Welcome back watch heroes and nerds to what is a deep dive (pun absolutely intended) into arguably the world’s most iconic timepiece the Rolex Submariner. If you haven’t read part one yet - firstly, what are you doing with your life? Go and read it now!
Secondly, the previous part looked at its early years and military issue up until, well broadly speaking - the early 1970’s (with some overhang like the 5512, 5513, 1680 and of course the famous MilSub 5517). This time, we aren’t necessarily concerning ourselves with model numbers - of course this is still relevant. But we are focusing more on the Mainstream adoption of the Submariner as a true Icon of popular culture.
The Mainstream Adoption of the Rolex Submariner
So let me set the stage for you, it’s the groovy 70’s, disco music is everywhere - the fashion is, well questionable (bell-bottoms, platform shows and the floppiest of collars) and that’s not to mention wood panelling everywhere.
But throughout this time of quite frankly extreme cultural revolution. The Rolex Submariner, despite its more conservative nature had begun take hold of itself within the public’s imaginations. Yes, Connery wore a Rolex Submariner 6205 in his 1960’s outings as bond, but did you know Roger Moore wore my personal favourite reference the 5513 in Live and Let Die (1973) and the Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
Rolex of course being the king of marketing took any chance they could to push what was now considered one of their standout lines. Putting aside the fictional spy’s for a moment (we’ll come back to that later), the now date windowed 1680 took centre stage for a number of marketing events and initiatives.
A great example of this was the 12-meter America’s Cup, the action packed Yacht photo took the famous “if you were here” Rolex tag line and emphasised the watch’s reliability and suitability for demanding environments. In addition, the familiar tagline “if you were working / racing / shipping out tomorrow, you’d wear a Rolex” being used for a number of professions from diving to military deployment was really a stroke of marketing genius.
Rolex, knowing full well that they had not only struck gold - but where in a throws of a gold rush - doubled down and made full printed museum quality posters. And, well it worked, the 1970’s saw the Sub (specifically the 1680 date version) become a cultural phenomenon. It featured on the wrists of explorers, scientists and military personnel (non-issued & issued), it was seen in publications like National Geographic, TV and of course in Films of Hollyweird!
Thanks to this effort the 1970’s saw the Rolex as a true tool watch for the man of adventure. But the addition of precious metals and even a two tone / bluesy version of the 1680 line up brought in a new line of suitors whose ambition lay less with board shorts and more in the board room. So, if we were chaptering this odyssey into the submariner I would dub the advent of the 1980’s “the Rise of the Yuppies!”
Yes, the submariner became the understated (or in some solid golden cases - overstated) luxury symbol in the 1980’s, in particular the 5513 and the 1680 models. Yuppies flocked to the altar of the submariner calling it the ‘must-have’ luxury item - after all there’s a reason why this along with cars like the Porsche 911 became signs of wealth and status.
And with that decade of excess and money the cultural view of a submariner shifted again. From the hard working ‘everyman’ tool watch to a symbol of wealth and prosperity, (a sentiment that carries over to today) it all started here in the 1980’s. Rolex seeing the shift as you’d expect rode that wave all way to the shore. Dropping the “if you were” statement and replacing it with a new message for a new target market - “we invented the submariner to work perfectly 660 feet under the sea… it seems to work pretty well at any level”. The poster itself depicted a man with a glass of premium vino, Rolex on show and a ladies hand (I guess seductively - although I suppose it’s just a hand) outstretched and gently stroking the watch.
I’m fully aware that in real life the closest you’ll come to someone stroking your watch is either that big burley watch collector called something like ‘Bob’ at one our meets or as the result of pick pocketing thanks to an ill-advised trip to the big city - but nevertheless it still evokes emotion. It’s actually this exact poster along with Roger Moore and later Timothy Dalton (yes, he wore a Submariner too reference 16800 / 16610… I told you I’d talk about the spy again) in his final outing as 007 in License to Kill that rewired my brain as a tiny hell raiser into a lover of watches.
Final Thoughts
The final thoughts on this part we call two is probably titled “imitation is perhaps a form of flattery.” But I have to stress that this is not a titled article… my brain will not accept that (despite me doing it twice!)
During the 1980’s onwards you started seeing a lot of watches who either had aspects or indeed designs that just outright homage the Subby. The likes of the Prebond seamster may have had a different case but it most definitely had a Rolex style bezel and even on some models Mercedes hands - meanwhile Heuer (later Tag Heuer) had a very popular watch in the 1000 series, and it was, let’s be honest guys - and quartz Submariner. To be clear, I’m not knocking these watches by the way, what I am emphasising here is the Rolex’s almost vice like grip on the industry. At this point the whole idea of (if you can’t beat them, join them) attitude was in full swing, making the Rolex more coveted and almost creating a mythical - certainly cult like - presence around it! This is, by the way, was/is an attitude that with the rise of microbrands, online retailers and china direct models (in addition to eye watering inflation) has only strengthened. But I dare say - that’s a topic for another day specifically the final Part of my commissioned 3 sectioned series - Modernisation and the Future of the Submariner.
Okay watch nerds - I hope this served you well! I’ll catch you all in the next one.
