Submariner references worth knowing

The Submariner is one name across sixty years of very different watches. Here is how the references group up, and which details actually separate them.

People say Submariner the way they say sedan. It is accurate and it tells you almost nothing about what is in front of you. The reference does, and there are fewer of them than you would think once you group them properly.

The three eras that matter

Almost every Submariner conversation I have sorts into one of these before anything else is discussed.

• Aluminium bezel, roughly through the 2000s. The 16610 and the 14060M sit here. The bezel insert fades with sun and age, and evenly faded examples have a real following. Do not replace the insert.
• Ceramic bezel, first generation. The 116610LN and the 116610LV brought the Cerachrom bezel, the maxi case, and the solid end links. This is the generation most people picture.
• Ceramic bezel, current. The 126610LN, the 126610LV, and the no-date 124060. Slimmer lugs, a redesigned case, and a newer movement.

Date or no-date is not a minor detail

The no-date Submariner has a devoted following that does not fully track the date model. Symmetry, no cyclops, and a cleaner dial. Owners often assume the date version is the more valuable one by default. That is not reliably true and it is worth checking rather than assuming.

Green bezels behave independently

The green bezel references have their own supply and their own audience, and they do not move in step with the black bezel references. This is one of the few places where I will not quote from memory, because the relationship between them changes.

What I look at when one arrives

• The clasp and the bracelet. This is where a daily-worn watch shows its life. Stretch in the links and wear on the clasp are the most common honest reasons an estimate moves after arrival.
• The bezel action. It should be firm and precise through its clicks. A loose or gritty bezel is a service item, not a disaster.
• The dial and hands under magnification. Original lume that has aged evenly is a good thing. Relumed hands are not, and they are visible once you know what you are looking at.
• The case lines. Specifically the flat between the lug and the case side. If that has been rounded off by polishing, it does not come back.

If you are trying to identify yours

Unclip the bracelet and read the engraving between the lugs at twelve o'clock. If that is more surgery than you want to perform, photograph the dial straight on, the caseback, and the clasp interior, and send those instead. I can usually place a Submariner from three good photographs.

Everything here is general guidance rather than an appraisal of your specific watch. Any number I give you is an estimate until the watch is authenticated in hand.