Page Dimensions

Approx. 7 3/4" x 11 1/8" (19cm x 28cm)

Story and Details

Just as the Submariner is arguably the quintessential dive watch, this particular advertisement could be considered the ideal Submariner advertisement to own... It’s not the first Submariner ad. It's certainly not rare. Rather, it’s a pearl among the plethora of Submariner ads for another reason: its straightforwardness depicting the essence of the timepiece - just a dive watch and a scuba diver. In this case, divers in the Yucatan risking their lives in search of archaeological treasures relying on their, “big, tough, working watch.”

The “If you were…” advertising campaign from the late 1960s produced some of the most iconic Rolex advertisements of all time, with headlines that have made an indelible impression on watch collectors. And "looking for lost empires" is certainly up there with the likes of “If you were flying the Concorde” showing the GMT Master and “If you were taming oil well fires” calling on the unusual choice of a solid gold Day-Date to do that dangerous job. 

Back to this 1968 advertisement... The Submariner shown is likely a Ref. 5513 with a "meters first" matte dial. It's from a moment in time just before the Ref. 1680 was introduced. A change that would alter the look of the Submariner (by adding a date window and "Cyclops" lens). The Submariner being offered with a date would also alter how future Submariner advertisements would look... From mid-1970 until around 2020 a dateless Submariner wouldn't be featured in a Rolex print advertisement. That's 50 years of no magazine ads showing a No-Date Sub! That makes this 1968 ad one of the last few to picture a No-Date Sub.

So if you're looking for an ad to go with your Ref. 14060, Ref. 114060, or the latest Ref. 124060, this is as a great option. One day it'll hang permanently in our home, as it's the very-first Rolex ad I fondly remember finding in a local antique store. It reminds me of the days when I started collecting vintage Rolex ads, which I didn't realize at the time would become a true passion of mine and help me find my calling.