From 2020, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner without a date is considered by many to be the most typical dive watch, with a slightly larger size and an updated movement, but still keeping the original design. This is our first encounter with this new watch.
We’ve waited a long time for Rolex’s latest innovation for 2020. Rolex launched the new generation of Oyster Perpetual Submariner and Submariner Date replica watches in September. These watches are slightly larger and now come with new movements – the Submariner is equipped with the recently released caliber 3230, while the new Submariner Date Edition comes with the caliber 3235 for the first time. The Submariner Date Edition comes in a surprising array of color combinations, while the Submariner Edition without a date display keeps its original design. We were able to preview the new Submariner shortly after it was released.
If you think Rolex’s innovation means a revolution, you’re wrong. However, the Submariner has been modified and the sum of its various details has been formed into a new watch. The diameter of the watch has been increased from 40 mm to 41 mm, or more precisely, from 40.6 mm to 41.36 mm, measured diagonally from 2 to 8 o’clock. The crown guards and lugs are thinner, but this increases the width of the lugs by a full millimeter, to 21 mm.
These seemingly minor upgrades change the proportions of the entire watch – including the case body, bezel, dial, and strap. This means you’re looking at an entirely new model. Thanks to extensive modifications to the tiniest details, the new Submariner looks more than a millimeter larger than the old model. Less obvious is the new in-house self-winding movement, caliber 3230, because, like any replica Rolex watch, it is covered by a finely slotted caseback that is screwed down airtight with a special key and can only be opened by an authorized Rolex watchmaker. The difference with the 3235 calibers is that the Submariner does not have a date display on the dial.
The Submariner line comes from an era when dive watches were used more for professional applications than for recreational diving. For this reason, they remain true to their original appeal today – as clearly reading the time during a dive is a matter of life and death. The eye-catching dot at the end of the second-hand serves as a functional check and is also luminous. In addition, the zero markers on the diving bezel are filled with the same luminescent material to provide better orientation when setting the dive time.