The New Rolex Submariner Date

Rolex has recently introduced the long-awaited and redesigned Rolex Submariner Date at BaselWorld. There are several people that haven’t given their opinion yet, but I am confident in saying that I love this watch. The Submariner has always been an extremely popular Rolex and one of my all-time favorite watches.

Here are the specs:

40mm case (no change in size, but the design is updated).
New ceramic bezel with platinum graduations. (Ceramic is much more scratch- and UV-resistant than the old anodized aluminum, however it's also much more expensive to replace.)
"Maxi dial" (meaning larger markers than the previous design as foreshadowed in the 50th Anniversary Edition).
Sapphire crystal with AR-coated cyclops magnifier over the date (no change).
Water-resistant to 300 meters or 1,000 feet (no change).
New Oyster bracelet with a Glidelock clasp similar to what's on the Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA. This is a significant improvement over the older Oysterlock bracelet.
Same 3135 calibre movement, but with the addition of the Parachrom Blue hairspring which we've discussed before on the Rolex Milgauss.
Signed chapter ring (the ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX…. you see between the bezel and the dial).

The new Submariner Date will also be available in green as pictured here. The reports I'm seeing on price are somewhere in the neighborhood of $7,500, but that's just an early estimate (and seems a tad bit high to me — I'll post an update when I can get some confirmation).

Sunday, April 1, 2012