There’s little that hasn’t been written about the Rolex Submariner, perhaps the most iconic of watches. It’s one of the few timepieces recognisable to the person in the street with no interest in horology.
Since Roger Moore’s James Bond first unzipped a woman’s dress with a magnetic Sub in Live and Let Die in 1973, it has been the watch that has all the cut-through in the eyes of the wider public.
And for we watchies of course the Submariner, with its storied history, numerous versions and types, and myriad tiny different details (some of which can double or half the value of a given watch) is a rabbit hole of a watch in and of itself. Even the great Rolex collectors like Mike Wood say they’re always learning something new about the Sub.
And of course everyone has a view on which is the best Sub of them all. I’m no exception, and today I’m going to try to persuade you I’m right.
So to do that, let’s start by talking about…porridge.
Not just any porridge, but Goldilocks’ porridge. Remember Goldilocks? Daddy Bear’s porridge was too hot. Mamma Bear’s Porridge was too cold, but Baby Bear’s porridge was…just right.
There is one Sub which is also just right, I believe. Unlike vintage Subs it’s robust, properly watertight, reliable and very high performing. Unlike modern Subs it’s not too big, too shiny, too blingy or too “please notice my watch!”. It’s Baby Bear’s porridge – all the subtle looks and sizing of vintage, all the performance and reliability of modern.
It’s the Rolex Submariner 14060M.
Collectors often refer to the Reference 14060 (1990-2010, roughly) Submariner as the “bridge Sub”, the piece that separated the original, launched back in 1953, from the modern Submariners with their new “Super” case shape, 41mm sizing, “Maxi” dial and new materials. Many collectors refer to 14060, and specifically 14060M (we’ll get to this) as “the last of the best” – i.e. the best iteration of the original classic Sub, before the watch became larger, chunkier and more aggressive.
The reason why is clear when you look at a 14060, which replaced the long-running 5513 in 1990. It’s still the classic Oyster case of all Subs up to that point. It was strictly no-date, which purists celebrate (although as I get older I rather appreciate a Cyclops date window, if I’m honest). The bezel is aluminium, so it shines nicely as long as it’s well cared for but eventually, unlike modern ceramic Rolex bezels which are near impossible to mark, it will develop a patina. It will become more yours the more you wear it, and faster if you have a few adventures with it.
But 14060 was a lot more than just a new version of the Subs which had been around since the 1970s. It offered sapphire crystal, a Triplock crown and thus 300 not 200 meters of water resistance, which is what 5513 could manage.
The model was strictly a two-liner (“SUBMARINER, 1000ft-300m”), rather than the four-liner which appeared elsewhere (“SUBMARINER, 1000ft-300m, SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER, OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED”). I’ll explain in a moment, but for me two-line Subs have the quiet confidence not to need to tell everyone they’ve got a certificate to say they’re good. Not to put too fine a point on it, they’re not trying to hard.
Inside Ref.14060 was Rolex’s (then) new Calibre.3000 movement. It was a performance step up on what had gone before but, whilst of course beautifully engineered, it lacked a couple of key things, most glaringly the Breguet overcoil. This little bit of genius had been around for 200 years, amazingly, helping deliver exceptional accuracy (and we’ll talk Breguet another day – what a glorious company). This movement did, eventually, go on to be a COSC certified chronometer (an independently judged business) but never inside 14060.
But 14060M was a little different. Launched in 1999 it was the last of the Reference 14060, and thus the last ever 40mm, original case Submariner. Rolex wanted to send their trusty champion out on a high before the new, more “grrrr” generation arrived; so 14060M (where “M” stands for “Modified”) received a host of invisible (back to that understated thing again, you’ll note) but significant performance upgrades.
Inside the “M” was a heavily modified movement, the Rolex Cal.3130, which did bring back the Breguet overcoil, alongside a larger balance wheel and a balance bridge. Combined, these delivered better accuracy, better stability and (thanks to the movement, although not the watch, becoming larger), a more robust package which was right for a tool watch. COSC awarded 14060M the certified chronometer status 14060 never got in 2007 (the first year Rolex, grudgingly, submitted it for testing), and so it became available with the four-line dial. Pleasingly though Rolex kept the two-liner option open to buyers.
14060M was also the last ever Submariner to sport something else – drilled lugs.
That means that strap changes are easy and swift. If you own a 40mm Sub and don’t cycle through straps, you’re missing out on one of the greatest joys of this watch – it looks amazing on absolutely anything. Leather, NATO, rubber, bracelet, canvas, it doesn’t matter, because the original case 40mm Submariner is perhaps the purest and best iteration of the dive watch ever made. Its clarity and its focussed, tool-watch, design language (and remember, the original Subs were built as tool watches, for people who needed them – it was decades before they started to become status symbols) are still unsurpassed by anything. Put bluntly, it’s a bit like Brad Pitt – so ridiculously handsome it looks great in anything.
So with the Submariner 14060M you get a watch which is, pretty much, as high-performing as one you’d buy from your authorised dealer today, but looks like a classic (and let’s be honest, cooler) vintage Sub, without all the performance, reliability and delicacy drawbacks of vintage. Finally, the fact this reference sits somewhere in the narrative middle of Submariner history is very helpful price-wise. Sure, you could say it’s neither one thing nor the other, but actually what it is to those who stop to think is the best of both. And the fact that, whilst expensive (as all Subs are) it doesn’t command the extra “Submariner tax” of the very old or very new means it’s not only, for me, the best Submariner you can buy, it’s also a bargain.
Baby bear’s porridge indeed. Eat up.
The Little Machines 