{"id":11429,"date":"2020-06-05T10:20:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T08:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watchinsanity.it\/?p=11429"},"modified":"2021-02-09T16:45:53","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T15:45:53","slug":"rolex-sub-aqua-6204-the-rarest-submariner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watchinsanity.it\/en\/rolex-sub-aqua-6204-the-rarest-submariner\/","title":{"rendered":"Rolex SUB-AQUA 6204: The rarest Submariner!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the 50s, Rolex got a genius hunch: that the market could be ready to welcome a diving watch not strictly for professional use. Canne\u2019s Institute of Submariner Research was in charge to experiment with and test this model<\/strong>, under the supervision of its president Dimitri Rebikoff. After 132 dives carried out over 5 months at a depth of over 60 meters, the oyster case<\/strong> successfully passed every trial<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is how Geneva\u2019s headquarters decided to start selling the first Rolex waterproof to a depth of 100 meters<\/strong>, a true revolution at the time for the watchmaking world. The candidate names to get on the dial at 6 o\u2019clock? Here they are: Deep Sea Special, Frogman, Nautilus, Submariner<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Birth Of The Myth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The mystery was unveiled in 1954 during the Baselworld show<\/strong>with the presentation of the Submariner<\/strong> in its earliest shape, the Reference 6204<\/strong>. The new release, thanks to its characteristics, was an instant hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The model that has marked modern sports-and-diving watchmaking is well known to enthusiasts: the case <\/strong>is in a \u201ctonneau\u201d shape with diameter of 37mm<\/strong>, the reference is engraved with the word \u201cBREVET+\u201d in between the lugs at 12 o\u2019clock while the serial number is engraved at 6 o\u2019clock<\/strong> and is slightly shifted towards the top side. The winding crown, without protective pads<\/strong>, is 5.3 mm \u2013 the smallest ever mounted on a Submariner. This feature was inherited from the Turn-o-Graph Ref. 6202<\/strong>, the model which inspired it<\/strong>, classified in official spare parts catalogs as Reference 530 both for the tube and the crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Typical is the dial, slightly rounded on the sides<\/strong>, just as the glass \u2013 which on the spare parts catalog is described as Tropic 16.<\/strong> The back of the dial is translucent black, attached to the movement with little fixing feet, and doesn\u2019t feature any type of trademark to indicate the third party manufacturer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bidirectional bezel is made of chromed metal <\/strong>with a glowing triangle corresponding to the 0, the ring is divided at every 5 minutes and alternates little bars and Arabic numerals. Originally on some bezels the 0 triangle was red, but it was decided to replace it as the colour becomes hard to see only after a few meters underneath the water<\/strong>. The caliber belongs to the \u201c600\u201d series, defined as A260<\/strong>with 18.000 alternances per hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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