NATHAN: It's a new watch day. It's a new watch
day. Guess what we have a bunch of new watches. Hey guys it is Nathan with Crown & Caliber
and if I was excited a couple of weeks ago because we had a new Submariner then I
am even that much more excited today. So, a couple of weeks ago we received the 124060 No
Date Sub and I was giddy like a little schoolboy. I mean we did a reveal on camera and the fact
that we had a 41-millimeter Sub just made me super excited. Took lots of measurements. was
just geeking out over the watch and then just days if not weeks later we get the 126610LV, the
new green bezel, and the 126610LN black bezel Date Sub. And so, to kind of reprise the previous video
based on comments that we had in the first one we went ahead and got the past three generations
of all those. So here we go. The No Date in progression, the Date Sub in progression and
the three anniversary Subs in progression. And this is such a privilege of being able to
work here at Crown & caliber. That I get to see all of these watches and hold them and examine
them and take an inordinate number of measurements and really start to come up with the differences
and kind of create a definitive guide on the current Submariner. And so today what we're going
to do is we're going to kind of go through these watches and look at kind of the bigger picture
because I've already taken all the measurements and this time around we won't focus on that,
but we're going to focus on the differences that have occurred and then also how
they wear and ultimately what I think is the best Sub now. So, let's jump in. Okay
so getting started. I'm going to take a breath. JONATHAN: Yeah slow down.
NATHAN: I'm nervous. I'm excited. Okay so jumping in. We will get Jonathan to take photos
of these watches on my wrist. We'll get some close-ups on my wrist as well, so you get an idea
of how they wear but we're going to jump right in and talk about first the five-digit references.
So that is the No Date Submariner right here the five-digit Date Sub right here and the
five-digit anniversary Submariner right here. So, 14060,16610, and 16610LV for the green bezel
known as the Kermit. These three represent kind of the end of the line as far as what the
sub had looked like for effectively 50 years. And I think what's really interesting between
these three is there's a lot of inconsistencies. They're not the same thickness. The size, which
we're measuring from three o'clock to nine o'clock corroborated with six o'clock to 12
o'clock on the outside of the bezel, they are also not consistent. The lug to lug is
not consistent. There just is inconsistencies in the size which means that in production there's
just differences. They're great watches I mean it's a Submariner. You have… All three of
them have hollow center links in the bracelet but in the two date Subs the end links are solid
end links so it made for a much more secure fit. Specifically, here we're looking at transitional
references which means the case sides no longer have pierced lugs. The No Date Sub never received
the solid end links and the closed off case sides as a five-digit reference. So just some
context and kind of what that watch is. So these are the six-digit references. These were the
Supercase references. The Ceramic Sub as it's come to be known and things got more consistent. The
watches had the same thickness, they had the same size dial, same size case, same size bezel. They
now had the updated bracelet which meant not only did the No Date Sub now have the solid end links,
all of the center links were now solid as well. And it had the updated milled clasp with the new
divers extension kind of easy link. So in every way I think the six-digit Supercase Ceramic Sub,
as we're going to call, it was more impressive. I've said that before that's nothing new. Some of
the flaws. I'm going to call them what they are. Call them flaws with the watch. Is the Supercase.
It is a much more blocky design at the end of the lugs. It is just chunky which then makes that
transition to the bracelet much less elegant than its five-digit predecessor. This is going
to get really granular, but it was a good thing and a bad thing when we switched to the six-digit
reference the bracelet on the six o'clock side has one less non-removable link. What that means
is on the six-digit reference bracelet on the six o'clock side there are three non-removable
links which then means you can size the watch much smaller and you can have the clasp centered
in your wrist. So for people that have,, let's say it probably starts around a six and a half inch
wrist, you could much more easily center the clasp which is a good thing, but what then had to happen
is that means that the bracelet had to now taper from 20 millimeters at the lug to 16 millimeters
because that is the size of the removable links and it had to do that in one less link. So
it had to do it in three links and if you look on the Supercase Submariners the bracelet taper is
really aggressive and it almost makes it seem like the heft of the Submariner is going to overtake
that of the bracelet and pairing that with these much more blocky lugs makes for some pretty
extreme angles. This is a perfect time to mention that we are talking on an extremely granular
level but that's what Rolex is. That's how Rolex operates and that's a lot of why people
love these watches and it's somewhat lost on this design because when it works you don't
really notice it, but when it doesn't work it's noticeable, and I think what we see
here across these generations is if you just glance you're looking at the same watch
but it's these minor changes over time and a refinement of a design that makes it so great.
So that's a short offshoot but back on track. Here we ended up with a bracelet that could
more easily be sized for smaller wrists but with that a much more aggressive taper from the
20-millimeter to the 16-millimeter removable link. Okay moving on. We are now to the 2020
submariner. The 124060 and the 126610. Of course, the LV and the LN green and black bezel and with
this release, which just dropped in September, it seems that Rolex may have righted its wrongs.
So, let's start with the positives then. I think going forward I'm going to call these the
12s because it's a one-two reference and I don't know what we're going to continue calling
them. So, the 12s they continued the consistency. So, they had the same size diameter all three
of them do which we would expect between the black and the green bezel dated Subs. They're
going to be the same. Lug the lug is the same Thickness is the same. Bezel is the same. So
again, consistency is there. Now here's where things start to get really interesting, in
my opinion. We'll start with maybe the most obvious is the case size increased. So, it went
to the 41-millimeter Sub, but as we addressed a few weeks ago it's not really a 41-millimeter. The
previous generation, the six-digit Supercase was a 40.2-millimeter watch and in the new 12s we have
a 40.5-millimeter case size, so we were talking three tenths of a millimeter in difference. So
not a full 41-millimeter. Consistently across the board it is a 40.5-millimeter case. The bracelet
went from a 20 millimeter to a 21-millimeter bracelet so making for a larger bracelet
and also the dial on these three went from a 30-millimeter to a 30.3-millimeter. So what we can
see is proportionally the case size and the dial grew in unison from the six digit reference. Now
some of the more nuanced things what that means is that the bezel which how we measured the bezel
here is we measured from the case diameter. So that's from the outside of the bezel we measured
from 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock and then corroborated it from 6 to 12 for consistency and then for dial
we measured the crystal and again 3 to 9 o'clock 6 to 12 for consistency and we took the difference
as the bezel measurement. Here's what's crazy from the five-digit reference all the way to the new
12s, the 2020 submariner. The bezel has remained the same it is a 5.1 millimeter bezel which
means on the newest Sub it has proportionally speaking a thinner bezel. And is that going to be
that noticeable? No. It is again fractions of a millimeter, but it does have a proportionally
thinner bezel which I think is a pretty crazy point. A couple other points now that we have
a thicker bracelet in a 21-millimeter on the new reference and the outside measurement of the
lugs on the newer Submariners is actually thinner, millimeter for millimeter, from the previous
Supercase we end up with both visually thinner but actually thinner lugs. So you know there's
probably some margin for error and how I measured things. I tried to be extremely consistent but
effectively each lug is a millimeter thinner at its end than the previous generation. So you have
a slightly larger case size. You have physically thinner lugs and with that bigger bracelet it just
makes it seem that much more elegant because it is proportionately that much thinner in comparison to
its previous generation. Other things worth noting of importance is the new generation is actually
thinner the previous generation Sub. The Supercase was 12.3 millimeters thick we are now looking at
a watch that is 12 millimeters thick and again three tenths of a millimeter how big of
a difference is that Nathan? Well it's a pretty big difference when you're starting to
talk about case thickness and the fact that the watch has gotten bigger diameter wise. Marginal
it may be and thinner means it is going to wear that much better on the wrist. Paired with the
fact that the taper is also smaller it just wears smaller. There I said it. The new 41-millimeter
Submariner actually wears smaller than its previous generation. Another point and this is I
think really granular but it is worth mentioning. So the new reference is a 21 millimeter bracelet
it now tapers to a 17 millimeter removable link and with that it is still done over three
removable links in the bracelet and funny enough millimeter for millimeter the taper seems to be
the same so you're going from 21 to effectively a 17 millimeter link over those three links that are
non-removable the taper is the same measurement but because in the new reference it is a larger
bracelet that means that millimeter for millimeter is proportionally a smaller percentage and thus on
the new reference the bracelet taper does not seem as aggressive and like I said this is granular.
These measurements are minor but when you see the sum of the parts and you see it together it
looks so much better. Another interesting point is we'll go back all the way to the five-digit. So I
mentioned that six o'clock side four non-removable links and that happened to be on both sides of the
case. Jump up to the six-digit reference we have now three non-removable links which means you can
size the watch even smaller and have a centered clasp on the underside of your wrist. We jump to
the newest reference you have three non-removable links on the six o'clock side but now four
non-removable links on the 12 o'clock side. Why Rolex did this we can
speculate. Here are a few things. How the clasp sits means that you are generally
going to want a smaller bracelet size on the six o'clock side so there's no real reason to have
equal non-removable links on both sides that would seem to be probably the most obvious reason but
I think an interesting point to that is now there has to be a separate product number a separate SKU
for the six o'clock and the 12 o'clock bracelet side because it's non-removable you have two
physically different parts and I think that is maybe small but on the scale in which Rolex
makes watches is pretty impressive and these are the things that I think can get missed if you
own one and don't have the opportunity to look at nine of them but that is small changes that
really speak to Rolex saying hey we are going to in every way refine this and make it the best that
we can make it and something as silly and trivial as that may seem that makes a big difference and
it really goes to show that nothing is without consideration in this watch. Something a lot of
people also asked about is the weight of the subs. So going from the five-digit reference to
the six-digit reference you're looking at a difference of about 30 grams. May not sound like a
lot but when it is on your wrist it is noticeable. I think with going from the 40-millimeter to the
41 there was a concern that it was going to get that much heavier. Well I'll let you know
that the three 41-millimeter submariners are like two to three grams heavier. I mean it is
a negligible difference. I had talked with one of the watchmakers and he said that the new 3200
series movement is actually a heavier movement so it probably has some of the weight difference
as well but all in all the weight difference between the six-digit Supercase and the new
Submariners is negligible and so if you are used to the weight of one of the heavier watches
which I will say is mainly from the bracelet the fact that all those center links are now solid
milled stainless steel that is where it's gaining a lot of weight so if you're used to that the new
41-millimeter reference isn't going to change that much and for those of you that love the five digit
reference. The lighter weight of that I think with the updated clasp design and bracelet you can
especially if you have a smaller wrist more finely dial in where that clasp sits and probably
get a better fit on your wrist. So I don't think the weight difference really even applies now
to the newer reference because of how you can get that clasp to sit that much better and that
much more accurately on your wrist. So point worth addressing is the weight because they are
heavier but I think it's a negligible difference when it comes to the updated bracelet as well all
right now that we've covered a ton of numbers. I do want to briefly address the movement so
in the five-digit references we had the 3100 series. 3130 in the no Date, the 3135 in the two
dated versions. Jumping to the Supercase that didn't change. So the 114060 no date continued
having the 3130 and the hulk and the super case date sub had the 3135. So when we jumped into
the 12s we gained the wholly new 3200 series movement. So it'd be the 3230 and the 3235 in the
date versions and Rolex says something like 95 new parts. Things like their Chronoenergy escapement
which is a much more efficient escapement things like a 70 hour power reserve so definitely
performance wise a much superior movement. One of the points of contention potentially in the
3200 series is the oscillating weight apparently there are new bearings in the pivot and people say
that it is louder so we're going to do our best to capture that with the microphones on a comparison
between the 3100 series movement and the 3200 series movement and really see if there is a
noticeable difference because of those bearings but other than that, the movement is by far a
superior movement, so we have a lot of numbers and movement stuff out of the way. So, let's talk
visually speaking and I want to start with the 126610lv Starbucks, Cermit, whatever we're
going to call it. We'll come up with a name for it the green bezel seems to be the same green
bezel that came from the Hulk. Now it has a black dial rather than the green sunburst style from
the Hulk, so it looks more like the Kermit. I'm still on the fence about this I was a big lover
of the hulk. I loved the green dial I loved how it appeared black in some lights, but the super case
just didn't do it for me. So I was super excited when they released this watch, but I kind of wish
because it's back to the black dial that the green was a little bit more of that emerald green that
the Kermit had. So I'm still on the fence about what I think visually about this watch but again
stylistically I think the sub is definitely a step in the right direction. Like we've talked about
now between the plain date version and the 124060, I mean these two watches I'll just say are near
perfect. I mean the proportions are great like I said they wear super well the black is wonderful.
The font on all three of these now is a little bit more bold and I think in the side-by-sides.
You'll notice that all three of these watches also the hands have grown not only because the
case size grew but proportionally the minute hand now comes all the way to the minute track
the second hand is also a little longer so the hands just fill the dial that much better. Another
point this is going to be kind of hard to notice but is at the center post it does seem that it
dips in a little more than the previous Supercase reference and you can kind of catch it in some
of the reflections from the high gloss lacquer on the dial . Someone did mention that in the
previous video and I didn't notice it at first and as I looked harder and harder I think it is there.
I think there is a noticeable dip that wasn't in the previous reference. So now that we've talked
about a bunch of measurements on the watch uh let's kind of step back again. Rolex is never
going to say this but the Supercase was a mistake. Some people may like it but if we go from the fiv-
digit reference to the new 12s as I'm calling them it seems like a natural succession it seems
like the super case was kind of an offshoot and they have fixed it in every way the new 12s
seem like the older brother the newer sibling the bigger brother whatever you want to call it to the
old five digit reference. The elegant lines are back albeit they're a little bit bigger, a little
bit more impressive. Words that I use to describe the Supercase, but they don't come with this
blocky aggressive design that the Supercase had and in every way the 12 retains that impressive
nature that the super case had, but it brings back the elegance of the five-digit reference. So
I'm a big proponent of the five-digit Submariners. I love the nostalgia that it at a glance looks
like a sub that's 30 or 40 years old and you can't really tell the difference, but the impressive
nature of the Supercase Sub, the Ceramic Sub and now the 12s is hard to deny. And especially with
the 12 it feels truly, and I've said this before, but it feels like a modern sports watch. It is
impressive. Its proportions are great. It wears so well. So I think that it goes without saying that
the three new 12s. The 124060, 126610 and 126610LV Cermit, ceramic Kermit, Starbucks whatever we're
going to call it are the definitive Submariner. If you are looking for a Submariner… Well good
luck. You're probably not going to find one, but if you are shopping for a Submariner those are
what I'm going to recommend. They proportionally are as perfect as we've seen yet and
I think that from the sheer technology standpoint they are extremely impressive. So
line in the sand that's what I'm saying. I am saying that the new references are kind
of the definitive go-to's. Maybe that'll change in the coming months as I've seen
more of these and the newness wears off, but I think the fact that I am able to empirically
look at them. I'm able to make a pretty objective decision in what I think is the current best Sub
offering. The new Submariner! We got them all if you have questions please continue to put them
in the comments. We have the watches. We will answer them and let you know anything you want to
know about them and as always thanks for watching.
