Rolex 14060 Submariner

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Submariner -> 14060

The 14060 is the first sapphire-era no-date Submariner, the bridge between the long-running 5513 (acrylic, 200m, no date) and the modern ceramic line. Production runs 1989 to 1999. Caliber 3000 carries 27 jewels and 28,800 vph with hacking seconds, and no quickset, because there is no date to set.

The depth rating goes from the 5513's 200m to 300m on a Triplock crown, the first 50% upgrade the no-date Sub had seen. Everything else stays deliberately narrow: two-line dial throughout the run, all-black bezel only, black dial only. What moves across the production window is the lume — tritium, then Luminova, then Super-LumiNova. The 14060M replaces the reference in 1999 with the chronometer-rated caliber 3130.

Rolex Submariner Ref. 14060
Rolex Submariner Ref. 14060

Core facts

detail value
reference 14060
family Submariner (no date)
production 1989 to 1999
case 40mm Oyster with crown guards, sapphire crystal, Triplock crown — first sapphire-era no-date Sub
water resistance 300m / 1000ft (up from the 5513's 200m / 660ft)
movement caliber 3000, 27 jewels, 28,800 vph, ~48-hour reserve, hacking seconds. No quickset (no date complication on this reference). Non-chronometer
dial two-line throughout the run — "Submariner" + "300m=1000ft." Four-line OCC / SCOC text never appears on the 14060; that arrives only on the 14060M after 2007
bezel 24-hour bidirectional — all-black aluminium insert only
lume tritium "T<25" through approximately 1997 / 1998; Luminova "Swiss" through approximately 1999 (narrow transitional window includes "Swiss only" dials with no T<25 and no Swiss Made marking)
bracelet Oyster 93150 with 593 hollow end-links (early-to-mid run) → Oyster 78360 (later production); SEL service end-links 501B documented
successor 14060M (1999 onward, COSC-rated caliber 3130, M-suffix indicates chronometer)

No-date lineage and historical position

The 14060 closes the acrylic-crystal era of the no-date Submariner and opens the sapphire era. The 5513 (1962–1989, acrylic, 200m, caliber 1520) is the long predecessor; the 14060 carries the no-date position into the modern Sub case with a sapphire crystal, a Triplock crown and the 300m rating. It is the first no-date Sub fitted with both sapphire and Triplock, which makes it a structural step rather than a cosmetic refresh.

It is also the last no-date Submariner to ship without chronometer certification. The two-line dial reads "Submariner / 300m=1000ft" with none of the "Officially Certified Chronometer" wording the 14060M's caliber 3130 would go on to earn. Anyone after a sapphire-era Submariner with the plainest movement and the plainest dial ends up here.

Production outline

Production ran from 1989, replacing the 5513, through 1999, when the 14060M took over. Specialist coverage occasionally gives 1990, but 1989 is the dominant editorial reading and it matches the catalogue transition.

Tritium period (1989 to approximately 1997 / 1998)

"SWISS – T<25" at the bottom of the dial, tritium in the plots. The lume ages cream, then warm beige, then mustard depending on how much UV the watch has seen. Late-tritium U-serial examples from 1997 are datable and appear at auction regularly.

"Swiss only" transitional dial (approximately 1998)

A narrow window produced dials marked only "SWISS" at the bottom, with no T<25 and no SWISS MADE. These are factory output from the lume changeover rather than service replacements, and they are the rarest 14060 dial type.

Luminova period (approximately 1998 to 1999)

"SWISS MADE" at the bottom, Luminova in place of tritium. The run continues into 1999 before the 14060M takes over with the chronometer-rated caliber 3130. Late P-serial Luminova examples, some of them year-2000 watches, mark the production tail.

Movement notes

Caliber 3000: 27 jewels, 28,800 vph, approximately 48-hour reserve, hacking seconds, non-chronometer. It is the time-only sister to the 3035 and 3135 that run the date Submariners, and without a date complication there is no quickset. The architecture carries forward into the 14060M's caliber 3130 with chronometer regulation added and the no-date logic preserved.

The 14060 is deliberately non-COSC. The "M" suffix on the 14060M indicates "Modified" — the modification being caliber 3130, which on that reference also brought the chronometer pass the 14060 never had. The dial follows the movement: "Submariner / 300m=1000ft" and nothing else, where the 14060M would later add the two "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" lines.

Dial map

Two-line standard layout throughout. The four-line dial — the two extra chronometer lines collectors abbreviate to OCC or SCOC — never appears on the 14060; that wording arrives only on the 14060M after 2007.

Early dials, 1989 to approximately 1997/98, carry "SWISS – T<25" tritium text and lume that ages to a cream-to-warm-beige patina. The narrow "Swiss only" run around 1998 shows just "SWISS" at the bottom — genuine factory output, and rare. Later dials, 1998 to 1999, switch to "SWISS MADE" and Luminova, and they are the dominant late-run configuration.

The dial wording stays "Submariner / 300m=1000ft" throughout. Applied indices with white-gold surrounds sit on a glossy black lacquer ground. Mercedes hour and minute hands paired with a lollipop seconds hand carrying a small luminous tip. A small subset of late-tritium and Luminova examples develop spider cracks in the glossy lacquer, a known formulation problem on the period dials.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is the standard 40mm Submariner Oyster with crown guards in 904L stainless steel. The sapphire crystal sits flat over the dial without a Cyclops magnifier; the date Submariner references carry one, and the no-date 14060 has no date window to magnify.

The Triplock screw-down crown is the structural upgrade from the 5513's older Twinlock — three sealing points instead of two, which is what supports the 300m rating. The bezel is a 24-hour bidirectional aluminium insert in all-black only. The no-date Submariner has never carried a coloured bezel.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Early-to-mid production, 1989 through approximately the mid-1990s, shipped on the Oyster 93150 with 593 hollow end-links, the same cross-family bracelet code used on the 5513, 1680, 16800 and early 16610. Later production, in the late 1990s, moved to the Oyster 78360 — a heavier-feeling bracelet with the same overall geometry as the 93150. SEL service end-links 501B replace the older 593 hollow end-links on service-era refits, so bracelet originality needs case-and-clasp-date verification rather than the end-link stamp alone.

The clasp-date code is the cleanest single bracelet-originality test. Folding Oyster clasps with stamped year codes appear on most documented examples, and a clasp dating later than the case head implies a swap or a service-era replacement.

Historical market and auction record

Rolex Submariner Ref. 14060
Rolex Submariner Ref. 14060
Sale Lot Year of watch Configuration
Sotheby's — c.1995 cal 3000 27j, folding Oyster clasp
Sotheby's "Class of 2019" — c.1997 two-line tritium, sold 2019
Sotheby's Watches 3 — c.2001 late-run example
Antiquorum Geneva 372/124 2024 two-line full set with box and warranty
Phillips — 2022 two-line tritium
Lot-Art / Catawiki — 2021 c.1994 mid-run example
Lot-Art / Catawiki — 1990–1999 "Swiss only" transitional dial — rare lume-window example

The 14060 trades primarily on the dealer market. Standard tritium examples cluster across a modest USD 6,000–10,000 band depending on dial-state originality, paperwork, and case condition. Authenticated "Swiss only" transitional dials sit above that. Full-set examples with box, warranty, and matching clasp dates carry the meaningful premium — box and papers drive the spread more than any dial detail does.

Related references

See also the Submariner family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

Sources

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