Rolex Submariner

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Rolex Submariner-Date Model Ref. 16610, water resistance to 300 meters (1,000 feet ), manufactured from 1989 to 2010

Introduced by Rolex in 1953, the Submariner was the first professional self- winding wristwatch for divers that was water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters. With this diver's watch , Rolex took a second big step in terms of water resistance after inventing the Oyster, the world's first waterproof wristwatch from 1926.

development

The watch manufacturer had already turned to the underwater topic in the early 1930s. In 1935 the catalog contained the 47 millimeter reference 2533 with a pillow-shaped Oyster shell, a pocket watch hand- wound movement of the Lépine type and thus a small second at nine. Because of the unpopular case size at the time, this wristwatch did not become a success.

Hans Wilsdorf , the general director of Montres Rolex SA in Geneva, which he set up, had the waterproof case with screw-down crown, called Oyster, and the rotor winding for automatic wristwatches developed and patented. These two elements were crucial in the development of the Rolex Submariner. René-Paul Jeanneret, a member of the Rolex board of directors and an avid recreational diver, came up with the idea of developing a hybrid of a waterproof sports watch that is still reasonably elegant everyday watch. He cultivated a close friendship with Jacques-Yves Cousteau and knew about the technical and design requirements of a diving watch.

In September 1953, Professor Auguste Piccard dived to 3,150 meters with his bathyscaphe FNRS-2. Hans Wilsdorf had a specially developed steel timepiece attached to the outer wall of the diving device. After resurfacing, the instrument was still completely intact.

Launch

At the Basel watch fair in 1954, Rolex presented the first Submariner with a matt black dial, luminous numerals and indices and luminous hands for hours, minutes and seconds. The watch also had a rotating bezel with markings every five minutes. The zero point was symbolized by an arrow head pointing towards the center with a centrally positioned luminous point. The one-sided rotating bezel, however, was a long time coming, because Blancpain patented a rotating rotating bezel for the Fifty Fathoms in 1952.

In 1954 there were already three different Submariner references. The reference 6200, which was introduced in 1953, had a solid case, a heavier crown and the automatic caliber A.296 and was waterproof to a depth of 200 meters. Then there was the reference 6204, which was initially assigned a water resistance of up to 100 meters. Rolex soon set this value to 180 meters.

Third in the league was the reference 6205 with the automatic caliber A.260, which was also waterproof to 100 meters. The white lettering “Submariner” was searched in vain on the dials of all early series copies. It is only found towards the end of 1954. The striking flank protection for the winding crown did not yet exist either.

The first model with a date under the characteristic magnifying glass followed in 1966 - the Rolex Submariner Date. It has been built in almost unchanged form for almost 60 years.

Trivia

In the first four Bond films 007, Dr. No , love greetings from Moscow , Goldfinger , and Fireball , the super agent 007 (played by Sean Connery ) trusted Rolex wristwatches, as in the novel by Ian Fleming . This is why these models are nicknamed James Bond in collectors' circles . These were the Submariner references 6200, 6538 and 5510. The Submariner had her other appearances on the Bond wrist in the films On Her Majesty's Secret Service , Also in Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun and certainly under license to kill .

The Rolex Submariner is probably the most copied and counterfeit watch in the world.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The History of the Rolex Submariner. In: Niederlausitz-aktuell.de. August 29, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Rolex Submariner - all about. In: Ebner Verlag GmbH & Co KG. November 2017, accessed March 26, 2019 .
  3. ^ Rolex Deep Sea Special. In: Sascha Glistau. February 17, 2017, accessed March 28, 2019 .
  4. ↑ The History of the Rolex Submariner. In: uhrwald.de. 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Rolex: Submariner. In: Gisbert L. Brunner. November 22, 2018, accessed March 26, 2019 .
  6. ↑ James Bond and his watches. In: watchtime.net. October 2012, accessed March 28, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Rolex forgeries. In: Ebner Verlag GmbH & Co KG. November 10, 2018, accessed March 26, 2019 .