Rolex Submariner

It’s an interesting juxtaposition when something that saw life as a tool becomes a luxury item. That’s the story with Rolex. From the 1950s to 1970s the manufacture produced redoubtable tool watches meant to withstand enormous pressure, whether at altitude or in the deepest depths of the ocean, and rigorous use in some of the most punishing environments imaginable. They were meant to dive, and dive deep; to be worn, and worn hard; and for many they were a budget-conscious choice. But in the 1980s the Crown underwent a subtle transformation from a producer of tool watches to those in the luxury realm. It’s best in the Submariner that you can see that metamorphosis take place. The Submariner has changed in many ways over the years. But those changes have been evolutionary, never revolutionary. It is small things like matte tritium dial 5513’s morphing into glossy dials with white gold markers. With all of these changes, Rolex shifts from being a manufacturer of pure tool watches to the c