There are two Submariners, and the only difference visible from a metre away is a small window at three o'clock. That window costs money, changes the balance of the dial, and — since Rolex quietly stopped making the No-Date in 2020 — now determines availability too. We hold 187 Submariners from £6,595; here is how to choose.
The two watches
The Submariner Date (126610LN, 116610LN, 16610 and their gold and two-tone siblings) has the date window and the Cyclops lens magnifying it. The No-Date (124060, 114060, 14060M and back to the 5513) has neither: a clean, symmetrical dial and an unbroken crystal.
Everything else — case, bezel, bracelet, water resistance, movement architecture — is shared within a generation.
The case for the No-Date
Symmetry. A dive watch dial is a legibility instrument and the date window interrupts it. The Cyclops also breaks the line of the crystal, which purists have complained about since 1953.
It is also the closer descendant of the original. The 1953 Submariner had no date; the date arrived in 1966. If you want the watch that James Bond wore in Dr. No, you want a No-Date.
And it is cheaper. Within a generation, expect the No-Date to sit meaningfully below the Date.
The case for the Date
You will use the date. That is not a small thing in a watch you wear every day. The Date is also the version Rolex still makes, which means better long-term parts and service availability, and it is the version the market treats as the default — which helps when you sell.
It is the more liquid of the two by a wide margin. More buyers want it, so it moves faster.
The discontinuation that changed the maths
Rolex introduced the 41mm 124060 No-Date in 2020 and then, in 2024, quietly removed it from the catalogue. Whether it returns is anyone's guess. What is certain is that the No-Date is now a finite population, and finite populations of Rolex sports watches have a habit of appreciating.
That has already begun to compress the gap between the two. The No-Date is no longer straightforwardly the budget option.
What we would buy
If it is your only watch and you will wear it daily to an office: the Date. You will use the window and you will not miss the symmetry after a week.
If it is a second or third watch, if you already own something with a date, or if you care about the lineage: the No-Date, and buy it sooner rather than later.
Browse the collection
Browse pre-owned Rolex Submariner stock — 187 watches from £6,595, Date and No-Date, all independently authenticated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Considerably. Rolex has always made far fewer, and stopped making the current one in 2024.
No, and you should not want it to be. Different movement, different dial, different case machining.
They are the same case size within a generation. The 40mm 114060 wears smaller than the 41mm 124060.
