You’ve seemingly seen one. Perhaps even worn one. Perhaps admired one on the wrist of somebody who calls his boat a “tender” and makes use of “summer time” as a verb.

Earlier than it turned the uniform of actual property builders and hedge fund whisperers, the Submariner was simply an excellent thought with excellent timing. Rolex launched it in 1953, proper when leisure diving was changing into a factor folks did on objective, for enjoyable. Jacques Cousteau had written The Silent World, scuba was immediately accessible, and watches that didn’t flood have been helpful. The Submariner wasn’t the primary dive watch, but it surely was the primary to make being waterproof look refined.

A 1953 Reference 6204 Submariner being auctioned at Sotheby’s

Then James Bond wore one. Sean Connery, in a dinner jacket, flipping up the cuff to disclose a no-crown-guard Submariner on a too small nylon strap in 1964’s Goldfinger, did extra for Rolex than any advert marketing campaign might. 

That affiliation caught. Even now, when most divers put on computer systems, and most Submariners by no means get moist, the watch carries a form of licensed hazard, like somebody who’s well mannered however was once excellent at bar fights.

Collectors obsess over particulars the remainder of us would want a loupe and a minor in typography to note: serif versus non-serif fonts, lug widths, bracelet codes, crown guards, no crown guards.

This stuff sign period, rarity, and whether or not somebody paid 5 figures for one thing that when value lower than stereo. However the Submariner’s attraction is that this: it really works as effectively at 300 meters because it does below a French cuff. It’s not flashy, until you recognize what you’re taking a look at. Which, frankly, is the entire level.