Watch releases don’t get much bigger than this. The watch world has been speculating for months, retailers have fielded countless questions, pundits have offered up all manner of prediction, and today Rolex gave us all the answers we had been waiting for.
A new era of Rolex Submariner has been launched; does it live up to the hype?
Go big or go home.
Let’s address the elephant in the Rolex room, the new Submariner is 41mm. Never in the history of the Rolex Submariner has it been anything other than a 40mm watch. While the rest of the watch industry is sizing down its cases, Rolex is striving out on its own and bumping the Submariner up to 41mm.
The diameter of the case is just the beginning of the changes made to the Submariners case structure. The controversial ‘Maxi’ case is gone, sort of.
Rolex has taken steps to ensure that this new 41mm case is as sleek and comfortable as those pre-ceramic Subs of old. Slimmer lugs and a slightly more curvaceous case silhouette, make the new Submariner appear almost slender by comparison to its predecessor.
The other aspect of the new line-up of Submariner to receive a bump in size is the bracelet. The new bracelet for the Submariner is slightly wider and tapers less significantly than the previous model, although it is worth noting that the bracelet does still taper down, and is not a flat width throughout.
Steel for some.
As was to be expected, the new Submariner will be available in stainless steel with a traditional black on black aesthetic. Somewhat less expected however, was the brands decision to launch the entire line at once, something never before seen by Rolex.
Stainless steel Submariners have been announced in three different variants. We see black no date, black with date, and a new green bezel, black dial Submariner date variation.
With shades of Rolex 50th anniversary ‘Kermit’, the new green bezel Submariner date looks to be replacing the Rolex Hulk in the collection.
If you are looking for your green Submariner fix, you will find that Rolex have done away with the green sunburst dial. All stainless-steel Submariners have the same black dial, with only the date variant having an option to change the bezel colour to green.
Out of the blue.
No doubt you have seen the teaser trailer that Rolex released approaching the anticipated 2020 release schedule. Choppy waves, signature triangle indices, and the words ‘out of the blue’. Forums were awash with speculation of an all new blue Submariner in steel.
What we got, was not what was expected.
Rolex did introduce a blue Submariner; however, it will only be available in white gold. This is in keeping with the previous blue Sub, known affectionately as the ‘Smurf’, which was also only available in precious metals. Rolex have almost entirely done away with coloured dials in this new release of Submariner, with only two variations retaining blue dials.
The blue dial blue bezel combination is now only available on full gold case and bracelet, or two-tone yellow gold and steel, sometimes referred to as the ‘Bluesy’.
While the world awaited a steel Submariner in blue, its not entirely surprising that Rolex kept the blue bezel for precious metals only, its what they have done in the past and the brand is not known for straying too far from the path.
Moving on up.
The final addition to the Submariner line is perhaps the most long overdue. Rolex equip the new generation of Submariner and Submariner date with calibres 3230, and 3235 respectively.
The new calibres incorporate Rolex’s chronergy escapement, a system that combines high energy efficiency with reliability. Made of nickel-phosphorus, it is also insensitive to magnetic fields. The movements are fitted with an optimized blue Parachrom hairspring, manufactured by Rolex in an exclusive paramagnetic alloy that makes it up to 10 times more precise than a traditional hairspring in case of shocks. The blue Parachrom hairspring is equipped with a Rolex overcoil, ensuring the calibres’ regularity in any position.
Both calibres are equipped with a self-winding module via a Perpetual rotor. Thanks to their barrel architecture and the escapement’s superior efficiency, the movements’ power reserve extends to approximately 70 hours.
Australian Retail Pricing:
Stainless steel:
Submariner (Reference : 124060) – $11,400AUD
Submariner date (Reference : 126610LN) – $12,900AUD
Submariner date green (Reference : 126610LV) – $13,450AUD
Two tone:
Submariner date blue dial (Reference : 126613LB) – $20,200AUD
Submariner date black dial (Reference : 126613LN) – $20,200AUD
Yellow gold:
Submariner date (Reference : 126618LN) -$52,150AUD
White gold:
Submariner date (Reference : 126618LB) -$55,950AUD
