In a First, Rolex Promotes a Book on Its Website

(From Rolex.com)

In its biggest push yet to promote a recently written book about the history of the Submariner, Rolex is displaying the picture of the book’s cover on its website, with a link to “order now.”

This is the first time the brand is publicizing a book on Rolex.com. The link takes the client to ACC Art Books UK, a Melton, England-based publisher and distributor, where the 252-page tome can be purchased for £100.

Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch that Unlocked the Deep is the first authorized account of one of Rolex's most famous models. Its author, Nicholas Foulkes, received access to Rolex archives, an extraordinary break from tradition in the 119-year history of the brand.

In a press release, Rolex said the book was the first in a series of titles “exploring the brand’s unique watches.”

Rolex Archives: Wilsdorf Considered 'Nautilus' for the Submariner Name

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.

Revealed: Rolex's Secret Navy Partnership in Submariner History

Rolex Explorer 6150 linked to the Royal Navy; the HMS Reclaim diving team that would test it. (Rolex Archives)

On March 11, 1952, a representative from Rolex U.K. drove to a remote location in Scotland and hand-delivered “three steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches” to a Royal Navy crew conducting deepwater training in a nearby loch, according to archives unearthed by author Nicholas Foulkes for a new book about the Submariner titled “Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch that Unlocked the Deep.”

This rare military partnership with the Royal Navy was unknown until now in the history of the development of Rolex's most famous dive watch. The correspondence between the navy and Rolex executives was kept buried in Rolex’s archives in Geneva. As the divers took the watch to considerable depths, it provided the brand with a great opportunity to gather data from real-world tests and improve the watch.

(Credit: Rolex Archives)

Still, in 1952, the Rolex watches on the wrists of the elite Royal Navy divers were not called Submariner but were known as Explorer models, reference 6150. That the Submariner was born from the Explorer is another revelation from the archives about the origin of Rolex’s dive watch.

The Explorer model 6150 would be improved upon thanks to the Admiralty with a larger dial and a rotating bezel, according to the book, even becoming at some point “the official Royal Naval divers’ watch,” waterproof down to 400 feet.

For the First Time, Rolex Hints at Production Numbers in New Book

Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch that Unlocked the Deep (Foulkes, 2024)

Rolex, unlike many other watch manufacturers in the luxury segment, does not publish any figures on production.

But in the first Rolex-authorized book about the history of the Submariner watch, the author is including the exact production number of each Rolex Submariner, Sea-Dweller and Deepsea variant. The book will be made available for international purchase starting on Oct. 1st at ACC Art Books and at major retailers in the U.S. on Oct. 28.

With 646,613 examples, the 16610 takes the crown as the most produced Submariner followed not by the no-date variant, but by the 116610LN, at 414,905. The least produced Submariner was the 116649EMBR, an 18-ct white-gold version with an emerald and diamond-set bezel, at 51 examples.

The 116610LV “Hulk” was produced almost twice as much as the 16610LV “Kermit,” 228,710 and 128,835, respectively.

Another interesting data is how much more popular the Submariner with a date complication is, likely a reason lovers of the brand have renamed the Submariner Date simply “Submariner.”

When comparing steel versions only, the date reference 16610 was produced almost three times more than its no-date counterpart, the 14060 (combined with 14060M production numbers). About the same production ratio is found when comparing the 114060 to the 116610LN, 153,437 and 414,905, respectively.

Rolex said this book “is the first in a series of titles exploring the brand’s unique watches.” Subsequent titles could tell us more about production data, including for the Daytona and the GMT-Master.

Rolex to Release First Official Book on Submariner

Rolex is preparing to release its first official book on the history of the Submariner. The 252-page book available Sept. 16 in French and English will be the first in a series about its legendary watches, the brand said.

Written by London-based historian Nicholas Foulkes, Oyster Perpetual Submariner: The Watch that Unlocked the Deep takes a look at the Submariner from its inception through the present day — and how as an archetype of the divers’ watch, it unlocked the deep as it accompanied the development of underwater exploration.

“The new and original photography, alongside historic photos from Rolex, illustrates accounts from renowned witnesses to the timepiece’s illustrious 71-year history,” Rolex said.

To learn more about the Submariner book, please read Coronet's multiple-article coverage.