Saturday, May 17, 2008

1953 Rolex Submariner, Explorer Dial. Extremely Rare

Ref. 6200, Submariner, Explorer Dial Rolex, “Oyster Perpetual”, Ref. 6200. Made circa 1953. Fine and very rare, center seconds, self-winding, water-resistant, stainless steel diver's wristwatch with bi-directional revolving black bezel and large 8 mm winding crown.  Lot 152 Sold for $131,400 on April 17, 2008.




Photo & Defenition Credit Antiquorum:  It is assumed that the official 1954 launch in Basel proves that Ref. 6204 was the first Submariner model. However, it appears likely that Ref. 6200 was in fact the first Submariner produced. Rolex used chronological numbering for its watch models. Thus, Ref. 6200 was probably produced before Ref. 6204. Further, the A260 movement fitted to the 6204 followed and improved upon the A296 movement fitted to the 6200 (unlike watch model numbers, movement numbers were not always chronological). Finally, the early versions of the 6200 had the same type of dial used in 1953 on the Explorer models (the now highly collectible 3-6-9 dial with an equilateral triangle at 12). It is thought that for commercial reasons Rolex held back the 6200 in favor of the 6204, which had a slimmer case and smaller winder. It appears that Rolex used two different types of font on the 6200, one large and one smaller