Rolex Submariner

Rolex Submariner – Most iconic divers watch

Rolex Submariner has been in production for more than 65 years. The Swiss watch manufacturer had already proved itself with the Oyster case patented back in 1926. Rolex Oyster watches could somewhat resist water damage. But, Hans Wilsdorf wanted to dive deeper into waterproofing mechanical watches.

The Submariner launched as three different variants in 1954. The first three references, 6200, 6204 and 6205, were rated to either 100 meters or 200 meters of water resistance. The design of these three watches laid the groundwork for all the upcoming Rolex divers watches. While the watches appeared at the Baselworld show in 1954, there was a series of laboratory tests a year prior.

In September 1953, a specially designed Rolex dive watch was attached to the outside of a bathyscaphe, which dived to a depth of 3131.8 meters. The timepiece returned from the test in perfect running condition, and there was no sign of water ingress.

Over the course of the next five months, there were over 132 tests that took place, ranging from 12 to 60 meters in depth. Many of those dives were even taken with the crown pulled out to the time-setting position, and there were still no signs of water ingress. Notably, most of the watches submitted by other brands for testing all ended up failing the test.

Rise of the Submariner

The Submariner made many headlines with its achievements in terms of water resistance. In 1962, Ian Fleming’s first Bond film, Dr. No, was released featuring Sean Connery sporting a Submariner 6538. This brought the timepiece back into the limelight. It is speculated that it was his personal Submariner that he wore to the movie sets.

Interestingly, Submariner 6538 appeared in further installments of the Bond franchise. After its appearance in Dr. No, The watch was seen in the movies “From Russia with love,” “Goldfinger,” and “Thunderball.”

Bringing changes to the Submariner

In 1959, Rolex released the reference 5512, followed by the launch of the 5513 in 1962. These watches were not much different from each other. But they brought significant changes over their predecessors. The two references got a larger case size of 40mm, and they also got crown guards.

Rolex released the Submariner reference 1680 in the year 1966. It is noteworthy as it was the first Submariner to feature a date complication along with the magnifying Cyclops on the crystal. From this point on, there were only minor tweaks to the Submariner’s design.

Modernization of the Rolex Submariner

In 1979, Rolex introduced significant changes to the Submariner with the release of the reference 16800. The timepiece finally brought a durable sapphire crystal instead of the acrylic one of the past. The watch’s water resistance was also increased to 300 meters from the previous 200 meters.

In 1981, reference 16800 received another significant improvement, including a unidirectional rotating bezel. With this generation, the Swiss watch manufacturer even released the first two-tone Submariner with the reference 16803, released in 1984.

Submariner Date vs No-Date

Since the launch of the reference 1680, Rolex has offered many variations for the Rolex Submariner Date. As for the No-Date models, they have pretty much remained exclusively stainless steel timepieces with a black dial and a black bezel.

On the other hand, Rolex Submariner Date has received variations with other metals and different colorways for the bezel and the dial. One of the most popular Submariner Date models has to be the LV references. In 2003, the company released the ref. 16610LV, where ‘LV’ stands for Lunette Verte, which means “green bezel” in French.

Different Rolex Submariner Colors

Rolex watches are often available in a variety of combinations to cater to all types of people. Similarly, the Rolex Submariner is offered in different color and material combinations. While the most popular ones are the Rolex Submariner black and Rolex Submariner green models, there are other options on the table as well.

Rolex Submariner Black

One of the most common Submariner models you will see is the black Submariner. It features a black cerachrom bezel and a black dial. The combination is available under two references, 126610LN and 124060. While the 126610LN features the date complication, the 124060 comes without the date window. It is one of the most popular watches out there and has even been spotted on the wrists of celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal.

Submariner Blue

Rolex Submariner Smurf and Bluesy are two popular Rolex Submariner models that feature blue bezels. As a part of Rolex’s 100th-year celebration in 2008, the Swiss watchmaker released a brand new Submariner in solid 18k white gold. The exquisite grey-gold finish was contemplated with an all-blue Cerachrom bezel and lacquered blue dial. With such a color scheme, Rolex fans quickly named the watch after the cartoon character.

The all-new Rolex Submariner white-gold comes with a blue bezel but gets a black dial instead. This is rather more appreciated as many people felt the blue dial and blue bezel combination was overwhelming.

Rolex Bluesy is a nickname referring to a two-tone Rolex Submariner watch with a blue dial and bezel. But mostly, the name is used to call out the Oystersteel and yellow gold Submariners with blue dial and bezel.

Submariner Green

Rolex Submariner green models are some of the most popular models of all time. The only green Submariner available now is the Submariner 126610LV, popularly known as Starbucks. But the first Submariner model to feature a green bezel was the Submariner 16610LV.  Known as the Rolex Kermit, the watch was launched in 2003 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Submariner.

The design of the Submariner 16610LV looked quite striking with the bright green bezel. Since then, the Rolex Submariner green has become one of the most popular Submariners. It is now a collectible since it was discontinued in 2010 to pave the way for the Submariner 116610LV.

It goes without being said that the Submariner Hulk is one of the most popular Submariner watches launched to date. The timepiece features a green ceramic bezel and a matching dial.

Rolex Submariner Gold

Rolex Submariner is available in yellow gold and white gold variants as well. Most people look at Submariner as an entry-level sports Rolex watch. Hence, not many people choose to go in for the yellow gold or white gold Submariner models. But for the enthusiasts, those are available as options.