The Rolex stand at the 1954 Basel Spring fair was one of the largest, most colorful Rolex ever had. The large windows were extravagantly decorated in pastels, and held some of Rolex’s most important new products. The datejust in fact had just undergone a some major upgrades including the “cyclops” date lens. But the honor of placement was given to a strange, oversized steel watch with a hemispheric bezel and proudly bearing the name “Submariner”. The submariner stole the show, after all it was Rolex’s pride and joy.
Just six months earlier, on September 30, 1953, Professor Auguste Piccard and his son Jacques had piloted their new bathyscaphe, a type of submersible vessel sea for deep sea exploration, to a world record depth of 010,335 feet below the ocean surface. The watch that had accompanied them on the journey was no other than the Rolex Submariner. However the watch wasn’t much use to the Professor as it was attached to the outside of the vessel. At a depth of 10,335 feet the Submariner was subjected to the pressure of 600 atmospheres. That equals about two tons per square inch for two hours and fifteen minutes. Not only did the Submariner survive, it returned in as good of condition as it left.
The skills needed to produce a watch of this quality was used in designing the case, crown, and the crystal. It carried the reference number 6204 and, as a production watch, was waterproof to a more realistic 660 feet. The watch was marketed as “The Diver’s Friend”.
One of the reasons for the Submariner’s immediate success was timing. It was perfect timing as people were obsessed with watching the undersea adventures of explorers like Jacques Cousteau, and Hand and Lotte Haas on television and at the movies, to say nothing of weekly exploits of Lloyd Bridges in “Sea Hunt:. This and the development if SCUBA diving as a sport really drove the desire for the diver watch. After all a diver needs a dependable watch as much as he needs air. The rotating bezel helped the diver to keep track of how much air he had left.
While it started out as a must have for divers around the world, now the Submariner is one of the most popular sports model watch in the world. While some people like the elegant style of the Rolex President, the Submariner is a sporty alternative to the more elegant, dressy Rolex watches. At Ace Watch we have an amazing selection of Rolex Submariners in stock at any time. If there is a particular model you are searching for check back with us regularly as our stock is ever changing. You can call us anytime at 713-521-4444, or drop us an email at sales@acewatch.com.
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