Archive
Archive
Rolex
39 references catalogued, spanning production starts from 1953–2020.
The reference dive watch, and the template almost every other one follows. Introduced in 1954 with a rotating bezel so a diver could read elapsed bottom time, it has been refined continuously for seventy years without ever being redesigned. Its evolution is legible almost entirely through three things: depth rating, bezel material, and whether there is a date.
6204, 6538 and siblings. 100m then 200m, oversized crowns, no crown guards. The scarcest and most forged era.
5512 and 5513. Crown guards arrive; dials move from gilt to matte. The 5513 alone ran 27 years.
1680 adds the date and cyclops. Early red-text dials are the collector target.
16800, 16610. Sapphire crystal, 300m rating, aluminium bezel inserts, quickset date.
116610LN/LV. Cerachrom bezel, broader lugs, Glidelock clasp.
126610LN/LV and 124060. Case grows to 41mm with slimmer lugs; calibre 3235.
References without production years are catalogued but do not yet carry a verified production record. Those fields are added as they are confirmed rather than estimated.