Hans Wilsdorf. (Photo credit: Keystone/IBA-Archiv)
According to Rolex archives unearthed by author Nicholas Foulkes for a recently published book about the Submariner, Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf — who was already in his 70s when the Submariner was being tested both by the Royal Navy and an avid diver-photographer named Dimitri Rebikoff — suggested several names for the watch, and none of them were “Submariner.”
Excerpts from a letter written by Wilsdorf on Jan. 12, 1953, and addressed to Rolex director René-Paul Jeanneret are published in the first Rolex authorized book, titled “Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch that Unlocked the Deep.”
“Your letter Re Mr Rebikoff is very interesting, and it seems to open fresh possibilities for Rolex becoming well known for our waterproof watches,” Wilsdorf wrote. “I like the name Deep Sea Special better than Frogman. I am sure Nautilus is already registered.”
Wilsdorf was right. Nautilus had been registered two years earlier by a small watchmaking company named Juvenia. It's unclear how Jaeger-LeCoultre then acquired the name in the 1950s and whether Rolex could have done the same. Patek Philippe acquired “Nautilus” decades later when JLC likely let it lapse.
It was in a Rolex technical meeting on May 28th, 1953, that Jean Huguenin decided “this piece will carry the name: ‘SUBMARINER,’” according to the book.