The History of the Rolex Submariner
 

The History of the Rolex Submariner Part One: From Concept to Military Issue

7 min read
Chris Wildgust

Brands

Rolex

Categories

Watch Guides

Chris Wildgust

Brands

Rolex

Categories

Watch Guides

In the annuals of history one watch stands out as being possibly the most iconic and arguably most important. Its adorned the wrist of explorers, soldiers, divers, fictional spies and of course celebrities. Simply put in terms of how much it has influenced the watch industry it stands alone and there is nothing quite like the feeling of a submariner.


In this three part series I am going to take a look at this icon from its humble begins and military prowess through to its mainstream adoption and final its modernisation and innovation. There is a lot to cover here, but being a fan of Submariner (especially the early years) today we are going to cover the brands formative era - namely the 1950’s through to the 1970’s. It’s been somewhat of a dream assignment, so as my therapist would say - let’s start at the beginning. 

The History of the Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submariner Ref. 16610. Credit - WatchGecko

The History of the Rolex Submariner

The Beginning

Now as most of you will know the Rolex Submariner was introduced at the 1954 annual Watch fair in Basel, but it may surprise you to know that Hans Wilsdorf and the gang had been experimenting and building watches capable of surviving the murky depths with models dating back to the 1930’s with the reference 2533. But let’s be honest here folks with a diameter of 47mm it lacked the refinement we know and love when we think of vintage or dare I say ‘classic’ Rolex.


But as innovation and refinement continued (including a little known collaboration with Panarai) Wilsdorf and the team finally emerged with something brand new. Now, it’s important to remember that the Submariner really did alter the trajectory of the brand as a whole. In fact, although not the first dive watch - the honour as we know goes to the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms - but it was the first of individual lines of watches that Rolex would make for specific tasks (the Explorer, Milgauss, Daytona, GMT master and of course the heavier duty Sea-Dweller). 

The History of The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Ref. 2533 Sketch. Credit - Oracle Time

The First Submariner References

The first submariners reference 6204 and 6205 were very different from the subbed of today, but you can certainly see the design language especially in the silhouette and colour. But if you insist on more detail I would point you to the black bezel with lume pip, circular and rectangular indices with the addition of the triangle are 12. The rest of dial sports the ubiquitous Rolex crown and logo, underneath the oyster perpetual wording with just a simple submariner below the hands above the 6 - and that’s your lot, no depth indicator, no chronometer wording it’s just Submariner! But it’s not all the same - the pencils hands, the blockier bezel insert with no graduated minute markers for the first 15 minutes and of course no crown guards.


I think it looks good and you have to agree that the design certainly turned heads, but I’ll tell you who wasn’t convinced - the Military. Yes, the people that arguably would become a crucial supporter and adopter of the future classic - the military (specifically the US Navy) rejected the first Rolex Submariners during trials in 1958 due to concerns about its water resistance, a weak bezel, and an expensive strap. The US Navy even recommended removing the watch from their approved lists at the time. It is therefore ironic that a later submariner from Rolex’s little brother Tudor the 7016 (a Submariner I happen to own) went on to become issued to officers in the US Navy underwater swim school and the Navy Seals along with the French Marine National and South African Navy. 

The History of The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submariner Ref. 6204. Credit - Collector Square

The Name's Wilsdorf...

Next on the road of references is what some consider to be the best ever reference, the much coveted 6538, his reference come in a number of different ways but the most famous (and as a result coveted) was James Bond Submariner as worn by the original 007 Sean Connery. As you can see this one has a lot of the modern style ques that would carry over to future models, namely introduction of Mercedes hands (which was actually introduced for the model 6200) and the graduated bezel. One thing that sadly didn’t carry over was that gorgeous red lume pip and triangle something I personally would love to have seen on later models. Finally you also get those all important additional words - water resistance (this one being 100m) and finally officially certified chronometer. Yes it was from this model that chronometer certification became part of the submariner’s ethos, but it is important to note that it wasn’t standard… yet. 

The History of The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538. Credit - Fratello

The Late 1950s

At the end of the 1950’s came my personal favourite models, the 5512 and 5513 these no date subs again to a giant leap forward in design and are more akin to what we’d see (shape wise that is) until the naughties! These had the carry over of bezel inserts and Mercedes hands - but added new features like the semi pointed crown guards and the shift at some point from radioactive radium to a more health friendly tritium. Now in terms of looks they were essentially identical, the big difference was that the 5512 was equipped with a COSC-certified chronometer movement and as such featured those all important four lines of text at the 6 o'clock position ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified.’ By comparison the 5513 used non-chronometer-certified movements so replaced the full textual assault with a minimal two-line dial with just "Submariner" and the depth rating (e.g., "200m=660ft").


These both ran concurrently with the 5512 ending its long run in 1979 and the 5513 a decade later in 1989. Both are highly successful, desirable and of course collectible - but my top tip for the price conscious bargain hunter looking at this time period would be to search for the 5513. As you can imagine a shorter run time of the 5512 along with the chronometer movement fetches for higher prices on the second hand market. 

The History of The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513. Credit - Maunder Watches

The Infamous 'MilSub'

While these no date models become the workhorses for the submariner range. There a two more models that found a strong following in both military and civiy life. The 5517 and 1680 - these had somewhat of a departure from the design so far first up we are going to look at arguably the most coveted of submariners the 5517 also known in many circles as the ‘MilSub’.


As the name would suggest, the MilSub was produced in the conjunction the Ministry of Defence (MoD for short) for use by the British Royal Navy between 1971 and 1979. This gave the piece a number of devotions from the standard submariner designs, making it the most un-sub like sub! The bezel is what in the biz is known as ‘fully graduated’ with minute marks all around the 60 minute aluminium insert. Next up we have sword hands instead of Mercedes, a very distinctive T to notify tritium lume and finally no flimsy bracelet, just fixed lugs allowing for only a pass through strap. It is extremely rare with only around 180 believed to exist today (I do not know what happened to the original 1,200 originally issued, please don’t ask me!) and just like the 6538 it can go for insane prices at auction. 

The History of The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submariner Ref. 5517 'MilSub'. Credit - Maunder Watches

It's a Date!

The next important reference to at look here is the 1680, also known as the first Submariner with a date. Yes, thats when for good or ill - the famous (or if you are not a fan infamous) cyclops came into being for the submariner. This like some of the other models overlap in their production run - this one starting the swinging 60’s (1967 to be precise) and going all the way up to 1980. As this one was made available to the general public it also saw the introduction of different features, with various versions becoming more sought after over time. Amongst these you have the Tiffany dial, the red line, and even for the first time gold variations with smaller ‘nipple’ indices; and interestingly this also would mark the beginning of different a blue colour way.


And whilst the submariner had truly started to capture the imagination and desire of the general public the professionals took notice too. Yes, we have mentioned some divisions of the military already. But what I hadn’t mentioned yet was that the ‘cream of the crop’ so to speak of military might and prowess; the Special Air & Special Boat Service in the United Kingdom (also known as the SAS and SBS respectively) also took on the submariner as a reliable time telling companion. 

The History of The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submariner Ref. 1680. Credit - Maunder Watches

We Need to Go Deeper

Outside of the military world Rolex entered into a partnership in 1970 with COMEX - Compagnie Maritime d’Expertises - a pioneering French deep-sea diving company. So if you see any Rolex’s for sale adorning the COMEX logo when expect to pay big money. It may not be as rare as hen’s teeth, but it certainly comes close. One last famous figure to mention is the underwater explorers extrodinare René-Paul Jeanneret and Jacques-Yves Cousteau not only wore Submariners but played a part in its early development too. 

The History of The Rolex Submariner
Rolex Submeriner Ref. 5513 'COMEX'. Credit - Sotheby's

To Summarise

So I am going to leave part one here, honestly I feel this is a good place to stop as the next part is around mainstream adoption. We’ve briefly touched on it here - but I want to explain more throughly next time. After all I’m not writing a novel see you next time watch heroes and nerds! 

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Chris Wildgust

About the Author: Chris Wildgust

Chris, a watch enthusiast and presenter on the WatchGecko YouTube channel, brings his passion for horology to every review. With a sharp eye for specs and real-world performance, he delivers honest and in-depth insights. Follow his journey on YouTube for hands-on perspectives and unfiltered opinions on the best watches at every price point.

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