Submariner Info

Rolex Introduced the Submariner in the early 1950's. It's likely that the original Submariner was built based on the Rolex Explorer. However, the Submariner case was thicker than the Explorer, with a rounded crystal and oversized crown. The early Submariner had stick hands with luminous tipped second sweep hands. When introduced, the Submariner was rated to 330 feet (100m). The original Submariner also had a bi-directional bezel without the minute hash marks (as is commonly seen today). Originally, the Submariner was fitted with the A296 movement but within a few years, Rolex upgraded the movement to the 1030, added the Mercedes hands and renumbered the model to a 6536/6538. Also, included were the round luminous hour markers and rectangular luminous markers at 3, 6 and 9 positions. The late 50s also saw the introduction of the "shoulder" feature (where the sides of the case come up on either side of the crown and create a protective shield around the crown). The original 6200 was renumbered as well and the movement upgraded to the 1530 non- chronometer version. By the early 60's the movements for all of the Submariner models were upgraded to the Chronometer version. In the mid-60's Rolex again upgraded the model and movement and added the date feature with the cyclops bubble. During this time-period, Rolex also provided the Submariner to the Royal Navy. Unlike the consumer models, the Royal Navy watches had welded steel bars instead of the spring bars. Also, these watch hands were wider and bolder with a simplified crown. These watches also had engravings on the back for easy identification. As customary with Rolex, Rolex kept fine-tuning the Submariner by adding the triple-lock crown in the 70's and the scratch-resistant synthetic sapphire crystal in the 80s. Introduction of the sapphire crystal also helped Rolex streamline the profile of the Submariner. The 80s also included a renumbering of the model numbers from the 1680 to the 16800. This was done primarily to help in easy identification of Rolex model variations (stainless steel, two-tone, 18K gold, etc.). In addition, the operating depth of the watch was also increased to 1,000 feet. In the mid-90s, Rolex once again updated the model to the 16610 with the 3135 caliber movement. Later in the 80's a new movement was included without a change in the model number. The final major change was the introduction of the ladies Submariner in the mid-90s. In 2003, marking the 50th anniversary of the Submariner, Rolex introduced the maxi dial, green bezel Submariner.

Following are the various Submariner vintage models (by case number):

• 6200 - Original Submariner
  • Launched in 1953. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with an 8mm crown. No crown guard and no depth rating on dial. Submariner not printed on dial. Dial similar to Explorer style dials of same period. Non-Chronometer A296 movement with 18 Jewels. Larger case than the 6204 or 6205. Larger crown marked Brevet.
  • Updated in 1955. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with an 8mm crown. No crown guard and no depth rating on dial. Submariner printed on dial. Included the Mercedes hands. Non-Chronometer A296 movement with 18 Jewels. Larger case than the 6536 or 6538. Larger crown marked Brevet.
• 6204 - Launched in two versions
  • Launched in 1954. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with a 6mm crown. No crown guard and no depth rating on dial. Submariner printed on dial. Dial revised from 6200. Used the upgraded non-chronometer A260 movement with 18 Jewels. Smaller than the 6200.
  • Updated in 1954. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with a 6mm crown. No crown guard and no depth rating on dial. Model name "blacked-out." Non-Chronometer A260 movement with 18 Jewels. Smaller than the 6200
• 6205
  • Launched in 1954. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with a 6mm crown. No crown guard and no depth rating on dial. Model name not present on dial. Dial revised from 6200. Used the upgraded A260 movement. Same size as the 6204. Smaller than the 6200
  • Updated in 1955. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with 6mm crown. No crown guard however depth rating now printed on dial (white). Model name present on dial. A260 movement. Smaller than the 6200
• 6536
  • Launched in 1955. Upgrade of the 6205 model. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with the 8mm crown. No crown guard and no depth rating on dial. Submariner printed on dial. First time use of the Mercedes hands. Movement upgraded to the non-chronometer 1030 with 25 Jewels.
  • Updated in 1956. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with a 8mm crown. No crown guard however depth rating now printed on dial (white). Submariner also printed on dial. Non-Chronometer 1030 movement. First time Bezel contained markers for first 15 minutes.
• 6536/1
  • Launched in 1956. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with a 8mm crown. No crown guard with depth rating printed on dial (white). Model name also present on dial. Chronometer 1030 movement with 25 Jewels. Bezel with markers for first 15 minutes. Triangle on Bezel painted red.
• 6538 - James Bond Submariner (Dr. No)
  • Launched in 1955. Upgrade of the 6204 model. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with the 6mm crown. No crown guard and no depth rating on dial. Model name present on dial. Used the upgraded A260 movement.
  • Updated in 1956. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with 8mm crown. No crown guard with depth rating printed on dial (white). Model name also present on dial. Upgraded to the 1030 movement. Case upgraded to same size as the 6200 (larger).
  • Updated in 1956. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with 8mm crown. No crown guard with depth rating printed on dial (white). Model name also present on dial. 'Officially Certified Chronometer' now painted on dial. 1030 movement.
• 5508
  • Launched in 1958. Upgrade to the 6536/1 model. Depth rated to 100m (330 ft) with 6mm crown. No crown guard and depth rating on always printed on dial. Model name printed on dial. Upgraded to the new Chronometer 1530 movement.
  • Updated in 1964. Luminous markers not enclosed by circular border.
• 5510
  • Launched in 1958. Upgrade to the 6200 model. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with the 8mm crown. No crown guard and depth rating printed on dial. Submariner printed on dial. New Chronometer 1530 movement.
  • Updated in 1964. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with the 8mm crown. No crown guard. Depth rating printed on dial. Printing on dial changed to white.
• 5512
  • Launched in 1959. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Depth rating printed on dial. Chronometer. 'Officially Certified Chronometer' printed on dial. Submariner printed on dial. New 1560 Chronometer movement.
  • Updated in 1965. Depth rating to 660 ft (200m) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Depth rating printed on dial. Superlative added to printing on dial.
• 5513 - James Bond Submariner (Live and Let Die)
  • Launched in 1962. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Depth rating printed on dial. Non-Chronometer. 1530 movement. Dial marked with Swiss.
  • Updated in 1963. Depth rating to 660 ft (200m) with 8mm crown. Non-Chronometer 1520 movement. Swiss T<25>
  • Navy model launched in 1968. Depth rated to 660 ft (200m) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Soldered strap bars. Large hour and minute hands. Large T printed above depth rating to indicate luminous material as tritium.
• 5517
  • Launched in 1971 for the British Marines. Depth rated to 660 ft (200m) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Crown with triple-lock. Bezel with 60 minute markers. Soldered strap bars. Large hour and minute hands. Large T printed above depth rating to indicate luminous material as tritium.
• 1680
  • Launched in 1966. Depth rated to 660 ft (200m) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Depth rating printed on dial. Chronometer. New 1575 Chronometer movement with Date. Raised and flat crystal. Submariner printed in red.
  • Updated in 1972. Depth rated to 660 ft (200m) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Crown with triple-lock. Depth rating printed on dial. Chronometer. 1575 Chronometer movement with Date. Raised and flat crystal. All dial lettering printed in white.
• 16800
  • Launched in 1982. Depth rated to 1000 ft (300m) with 8mm crown. Crown guard. Crown with triple-lock. Depth rating printed on dial. Chronometer. New 3085 Chronometer movement with Date. Low-profile sapphire crystal. All dial lettering printed in white.

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