Rolex Submariner: the steel references from 1953 to today

From 1953 to 41 mm

Rolex launched the Submariner in 1953 as, by its own account, its first divers' wristwatch waterproof to 100 metres; a year later it guaranteed 200 metres^6,27. The first references, the 6204 and 6205, were 37 mm watches with pencil hands and no crown guards^1,2,30. Within a few years the 6200, 6536, 6538, 5508 and 5510 brought Mercedes hands, a larger crown on some and, in the 6536 and 6538, calibre 1030^1,2,30,33.

In 1959 the 5512 took the case to 40 mm and added crown guards^1,2,30,31. Its non-chronometer twin, the 5513 of 1962, stayed in production until about 1990^1,2,30. The date came in 1969 with ref. 1680 and its Cyclops lens; some sources say 1966^1,2,6,7. Rolex's Triplock crown arrived in 1970 and spread gradually through the range from the early 1970s³¹. In 1979 the Date went to 300 metres with ref. 16800 and a sapphire crystal; the no-date followed in 1989^2,7,27.

Then three modern steps. The 16610 brought calibre 3135 to the steel Date around 1988, and the 14060 and 14060M gave the no-date calibres 3000 and 3130^7,34,35,36. Ceramic reached the steel Date with the 116610LN in 2010 and the no-date with the 114060 two years later^1,31,32,37. In 2020 Rolex renewed the whole range at once: 41 mm, slimmer lugs, a 21 mm bracelet and calibres 3230 and 3235^3,4,27.

Reading the reference number

The last digit gives the metal: 0 for steel (Oystersteel, in Rolex's name since 2018), 3 for Rolesor (steel and yellow gold), 8 for yellow gold, 9 for white gold. The letters give the bezel colour in French: LN for lunette noire, black; LV for lunette verte, green; LB for lunette bleue, blue^1,2,31. This hub follows the steel watches; gold arrived with the Date in 1969 and Rolesor in the 1980s^30,31,33.

Sizes

For sixty-one years the answer was 40 mm. The first Submariners measured 37 mm; the case grew to 40 mm in 1959 and stayed there until 2020^1,5,30. Rolex now says 41 mm; Fratello says the Date really grew from about 40.2 to 40.5 mm^29,38. The lug width went from 20 to 21 mm^3,4.

The 116610LN and 114060 stayed at 40 mm, but their broader lugs and crown guards make them look larger than the 16610^1,39,40. WatchGuys measures the 124060 at about 47.6 mm from lug to lug, the 114060 at 48 mm and the 16610 at under 47 mm^41,42. Rolex prints no thickness; published figures for the 2020 models run from 12.0 to 12.5 mm^3,43,44,45.

Date or no date: 124060 vs 126610LN

Both have the 41 mm case, the black ceramic bezel and 300 metres^28,29. The Date adds a date window, a Cyclops lens and calibre 3235 instead of the 3230^27,41. On 16 October 2026 that cost USD 1,300, or 12.9 per cent, more in the US^28,46. SwissWatchExpo and WatchGuys say collectors prize the no-date for its symmetrical dial and its likeness to the first Submariners, which had no date^2,30.

Three Submariner Dates: 16610 vs 116610LN vs 126610LN

The 16610 (about 1988–2010) is the slim one: 40 mm, an aluminium insert, calibre 3135 with about 48 hours and no Glidelock^34,39,40,47. The 116610LN (2010–2020) kept the size and calibre but added the Cerachrom bezel, the broad Super Case, a Maxi dial with blue Chromalight and Glidelock^37,40,48. The 126610LN (2020–) went to 41 mm with slimmer lugs and calibre 3235 with about 70 hours^4,29.

So: the 16610 for the old proportions, the 116610LN for ceramic in the broad case, the 126610LN for ceramic, slimmer lugs and a reserve that lasts a weekend. The no-date line made the same moves through the 14060M, 114060 and 124060^1,3,31.

What they cost

Of the four references with their own page, only the 124060 and 126610LN are sold new^{28,29,49,50,51,52}. For the 16610 and 116610LN we found no Rolex price, only a US dealer table and Bob's Watches^8,53. Pre-owned, the table gives our median of Chrono24's first page and Bob's Watches' median from its own sales^{12,21,54,55,56,57}.

Which one should you buy?

Start with the date. If you will use it, buy a Date; if not, the no-date costs USD 1,300 less new^28,46.

Then decide how new. Of these four, only the 124060 and 126610LN are sold new, by the jewellers Rolex appoints, which is where Rolex says to buy⁵⁸. Skip the waiting lists that WatchGuys and Bob's Watches describe, and in August 2026 the median asking price was about 37 per cent over list. Asking prices are not sale prices^{12,16,21,25,41,59}. A pre-owned 116610LN asked a median USD 12,380 in September 2026, more than a new 126610LN's USD 11,350 US list price, which Rolex showed both in June and in October 2026^25,29,54.

The 16610 asks the least of the four, USD 9,989 in August 2026, but it is at least sixteen years old, so service history and an original dial, hands and insert matter more than the number^55,57. We have not measured prices for the vintage references.

No check proves a watch genuine. The reference pages list what authentication guides look at; then have a watchmaker you trust open it^58,60.

The dubious part

The Submariner grew one millimetre between 1959 and 2020. The explanations of why that matters have grown considerably faster.