For such an important watch in Rolex history, surprisingly little has been written about the first submariner Rolex ever made.
In 1953 Rolex introduced its first diving watch, the submariner.
Rolex did not know it at the time; but with this watch it would go on to invent and pioneer the diving watch category (along with Blancpain Fifty Fathoms) and in the process create a cult classic. The first submariner was Ref 6204 (main picture above).
Not much has been written about this reference which is a critical part of Rolex history.
With this report we will take an in-depth review of this watch that celebrated its 60 anniversary last year. Although the watch entered into production in 1953, it was first shown at the Basel fair (and thus to the general public) in 1954. So in a certain way the watch also celebrates its 60th anniversary this year too.
Background info
Technically the first submariner was the not the first diving watch from Rolex. In the 1940′s and early 1950s Rolex supplied the movements to Officine Panerai which made watches for the Italian navy. For example already in the 1940s Rolex supplied the movement for Panerai ref 6152 and in most instances also supplied the cases (both movement and case were signed by Rolex).
These watches were used by the ‘Marine Militare’ – the Italian Naval forces. Rolex’s interest in waterproof watches goes much further back than the Submariner of course.
In 1926 Rolex came out with the first waterproof or ‘Oyster’ case and famously supplied Mercedes Gleitz with a watch which she used to swim across the English channel (in 1927). This move by Hans Wilsdorf (the founder of Rolex) to demonstrate the reliability of Rolex watches under water was one of the greatest marketing successes for the company.
The first submariner: Ref 6204
In the early 1950s there was a worldwide interest in diving in part due to the famous explorer Jacques Cousteau, whose films and books (silent world) sparked an interest in underwater life. Rolex’s timing of introducing the worlds first diving watch in 1953/54 seemed to be perfect.
Unlike subsequent diving watches the first reference 6204 had no depth rating. It just carried the word ‘Submariner’ although some versions are known not to carry any name at all besides ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual’.
Reference 6204 was only produced for a short period (one year-1954) before being replaced by the 6205. Below an early advertisement (credit: Jakes Rolex Blog) from Rolex. In high likelihood the watch displayed is a Ref 6204 (for more information on Rolex and diving watches, I highly recommend Jakes Rolex Blog – please click here).
Dial & Hands
As with most early Rolex sport watches, the dial is simple.
The 6204 carries no depth rating (unlike subsequent Submariner models like the 6538 and 6536-1). The dial resembles other Rolex sports models at the time (like the GMT Master) in that it is a ‘Chapter Ring’ and gilt dial.
‘Chapter ring’ is a term collectors use to to different dials from later periods, chapter ring due to the ‘ring like’ seperation from the outer dial to the case.
The 6204 has a ‘gilt’ dial, ‘gilt’ to denote the gold lettering print that is on the dial (in this case the world Rolex, oyster perpetual and submariner).
Dials on the 6204 were either available in black matte (like this one) or in a honeycomb version. Also the space layout of Oyster Perpetual differed according to dials. Sometimes they were written together (like on the dial below) and sometimes the wording was spaced apart (like in this example here).
The hands on the first submariner differ in that they are so called ‘pencil shaped’ hands.
Subsequent submariner models like the 6205 are known to have moved already to ‘Mercedes shaped’ hands. Pencil shaped hands are very rare and hard to find in original form. The end of the hour hands should be close to the end of the dial. Notice also the unusual and peculiar second hand dial.
The seconds hand is also called a ‘lollipop’ hand but the circle is situated right at the end of the hand and close the dial edge.
Bezel
The bezel most often seen on early 6204′s is one without the first minute intervals for the first fifth- teen minutes.
The version with only the five minute interval markers (as seen with the watch above) is extremely rare (more so than the 15minute marker bezel) and for us also a more attractive version. Some other early submariners like the 6538 are also seen with this type of Bezel (see the Christies watch 6538 that in NY in June here).
Case, caseback and movement
The case measures 36.5mm and is relatively small (for example the 5512 which came just a few years later measures 38.5mm). The case back is also different.
The first noticeable difference is the figure to be found on the case back which looks like an ‘Octopus’. In fact many very early Rolex sports watches (such as the 6200) have this sign. Another difference is the absence of a date on the case back.
Most sportswatches that followed the 6204 like the 6536-1 had a date on the case back and period (e.g. 58 II- which essentially meant 1958 second quarter). The case itself carries all the standard features you would expect to see on a Rolex sports model of the 1950s.
The ref 6204 is engraved on one side of the case (where the 12 o’clock position is) and right above the 6204 is a word only found on very early submariner models, the word ‘BREVET’ which essentially meant ‘patented’. The other side (6 o’clock) is where the case Nr of the watch is, in this specific example case 988xxx.
Movement
The movement of the 6204 carried the calibre A 260 which was a non-butterfly movement (unlike the 6536-1 which would be introduced only a few years later).
The 6204 is of course critically important for Rolex.
It was the first diving watch marketed to the general public and it introduced the submariner line for Rolex which would go on to become the most important and Iconic of all Rolex sports watches. An Explorer, Daytona and GMT Master are also iconic lines but none can match the submariner in terms of sales numbers.
The 6204 is furthermore important because it was also the watch that many believe Jacques Cousteau wore in his early expeditions. Rolex officially acknowledges the importance of the 6204 by displaying the watch prominently on its website (under the history section). They have the following picture displayed.
Concluding thoughts
The first submariner, the Rolex 6204, pioneered a new category (diving watches) for the Rolex brand. It would become the most iconic tool watch ever made.
The submariner did get a publicity boost when a British Agent called James Bond would wear the watch in several films starting with ‘Dr No’. The most collectible submariners are those without crown guards (including the watch we profiled for this report). Collectors often call early submariner ‘small crowns’ (termed this way as later on a ‘big crown’ version would appear carrying a larger winding crown 8mm).
To our surprise relatively little has been written about the 6204 reference.
Also until only very recently, the values (what it cost to acquire a watch either at auction or privately) of the 6204 did not match its historic importance. Only recently, by that we mean 2013, have the values started to increase.
For proof, Christies sold a mint 6204 in November 2013 and it only had an estimate of CHF 15′ooo -25′ooo! It seems the market thought the watch was worth more with the final price being more than 4x the low estimate! For more information on this sale please click here.
There is no-doubt- the watch collecting community is finally realizing the importance of this model.
No report would be complete without the mandatory wristshot
The 6204 was made at the time of radium and radium left its trace here clearly on the dial.
This is called Patina. And a spotless 6204 would raise a red flag in my books.
Last picture of the 6204 -in the sunlight exposing the wonderful and honest dial.
