The Rolex Submariner has been a part of the Rolex catalog for well over 60 years. As expected, the famed dive watch has undergone plenty of design and mechanical enhancements over the past six decades, including the all-important timing bezel. Read on to discover all the different types of bezels of the Rolex Submariner.When Rolex debuted the Submariner in 1953, the stainless steel dive watch included a rotating bezel marked to 60 minutes to allow divers to track immersion times. The steel bezel turned both ways for simple timing adjusting, the edge of the bezel was knurled for easy gripping underwater, and the insert was fashioned from black aluminum.The printed 60-minute scale on the earlier versions included markings for every 5 minutes, alternating between batons and numerals. By the late 1950s, Rolex started to include hash marks for the first 15 minutes on the bezel followed by 5-minute markings.Around 1969, Rolex introduced the first yellow gold Submariner, the Submariner Date ref. 1680/8. Accordingly, the knurled rotating bezel was fashioned from 18k yellow gold. What’s more, the Rolex Submariner ref. 1680/8 now offered the choice of either a black or blue aluminum bezel insert and matching dial.
No, I’m not talking about the Submariner and Explorer II’s famously good looks – we’ll get there in a minute. Both timepieces have a pretty long history with Rolex, and over the years, they have been worn and beloved by many famous faces.The Submariner is famous for its James Bond appearances, author Ian Flemming writing, “He could not just wear a watch. It had to be a Rolex.” Over the years, Sean Connery’s 007 wore a Submariner ref. 6538 and Roger Moore sported a ref. 5513. And as one of the most popular Rolex models ever, we often see the Submariner sported today on the wrists of celebrities and dignitaries alike – whether they’re scuba divers or not.The Rolex Explorer II has graced its fair share of celebrities and famous explorers too. Hollywood actor, Jason Statham can frequently be spotted at red carpet events sporting a vintage ref. 1655 – the very first Explorer II reference. Meanwhile, Prince Harry prefers the modern version of the watch, and owns the 42mm Explorer II ref. 216570 with a white “Polar” dial.This is where the differences between the Submariner and the Explorer II become very apparent. First up, the Submariner has a colored unidirectional timing bezel that today is available in black, blue or green. And before Rolex started using modern, scratch-resistant Cerachrom (aka ceramic) bezels on the Submariner in 2007, it featured an aluminum bezel. The bezel is really one of the main selling points of this watch, as its color really adds some great personality to the wrist, and is one of the defining characteristics of the Rolex Submariner collection.The waterproof Oyster case on the Submariner clocks in at 40mm, and along with the bracelet, can be either constructed from Oystersteel (904L stainless steel), solid 18k yellow gold, or Rolesor (two-tone steel and gold). This is another big selling point for a lot of collectors, as the combinations of alloys and bezels really allow for a lot of style and creativity. And before I forget: the Submariner has always featured an Oyster bracelet, but in recent years was updated with the improved Glidelock clasp, which allows for tool-free adjustment for a perfect fit.
