Reference:14060M

Submariner -> 14060M

The 14060M is the last Rolex sport model with drilled lug holes, a stamped bracelet clasp, stamped end links, and an aluminum bezel insert. By the time Rolex retired it in 2012, the 114060, the 116610, and the ceramic-bezel GMT and Explorer references had already shed those features or never carried them. That last-holdout status is the reference’s defining collector story.

The M suffix marks the movement upgrade from caliber 3000, used in the predecessor 14060, to caliber 3130. Rolex introduced the 14060M around 2000 and kept it in production until 2012, when the ceramic-bezel 114060 took over. The twelve-year run splits into two clearly distinct versions: a 2-line dial era from 2000 to mid-2007, and a 4-line COSC era from mid-2007 through 2012. Both are Submariners in the old-school mold.

The date Submariner makes the point concrete. The 16610 lost its stamped end links in 2001 and its drilled lug holes in 2003. The 14060M kept both for longer, and the lug holes stayed until the reference itself was discontinued. Collectors treat the 14060M, especially early examples with lug holes, as the last expression of the original Submariner specification.

Rolex Submariner Ref. 14060M

Core facts

detail	value
reference	14060M
family	Submariner (no date)
production	approximately 2000 to 2012
movement	caliber 3130, non-COSC (2000–2007), COSC certified from mid-2007
case	40mm, 904L steel, drilled lug holes (removed ~2003)
crystal	sapphire, flat, no Cyclops
water resistance	300m / 1000ft
crown	Triplock screw-down
bezel	unidirectional 60-click, aluminum insert, black
bracelet (early)	Oyster ref.93150, 501B stamped end links, stamped hollow Fliplock clasp
bracelet (late)	Oyster ref.93250, solid end links (SEL), Oysterlock clasp
dial (2-liner)	“Submariner” + depth rating only, no chronometer text
dial (4-liner)	adds “Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified”
lume	Super-Luminova (most of run), Chromalight blue (possibly very late ~2012)
rehaut (early)	plain, no engraving
rehaut (late)	engraved “ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX” + serial at 6
case back	solid steel, fluted, unengraved
predecessor	14060
successor	114060

Where it sits in the line

The 14060M is the no-date partner to the 16610 (and later 16610LN) date Submariner. It holds the same slot the predecessor 14060 did, now with caliber 3130. COSC chronometer certification appeared on the dial from mid-2007, when the four-line layout was introduced.

The caliber discrepancy affecting the predecessor does not apply here. The 14060M uses caliber 3130 without ambiguity; the 3000-versus-3030 question documented in The Vintage Rolex Field Manual belongs to the 14060 and should not be carried across.

The last of the old line — what makes this reference significant

Mike Stockton’s December 2016 Fratello retrospective placed the 14060M as the last Rolex sport model with drilled lug holes, a stamped bracelet clasp, stamped end links, and an aluminum bezel insert. The date sibling 16610 modernized in stages: stamped end links replaced by SEL (Super End Links) in 2001, drilled lug holes deleted in 2003. The 14060M kept all four hallmarks through 2012, which is why a collector after the original Submariner specification with a modern caliber and sapphire crystal has exactly one reference to consider.

Production outline and specification timeline

The 14060M covers twelve years with overlapping changes that do not all occur at the same time.

2-line dial era (2000 to mid-2007)

Early 14060M examples look almost identical to the late 14060. Lug holes are present and stay until roughly 2003, before the 2-liner era ends. The bracelet is the 93150 with 501B stamped end links and a stamped Fliplock clasp. The dial carries two lines of text: SUBMARINER and the depth rating. The rehaut is plain and unengraved. Caliber 3130 sits inside, but the watch does not carry COSC certification on the dial.

Collectors call this the “clean dial” Sub. It is also the last Rolex Submariner with a plain rehaut. Once the 4-liner arrived in mid-2007, every subsequent Submariner carried chronometer text on the dial and rehaut engraving.

Within the 2-liner era there is an internal split that collectors track. Early 2-liners, before roughly 2003, have lug holes; later 2-liners do not. The earliest 14060M examples (lug holes present, 2-line dial, 93150 bracelet) sit at the top of the reference’s desirability ladder.

Serial bands here are collector approximations rather than Rolex-confirmed. Lug holes appear roughly from the X series through early F series (introduction in 2000 through about 2003), which matches the 16610’s own lug-hole removal window. A 14060M with an F or later serial and lug holes present is unusual and worth verifying against the physical case.

The engraved-rehaut transition is contested. Some collector writeups place it around the D series (roughly 2005–2006); Rolex Forum documentation puts it at mid-Z (roughly 2006–2007). Y, F, and other early serials have a smooth rehaut; the engraving appears somewhere in the D-through-Z band, depending on which source is consulted. Rolex produced movements in batches and individual watches near any transition may not fit the expected specification.

4-line COSC era (mid-2007 to 2012)

From mid-2007, Rolex submitted the 3130 for COSC certification. The dial gained two extra lines, SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER and OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED, and the inner rehaut received the repeating ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX engraving with serial at 6 o’clock. By this point the bracelet had upgraded to the 93250 with solid end links (SEL) and an Oysterlock clasp.

Serial bands for the 4-liner era are also collector approximations rather than Rolex records. Late Z is the overlap zone; M and later sit safely inside 4-liner territory.

The 4-liner keeps the aluminum bezel and the non-Maxi case profile, two of the four old-line features, and pairs them with modern anti-counterfeiting touches (engraved rehaut, laser-etched crystal coronet). It remains the last aluminum-bezel no-date Submariner Rolex built.

Lume

The 14060M uses Super-Luminova through the bulk of its production. Very late examples from around 2012 may have received Chromalight blue lume before the 114060 handover, but the cutover is not firmly documented.

Serial numbers

Rolex switched from sequential to random serial numbers around 2010, which catches the latest 14060M examples. Random-serial 14060Ms are always late 4-liners; earlier sequential serials provide conventional dating evidence.

Movement notes

Caliber 3130 is the automatic no-date movement inside the 14060M, beating at 28,800 vph with roughly 48 hours of reserve. It is closely related to the 3135 in the date Submariners of the same era, minus the date mechanism.

Early 3130 examples carry a traditional Breguet overcoil hairspring. Later production switched to the Parachrom hairspring, a paramagnetic blue alloy that resists temperature variation and magnetic fields better than the older spring. The exact transition date inside the 14060M run is not firmly established.

COSC certification from mid-2007 onward means each movement was individually tested across multiple positions and temperatures over sixteen days. The 3130 itself did not change in 2007; what changed was the certification submission and the dial text.

Dial map

The 14060M dial is glossy black with applied white-gold surround markers and Mercedes hands with luminous fill. Depth rating reads 300m / 1000ft.

2-line dial (2000–mid-2007)

The 2-liner reads SUBMARINER and the depth rating, with no chronometer text. The layout is the same as the 14060 and connects directly to the 5513 tradition of a clean, uncluttered no-date Submariner face.

Collectors value the 2-liner as the last of its kind within the 14060M run. After the 4-liner arrived, every subsequent Submariner carried chronometer text. The 114060 that followed reverted to a 2-line dial, but by then the rehaut was engraved, the case had shifted to the Maxi profile, the lug holes were gone, and the bezel had become ceramic. The layout is the same; nothing else is.

4-line dial (mid-2007 to 2012)

The 4-liner adds SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER and OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED below the depth rating. The text is smaller than the main lines but it shifts the visual balance of the dial; some collectors read it as a mark of quality, others as clutter on a watch that should read as a pure tool.

All 14060M dials read SWISS MADE at 6 o’clock. No tritium period exists on this reference; the tritium-to-Luminova switch had already happened before the 14060M launched.

Dial font variants

Rolex Forum collectors have documented a few font variations on 14060M 4-liner dials, particularly the shape of the F in “Officially.” They are useful as authentication micro-checks but not significant enough to define a collector branch of their own.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Detail view

The case is 40mm 904L stainless steel with crown guards. Slimmer and more tapered than the later 114060 Maxi case, the profile is itself part of what ties the 14060M to its predecessors. Lug holes are present on early examples and were removed around 2003.

The bezel is unidirectional with a black aluminum insert, a 60-minute dive scale, and a luminous pearl at 12. Aluminum scratches and fades, developing the patina the ceramic Cerachrom bezel on the 114060 cannot replicate. The 14060M is the final no-date Submariner fitted with aluminum.

The crystal is flat sapphire with no Cyclops. The Triplock crown has three sealed zones and carries the watch to 300m of water resistance.

The rehaut divides the reference into two visible generations. 2-liner examples from 2000 through mid-2007 carry a plain inner rehaut. 4-liner examples from mid-2007 through 2012 are engraved with repeating ROLEX text and a serial number at 6 o’clock.

The case back is solid steel with fluted edges and no engravings, which Fratello’s 2016 review described as vault-like.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Early bracelet (ref.93150, ~2000–2003 and somewhat beyond)

Bracelet ref.93150, with 501B stamped end links and a stamped hollow Fliplock clasp with diver extension. The same bracelet appeared on the 14060 and late 5513. Hollow center links make the 93150 lighter and slightly rattly compared to the later solid-link bracelets. That characteristic rattle is an expected feature of original five-digit-era examples and Fratello’s 2016 review treated the 93150’s lightness and the stamped clasp as part of the watch’s appeal rather than a flaw.

Later bracelet (ref.93250, ~2003–2012)

Bracelet ref.93250, with solid end links (SEL) and an Oysterlock clasp. Solid center links make it heavier and more substantial than the 93150.

The 16610 lost its stamped end links in 2001 and its lug holes in 2003. The 14060M kept stamped end links on the 93150 for somewhat longer before the SEL transition, one of the ways the no-date reference preserved old-line features after the date model had modernized.

The exact serial cutover from 93150 to 93250 is not precisely mapped. The change is commonly grouped with other mid-era updates, but whether the bracelet transition was simultaneous with lug-hole removal around 2003 remains unconfirmed.

Clasp date codes

Rolex stamped clasp codes that date the clasp, not the watch head. The Vintage Rolex Field Manual gives the 14060M-era codes as AB = 2000, DE = 2001, DT = 2002, AD = 2003, CL = 2004, MA = 2005, OP = 2006, EO = 2007, PJ = 2008, LT = 2009, RS = 2010. An S stamp on a clasp denotes a service replacement.

Packaging

Packaging for 2000s steel sports Rolex includes the green box, the warranty card (Rolex transitioned from paper to card format during this era), the booklets, and the hang tags. Fratello’s 2016 review pointed out that, given how recently the reference left production, buying a 14060M without box and papers makes little sense. Complete examples with original documentation are the expectation and command a premium over naked watches.

Secondary market notes

Fratello’s December 2016 review placed the 14060M at roughly $5,000 to over $7,000. That is a historical data point rather than a current read, but it shows where the reference traded shortly after discontinuation. Higher-end examples at the time were often NOS (new old stock) held by speculators toward the end of production.

The market splits along the 2-liner / 4-liner divide. The 2-liner trades at a premium, driven by collectors who want the last clean-dial, plain-rehaut Submariner; early examples with lug holes carry the highest premium within that group. The 4-liner trades at a discount relative to the 2-liner but offers modern anti-counterfeiting details, COSC text on the dial, and solid end links.

Both versions trade below the 114060, which carries the ceramic bezel and Glidelock bracelet. The 14060M is often described as the last Submariner that wears like a tool watch rather than a luxury piece: aluminum bezel, slim case, and on early examples lug holes and stamped bracelet hardware.

Special branches

Rolex Submariner Ref. 14060M

No military or retailer-specific variants are known for the 14060M. The main collector split is the 2-liner versus the 4-liner, which reads almost like two sub-references inside one reference number, further divided by the presence or absence of lug holes.

Sources

• History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 2, The 55XX References and 1680 Date — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
• The Rolex Submariner: A Complete Collector's Guide — Stephen Pulvirent, Sotheby's
• Rolex Submariner 14060M Review — Fratello Watches editorial, Fratello Watches
• Rolex Submariner Reference Guide — Professional Watches editorial, Professional Watches
• The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra