncommon to see some Submariners, especially the earliest s to have three or four broken minute markers. Keep an eye out for this. No, in The Rolex he wore was even nicknamed the James Bond, due to its appearance in so many Bond movies.
The Submariner is in over seven James Bond movies , from till With the Rolex Sub being worn by four of the James Bond actors so far.
In , a date complication was added to a new version of the Rolex Submariner. With the release of the Submariner Date. This made many Rolex purists get up in arms, believing that the date window would ruin the look of the dial. They wanted to keep the aesthetic the same. Compared to acrylic crystal, the new sapphire crystal was much more scratch resistant, and is also very strong. Since the 80s, this Submariner has been nicknamed the Bluesy.
Due to its blue dial and blue bezel. The Bluesy is still in production today. Rolex released an updated version of this Rolesor dive watch in Rolex was one of the first watchmakers to do this.
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