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Revision as of 03:32, 15 April 2026

Rolex changed what a wristwatch could be. The Oyster case made watches waterproof. The Perpetual rotor made them self-winding. The Submariner made them dive-rated. The Daytona timed races. The GMT-Master crossed time zones for Pan Am pilots. These are not just expensive objects — they are engineering milestones that shaped an entire industry, and every one of them has a production history worth documenting properly. That is what this project is for.

We kept running into the same problem: the good information is scattered across forum threads that get buried, auction archives behind paywalls, out-of-print books trading for more than the watches they describe, and dealer sites that disappear when the business closes. So we started consolidating it. Every claim here traces to a named source. Where sources contradict each other — and they do, constantly — both sides are shown. How this is built →

Reference library

Submariner

Thirty-nine references across seventy years. We have 36 articles live — specs, movements, dials, bracelets, and auction records for each.

Era	No-date	Date (steel)	Date (precious metal)
Early 1953–59	6204 · 6205 · 6200 · 6536 · 6536/1 · 6538
Crown-guard 1958–90	5508 · 5510 · 5512 · 5513 · 5514 · 5517	1680	—
Five-digit 1979–2010	14060 · 14060M	16800 · 16610 · 16610LV	16803 · 16808 · 16613 · 16618
Six-digit 2010–now	114060 · 124060	116610LN · 116610LV · 126610LN · 126610LV	116613 · 116618 · 116619LB · 126613LB · 126613LN · 126618LB · 126618LN · 126619LB

Collector landmarks: 6538 Bond Sub · 5513 27-year run · 1680 Red Sub · 5514 COMEX · 16610 23-year benchmark · 116610LV Hulk · 114060 last small Sub

→ Full Submariner index with era descriptions

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 === [[Reference:submariner|Submariner]] ===
-We started here because the Submariner is the reference that never lets you stop researching. Thirty-nine distinct references across seventy years of production. The 6204 showed up in 1953 with a 100m depth rating and no crown guards, and by the time you get to the current 126-series the watch has been through gilt dials, matte dials, aluminum bezels, ceramic bezels, acrylic crystals, sapphire crystals, and more bracelet configurations than most people realize exist. A single reference like the 5513 ran for 27 years and produced enough dial variants to fill its own taxonomy. We have 36 articles live — each one covers specs, movement history, dial variants, bracelets, and whatever the auction record actually says.
+Thirty-nine references across seventy years. We have 36 articles live — specs, movements, dials, bracelets, and auction records for each.
-'''Highlights:'''
+{| style="width:100%; font-size:90%; border-collapse:collapse; margin-top:0.5em;"
-* [[Reference:6538|6538]] — the James Bond Submariner
+|-
-* [[Reference:5513|5513]] — 27-year production run, the broadest vintage reference
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 4px;" | Era
-* [[Reference:1680|1680]] — first Submariner Date, Red Sub and White Sub eras
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 4px;" | No-date
-* [[Reference:16610|16610]] — the 23-year benchmark modern Submariner
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 4px;" | Date (steel)
-* [[Reference:116610LV|116610LV]] — the "Hulk," now a modern collectible
+! style="text-align:left; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; padding:2px 4px;" | Date (precious metal)
-* [[Reference:114060|114060]] — the last 40mm no-date, "the last small Sub"
+|-
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold; white-space:nowrap;" | Early<br/><small>1953–59</small>
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" colspan="3" | [[Reference:6204|6204]] · [[Reference:6205|6205]] · [[Reference:6200|6200]] · [[Reference:6536|6536]] · [[Reference:6536-1|6536/1]] · [[Reference:6538|6538]]
+|-
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold; white-space:nowrap;" | Crown-guard<br/><small>1958–90</small>
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:5508|5508]] · [[Reference:5510|5510]] · [[Reference:5512|5512]] · [[Reference:5513|5513]] · [[Reference:5514|5514]] · [[Reference:5517|5517]]
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:1680|1680]]
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | —
+|-
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold; white-space:nowrap;" | Five-digit<br/><small>1979–2010</small>
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:14060|14060]] · [[Reference:14060M|14060M]]
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:16800|16800]] · [[Reference:16610|16610]] · [[Reference:16610LV|16610LV]]
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:16803|16803]] · [[Reference:16808|16808]] · [[Reference:16613|16613]] · [[Reference:16618|16618]]
+|-
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top; font-weight:bold; white-space:nowrap;" | Six-digit<br/><small>2010–now</small>
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:114060|114060]] · [[Reference:124060|124060]]
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:116610LN|116610LN]] · [[Reference:116610LV|116610LV]] · [[Reference:126610LN|126610LN]] · [[Reference:126610LV|126610LV]]
+| style="padding:4px; vertical-align:top;" | [[Reference:116613|116613]] · [[Reference:116618|116618]] · [[Reference:116619LB|116619LB]] · [[Reference:126613LB|126613LB]] · [[Reference:126613LN|126613LN]] · [[Reference:126618LB|126618LB]] · [[Reference:126618LN|126618LN]] · [[Reference:126619LB|126619LB]]
+|}
-'''[[Reference:submariner|→ Full Submariner index]]'''
+<small>'''Collector landmarks:''' [[Reference:6538|6538]] Bond Sub · [[Reference:5513|5513]] 27-year run · [[Reference:1680|1680]] Red Sub · [[Reference:5514|5514]] COMEX · [[Reference:16610|16610]] 23-year benchmark · [[Reference:116610LV|116610LV]] Hulk · [[Reference:114060|114060]] last small Sub</small>
+'''[[Reference:submariner|→ Full Submariner index with era descriptions]]'''
 </div>