Reference:submariner

The Submariner is Rolex's dive-watch family, with an elapsed-time bezel and versions with and without a date. Rolex dates its origin to 1953. The line includes early watches without crown guards, acrylic-crystal models such as the 5512 and 5513, and later sapphire-crystal references. The ceramic-bezel generation began with gold models in 2008.

Vintage Rolex Submariner advertisement

Common entry points

Vintage no-date models

5513

A no-date Submariner with gilt, matte and later glossy dials with white-gold hour-marker surrounds.

Early Submariner Date

1680

The first Submariner with a date, with early red SUBMARINER text and later white-text dials.

Sapphire and aluminium

16610

A five-digit Submariner Date with caliber 3135, a sapphire crystal and an aluminium bezel insert.

Early models without crown guards

Early references differ in crown size, depth rating, hands and dial layout. Periods below are approximate; the linked reference pages discuss conflicting dates and individual examples. SS means steel, YG yellow gold and WG white gold. The early family page compares the 6204, 6205, 6200, 6536, 6536/1 and 6538.

Reference	Approximate period	Movement	Depth	Case	Key distinction
6204	1953–1954	A260	100m	Steel	Early pencil-style hands; gilt dials
6205	1954–1955	A260	100m	Steel	Dials with and without SUBMARINER; pencil or Mercedes hands
6200	Mid-1950s	A296	200m	Steel	8mm crown and Explorer-style 3-6-9 dial
6536	Mid-to-late 1950s	1030	100m	Steel	6mm crown; compare the 6536/1
6536/1	c.1955–1959 (Phillips)	1030	100m	Steel	Small-crown model with the /1 reference marking
6538	c.1956–1959	1030	200m	Steel	8mm crown; the reference associated with Sean Connery’s Bond

Phillips identifies an A260 in its 1954 6205; Christie’s lists caliber 1030 for both 6536 and 6536/1. Phillips places the 6200’s launch in 1954; Hodinkee dates the reference to 1955–1956. Phillips 6205; Christie’s 6536/1; Hodinkee’s early-reference comparison.

Acrylic models (1958–1990)

The 5512 introduced crown guards in 1959. Later 5512 production used chronometer movements, while the 5513 remained the non-chronometer model. Rolex dates the introduction of the Submariner Date to 1969. The 5512, 5513, 5514, and 5517 are tracked together on the 5xxx-family page.

Reference	Approximate period	Movement	Type	Case	Key distinction
No-date
5508	1958–1962	1530	No-date	38mm SS	Small crown, no crown guards
5510	c.1958–1959; later end dates published	1530	No-date	38mm SS	8mm crown, no crown guards; Phillips chronology
5512	1959–around 1980	1530/1560/1570	No-date	40mm SS	Crown guards; gilt and matte dials; chronometer movements on later examples
5513	c.1962–1989/1990	1530/1520	No-date	40mm SS	Gilt, matte and later glossy dials; non-chronometer model
5514	1972–1978 in Antiquorum’s chronology	1520	No-date	40mm SS	COMEX; helium escape valve; exact endpoints disputed
5517	1970s	1520	No-date	40mm SS	British military issue; fixed strap bars
Date
1680	1969–around 1980	1575	Date	40mm SS	Red and white SUBMARINER text; detailed dial types on the reference page
1680/8	1969–late 1970s	1575	Date	40mm YG	Yellow-gold version; black and blue dials

Five-digit era (1979–2012)

The references in this section use sapphire crystals. The short-lived 168000 belongs with the 16800 generation despite its six-digit number. Date models moved from caliber 3035 to 3135; the no-date 14060 and 14060M use calibers 3000 and 3130. Steel, two-tone and yellow-gold versions appear in the table below.

Reference	Approximate period	Movement	Type	Case	Key distinction
No-date (steel)
14060	Around 1990–1999/2000	3000	No-date	40mm SS	Sapphire crystal; two-line dial
14060M	Around 1999/2000–2012	3130	No-date	40mm SS	Caliber 3130; two-line and later four-line dials
Date (steel)
16800	1979–late 1980s	3035	Date	40mm SS	Sapphire crystal; matte and later glossy dials
168000	1980s; Sotheby’s dates one to c.1986	3035	Date	40mm SS	“Triple Zero” reference; catalogued example
16610	1988–2010	3135	Date	40mm SS	Black dial and aluminium bezel insert
16610LV	2003–2010	3135	Date	40mm SS	“Kermit”: black dial, green aluminium bezel and larger hour markers
Date (precious metal)
16803	c.1984–1987/1988	3035	Date	40mm SS/YG	Two-tone; blue or black dial
16808	1979–around 1987	3035	Date	40mm YG	Gold sapphire-crystal model; Christie’s chronology
16613	From 1988; successor introduced 2009	3135	Date	40mm SS/YG	Two-tone successor to 16803
16618	From 1988; successor introduced 2008	3135	Date	40mm YG	Yellow-gold successor to 16808

Gold models gained ceramic successors in 2008, two-tone models in 2009 and steel Date models in 2010. Retail sales of the outgoing references could overlap those introductions. Five-digit chronology; Ceramic rollout.

Ceramic era (2008–2020)

The 40mm ceramic generation began with the yellow-gold 116618 and white-gold 116619LB in 2008. Antiquorum offered a 116619 at its December 2008 sale. The two-tone 116613 followed in 2009, the steel 116610LN and 116610LV in 2010, and the no-date 114060 in 2012. These watches have Cerachrom ceramic bezel inserts and Glidelock bracelet adjustment. See Monochrome's chronology and Fratello's January 2010 report.

Reference	Approximate period	Movement	Type	Case	Key distinction
No-date
114060	2012–2020	3130	No-date	40mm SS	Ceramic bezel; enlarged luminous hour markers
Date (steel)
116610LN	2010–2020	3135	Date	40mm SS	Cerachrom bezel, Glidelock bracelet
116610LV	2010–2020	3135	Date	40mm SS	“Hulk”: green dial and green ceramic bezel
Date (precious metal)
116613	2009–2020	3135	Date	40mm SS/YG	Black LN or blue LB dial and bezel
116618	2008–2020	3135	Date	40mm YG	Full gold, Cerachrom
116619LB	2008–2020	3135	Date	40mm WG	“Smurf”: white gold, blue dial and bezel

41mm generation (from 2020)

Rolex introduced a 41mm case in 2020, with caliber 3230 in the no-date Submariner and caliber 3235 in the Submariner Date. Both changes appear in Rolex's 2020 chronology entry.

The 2020 configurations pair these materials and dial colours with ceramic bezel inserts:

Reference	Material	Dial / bezel	Caliber
124060	Steel	Black / black; no date	3230
126610LN	Steel	Black / black	3235
126610LV	Steel	Black / green	3235
126613LN / 126613LB	Steel and yellow gold	Black / black or blue / blue	3235
126618LN / 126618LB	Yellow gold	Black / black or blue / blue	3235
126619LB	White gold	Black / blue	3235

Monochrome lists these 2020-generation configurations. Rolex specifies the 3230 and 3235 movements and approximately 70 hours of power reserve.

Special branches

Rolex dates its formal partnership with COMEX to 1971. The programme included Submariners and Sea-Dwellers; the 5514 was the dedicated Submariner reference with a helium escape valve. Documented examples include early non-logo watches, later service dials and Argentine Navy markings. Rolex chronology; Antiquorum’s reference overview.

The MilSub guide covers British military 5513, double-reference 5513/5517 and 5517 watches. Identifying features include fixed strap bars, a bezel graduated for all 60 minutes, sword hands, a circled-T tritium mark and military caseback engravings. A surviving watch may have replacement parts; the issued configuration needs to be checked against its own records. Phillips 5517, circa 1977.

Movement progression

Movements covers technical specifications, component variations and service-part identification.

Caliber	Submariner use
A260	6204 and 6205
A296	6200
1030	6536, 6536/1 and 6538
1530	5508, 5510 and early 5512/5513
1520	5513, 5514 and 5517
1560 / 1570	Chronometer 5512 versions
1575	1680, including gold versions
3035	16800, 168000, 16803 and 16808
3000	14060
3130	14060M and 114060
3135	16610, 16610LV, 16613, 16618 and the 40mm ceramic Submariner Date generation
3230 / 3235	41mm generation: no-date / Date

Related families

• Sea-Dweller — Rolex’s saturation-diving line, with a helium escape valve.
• GMT-Master — an additional hour hand and a 24-hour bezel for reading another time zone.
• Explorer — a time-only sports watch without a rotating timing bezel.

Shared references

• Serial numbers by year — serial ranges and the limits of dating
• Movement reference — the calibers used across the Submariner line
• Bracelet & clasp guide — bracelet types, end-links, and clasp date codes

Sources

• Submariner: From tool watch to icon — Rolex; dated historical milestones
• Reference 116619, lot 187 — Antiquorum, New York, 11 December 2008
• Rolex Submariner 116613 versus 16613 — Robert-Jan Broer, Fratello, 4 January 2010
• Reference 5510, lot 27 — Phillips, New York, 2021
• History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 1 — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
• History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 2 — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
• History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 4 — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
• Submariner Collector's Guide — Stephen Pulvirent, Sotheby's
• Reference Points: The Rolex Submariner — Stephen Pulvirent, Hodinkee
• Phillips, Game Changers 2019, lot 54: reference 6205
• Christie’s, Watches Online, lot 228: references 6536 and 6536/1
• Phillips, Disruptors, reference 6536/1
• Monochrome, Submariner history, part 3: five-digit references
• Phillips, Geneva XXI, lot 97: reference 5517
• Sotheby’s, Watches Online 2020, lot 83: reference 168000
• Christie’s, reference 16808, case 6,412,142
• Antiquorum, Geneva 2006, lot 323: COMEX chronology
• Phillips, Geneva XX 2024, lot 220: reference 5510
• Rolex Newsroom, Submariner technical description
• Rolex, reference 126618LB
• Rolex, reference 126613LB