So, who else here thinks that 2020 has been a wild ride? We’ve had all sorts from the manufacturers this year with loads of cool watches still to come. Some of the biggest news came when lockdown closed business in Switzerland for a month, as the biggest watchmaker of them all, Rolex, decided it wasn’t going to launch any of its 2020 models at all. Then they changed their minds and decided they would, after all, show us some new watches in September. Now I sit writing this article within the last couple of hours of August (GMT) writing this article about the big news from the brand. That news is the redesign of the most iconic diver of all time: the Submariner.
Okay, ‘redesign’ was probably the wrong word to use for the Submariner, but it’s Rolex after all, they don’t tend to change things because, well, they don’t have to. These things sell themselves, and there’s a lot to say about that.
The new watch has changed a little, perhaps the most significant change for the entire collection is the new case size of 41mm. Rolex has been using the 40mm case size for most of its sports watches for a while now, and to make them seem bigger on the wrist they’ve increased the dimensions of the markers and hands on the dial and the width of the lugs. I’ll be interested to see how a 1mm difference will be in the metal next to the GMT Master 2 I have on long term test.
The other big news about this watch is the choice of bezels. Fans have been speculating for a while now as to whether we’ll see some colour choices with the Submariner, and I’m pleased to say that we will. The Submariner Date in Oystersteel will come with the option of a black or green bezel with a black dial. The green colouration has been inspired by the 50th-anniversary Submariner piece nicknamed the ‘Kermit’ which had a green bezel and black dial.
The two-tone Oystersteel and yellow gold models will come with a choice of blue bezel with blue dial or black dial with black bezel, as will the full yellow gold model. The white gold model which previously came with a blue dial and blue bezel has changed slightly, and it now has a black dial to go with the blue bezel which appears to have a darker hue than the yellow gold version.
Inside the watches is the calibre 3235, which is COSC chronometer rated and also rated by Rolex to be accurate to within 2 seconds either side per day. It also has a 70-hour power reserve and 4Hz beat rate and features the parachrom blue hairspring and super-efficient Chronergy escapement.
Here are the prices:
Ref. 124060 (No-Date) – £6450, $8100
Ref. 126610LN (Date, black dial and bezel) – £7300, €8650
Ref. 126610LV (Date, black dial w/ green bezel) – £7650, €9050
Ref. 126613LB (Date, two tone w/ blue bezel) – £11,450, €13,450
Ref. 126613LN (Date, two tone w/black bezel) – £11,450, €13,450
Ref. 126618LB (Date, yellow gold w/ blue bezel) – £29,650, €34,800
Ref. 126618LN (Date, yellow gold w/ black bezel) – £29,650, €34,800
Ref. 126619LB (Date, white gold w/ blue bezel) – £31,850, €37,400
These are not limited edition watches, but you can bet there’ll be a waiting list.
Visit Rolex here.
