Reference:6204: Difference between revisions
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<small>[[Reference:submariner|Submariner]] › '''6204'''</small> | <small>[[Reference:submariner|Submariner]] › '''6204'''</small> | ||
<div class="rp-lead"> | |||
[[File:Ref 6204 hero 2.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex 6204 Submariner|Rolex 6204 Submariner]] | |||
</div> | |||
The 6204 is the first Submariner. Rolex had built dive-capable Oyster cases before, but the 6204 is the first reference number to carry the Submariner name, and the starting point of a line that runs through every Submariner made since. Nicholas Foulkes's ''Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch That Unlocked the Deep'' (Wallpaper / ACC Art Books, 2024) records 2,881 examples produced across 1953 and 1954 — small enough that surviving examples are tracked individually by collectors, and the dial variants get parsed at single-digit confirmed-example resolution. | The 6204 is the first Submariner. Rolex had built dive-capable Oyster cases before, but the 6204 is the first reference number to carry the Submariner name, and the starting point of a line that runs through every Submariner made since. Nicholas Foulkes's ''Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch That Unlocked the Deep'' (Wallpaper / ACC Art Books, 2024) records 2,881 examples produced across 1953 and 1954 — small enough that surviving examples are tracked individually by collectors, and the dial variants get parsed at single-digit confirmed-example resolution. | ||
<span id="core-facts"></span> | <span id="core-facts"></span> | ||
== Core facts == | == Core facts == | ||
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== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown == | == Case, bezel, crystal, and crown == | ||
[[File:Ref 6204 hero.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Submariner 6204 — the first Submariner, small crown, no crown guards|Submariner 6204 — the first Submariner, small crown, no crown guards]] | |||
[[File:Ref 6204 caseback-engraving.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Caseback engraving — BREVET+ and model markings|Caseback engraving — BREVET+ and model markings]] | [[File:Ref 6204 caseback-engraving.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Caseback engraving — BREVET+ and model markings|Caseback engraving — BREVET+ and model markings]] | ||
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== Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes == | == Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes == | ||
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180"> | |||
File:Ref 6204 bracelet-rivet-top.webp|alt=Gay Freres rivet bracelet — top view|Gay Freres rivet bracelet — top view | |||
File:Ref 6204 clasp-gay-freres.webp|alt=Gay Freres clasp interior with Rolex coronet|Gay Freres clasp interior with Rolex coronet | |||
File:Ref 6204 endlink-65-stamp.webp|alt=End link with "65" stamp — original fitment marker|End link with "65" stamp — original fitment marker | |||
</gallery> | |||
The original-delivery bracelet is a 20mm Gay Frères Swiss riveted Oyster with fixed end links stamped 64 or 65 (Mondani; consistent with Phillips lot 292 and the broader surviving population). The 6636 stretch-rivet family is period-correct. Clasp date codes on plausibly-original bracelets read 2.53 (Q1 1953), in line with the case-stamp era — Phillips 2021 lot 79 carries a clasp 2.53 against case 988'923, the cleanest period-correct configuration in the public record. | The original-delivery bracelet is a 20mm Gay Frères Swiss riveted Oyster with fixed end links stamped 64 or 65 (Mondani; consistent with Phillips lot 292 and the broader surviving population). The 6636 stretch-rivet family is period-correct. Clasp date codes on plausibly-original bracelets read 2.53 (Q1 1953), in line with the case-stamp era — Phillips 2021 lot 79 carries a clasp 2.53 against case 988'923, the cleanest period-correct configuration in the public record. | ||
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The 6204 trades at the top of the early Submariner market on historical position more than absolute rarity. The 6200 is rarer in production terms. The 6204 is where the name begins. | The 6204 trades at the top of the early Submariner market on historical position more than absolute rarity. The 6200 is rarer in production terms. The 6204 is where the name begins. | ||
== Related references == | == Related references == | ||