Posts Tagged ‘Submariner’
Tropical Dial 1680 Rolex ‘Red’ Submariner
There are more valuable, complicated, and elegant watches. But there are few watches that optimize for beauty and dependability on the level of a 1680 Red Sub. It’s the sled-dog Siberian Husky of watches. The only way you can make one more beautiful is to wear it often out in the world, and then it…
Read More4-Line Dial, PCG 5512 Rolex Submariner
In vintage, there are two different types of people. Some like tropical dials, cases that were used until not a millimeter is left unscathed, watches with stories. Others want a museum example, something that is true and original, but looks like it was left in your grandfather’s drawer (as is often the tale). This is…
Read MoreTropical Dial, Square Crown Guard 7928 Tudor Submariner
Minutia in Rolex is really the name of the game, it’s a lifetime’s learning. The dial on this 7928 is spectacular, but it’s not even the most impressive part of this Sub and that’s where the minutia comes in. The very earliest Submariners, big crown and small, lacked crown guards. We will all be familiar…
Read MoreTropical Dial 1680/8 Rolex Submariner
Nothing on Earth says ‘F-you money’ like a gold Sub. In much the same way that an S-Class wafts past in total opulence, the 1680/8 wears with similar imperious grandeur. Except this particular example, it’s a bit different. One of the primary joys of vintage is that two watches, which on paper may be identical, look…
Read MoreComex 16800 Rolex Submariner
There aren’t a huge number of Submariners post-white gold surrounds that possess the quality we vintage lovers so carelessly label as soul, but this certainly is one. In fact, it’s probably the most characterful Sub that’s still tough as nails. This is a ref. 16800, a sweet spot for many that saw the transition to…
Read MoreLapis Dial 16618 Rolex Submariner
Stone dials are just for Day-Dates and Daytonas, right? Not exactly. The excess of the 90s led to the creation of two fantastically collectible ref. 16618 Submariners that ditched the tool watch Submariner remit in favor of the depth that comes from hardstone: one in onyx and one in this lapis. Yes, this is a…
Read More‘King Sub’ 6200 Rolex Submariner
The earliest years of the Submariner encompass many beautiful references. But only one is nicknamed the ‘King Sub’, ref. 6200. The 6200 is lore: an Explorer dial in its own case with the first 8mm Brevet ‘big crown’ and no depth rating on the dial. Not even a Submariner line (mostly). Production numbers were extremely…
Read MoreTropical, ‘Tulip’ 4-Line Dial 5512 Rolex Submariner
Unless you’ve spent your entire life studying vintage Rolex, you probably won’t have heard of a tulip dial. Even if you have, you probably won’t have seen one with four lines. Yes, we’re back in the realm of obscure Wilsdorf details again, but this one is even more anorak than most. Have you ever looked…
Read MoreTiffany 1680 Rolex Submariner
Tiffany today is under LVMH, and as such it’s also slowly LVMH-ifying. Yes it’s a brand, it will always sell things. But people behaving as if a turquoise dial is the second coming need to cool the jets, Supreme marketing won’t work forever. I liked when Tiffany, with respected to watches, operated like any other…
Read MoreTropical 7928 Tudor Submariner
Five years ago, I attended a small dinner with a group of collectors. They chose an exceptional restaurant, I attired appropriately. There, I was lightly chided, by a man in red trousers I will add, for wearing a 16808 with a suit. Now, I’d never claim to be an authority in anything remotely sartorial. But…
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