Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 'James Bond' (big crown)

A tool for divers

Rolex began producing the Submariner in 1953 and showed it at the Basel watch fair in 1954. The first references, 6204 and 6205, had 37 mm cases and small crowns. In 1954 Rolex also made a small number of reference 6200, the first Submariner with Mercedes hands and an oversized winding crown, later nicknamed the 'King Sub.'

Within a few years Rolex split the line into two new references built around an improved movement, the caliber 1030: the 6536 with a small crown and the 6538 with an oversized one. The 6538 also brought a thinner case and more beveled lugs than its predecessor, and printed the Submariner name and depth rating on the dial.

The defining feature was the crown. At 8 mm across and stamped 'Brevet' to mark Rolex's patent, it was about 2 mm larger than the usual 6 mm crowns of the day, with deep knurling meant to be gripped with wet or gloved fingers. It also helped the watch reach its 200-meter, 660-foot rating. There were no crown guards; Rolex added those later, which is why collectors group the 6538 among the 'no crown guard' Submariners.

How it became James Bond's watch

Ian Fleming had already put a Rolex on his hero's wrist in print. In the novel 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service,' Bond glances at the 'big luminous numerals' of 'a heavy Rolex Oyster Perpetual on an expanding metal bracelet.' Fleming himself wore a Rolex Explorer.

When 'Dr. No' was filmed, the production did not buy a watch for Bond. According to a widely repeated account, Rolex would not supply one and the budget would not stretch, so producer Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli took the Submariner off his own wrist and handed it to Sean Connery. 'Dr. No' was released in the United Kingdom on October 5, 1962, on a budget of about $1.1 million, and earned $59.5 million.

Connery's watch was a two-line 6538. It came back in 'From Russia with Love' (1963), 'Goldfinger' (1964) and 'Thunderball' (1965). Accounts differ on the strap: one says he wore a slim striped nylon strap from the first film, while another says a leather strap was used in 'Dr. No' and 'From Russia with Love' and the striped nylon strap only from 'Goldfinger' on. That striped strap is often called a NATO strap, but the British military specification by that name came later.

It was not a product-placement deal in the modern sense. The association stuck anyway, and the 6538 has carried the 'James Bond' nickname ever since.

Two lines, four lines and the Explorer dial

Every 6538 dial is glossy black with gilt printing, made by a galvanic process, with radium-based lume that has aged to cream and tan. Most say 'SUBMARINER' and '200m=660ft' in two lines of text. Rarer dials add 'Officially Certified Chronometer' for four lines in all; Rolex made chronometer and non-chronometer versions around the same time.

Rarest of all is the Explorer-style dial with large 3, 6 and 9 numerals. One account says it was made only in 1956. A collector who has handled several says fewer than ten are known, all with serial numbers in the 140,000 range and, as far as he knows, all with the depth rating printed in red; he suggests Rolex used leftover reference 6200 dials in the first 6538s. That theory is his, not a Rolex statement.

One auction cataloguer divides production into four series. The fourth and last, made from late 1958 to 1959 with case numbers roughly from 426,000 to 449,300, has a painted red triangle at 12 o'clock on the aluminum bezel insert, a smaller white 'lollipop' seconds hand and silver print above the gilt 'SUBMARINER.'

What collectors check: an unpolished case with sharp chamfers, the original 8 mm crown, an original bezel insert with an intact red triangle, hands whose lume ages with the dial, and dial printing correct for its variation. Replacement crowns, hands and inserts are common because these were working watches, and each one lowers the value.

From tool watch to seven figures

In June 2018 an Explorer-dial 6538 with a red, meters-first depth rating sold at auction in New York for $1,068,500 against an estimate of $500,000 to $1,000,000, the first Submariner to pass $1 million at auction. It came from the family of its original owner, who had worn it for decades; he had removed the bezel while working as a painter because paint kept it from turning, and it was sold without one.

That December, a 1957 6538 with a four-line dial, never polished or restored and with its original guarantee and chronometer certificate, sold at auction in New York for $567,000. Another 2018 sale in London, a circa-1959 two-line example whose dial had faded to a coppery brown, brought £274,000, reported as about $366,000.

Not every sale went through. In August 2019 a four-line 'tropical' 6538 whose dial had turned a warm brown, with its original red-triangle insert, was offered at an online auction with an estimate of $180,000 to $280,000 and did not sell.

In December 2025 a fourth-series 1959 example, unpolished, with its original bezel insert and offered by the original owner's grandson, carried an estimate of $100,000 to $200,000 in New York and sold for a reported $432,000.

The first Bond watch

Rolex ended 6538 production around 1959. One published reference table gives 1958 to 1961, and that conflict is unresolved. The 6538's successors, the 5508 and 5510, and then the 5512 and 5513 with crown guards and a 40 mm case, kept the oversized crown as standard. Roger Moore wore a modified 5513 in 'Live and Let Die' (1973). Since 'GoldenEye' in 1995, Bond has worn Omega.

For collectors the 6538 marks the start of the Submariner as more than a diving instrument: a working watch that became a symbol through four films. Its June 2018 result of $1,068,500 made it the first Submariner to pass $1 million at auction.

The numbers

Reference

6538 ('Big Crown')

Caliber

Rolex 1030, self-winding, 25 jewels

Case

About 37 mm, stainless steel, screw-down case back, no crown guards

Crown

8 mm Brevet, screw-down

Water resistance

200 m / 660 ft

Production years

About 1955 to 1959 (one account says about 1956 to 1959; one reference table says 1958 to 1961)

Production numbers

Not published; Explorer-dial examples are believed to number fewer than ten

Timeline

1. 1953

   Rolex begins Submariner production with references 6204 and 6205.

2. 1954

   The Submariner is shown at the Basel watch fair; a small run of big-crown reference 6200 follows.

3. 1955

   Reference 6538 is introduced with caliber 1030, a thinner case and an 8 mm crown, in most accounts.

4. 1956

   The rare Explorer-style 3-6-9 dial appears, in some accounts only this year.

5. 1957

   Dial printing moves from one-color to two-color with less radioactive lume, according to one collector's study.

6. 1958

   The fourth and final series begins late in the year, with a painted red bezel triangle and silver dial print.

7. 1959

   Production of the 6538 ends.

8. Oct 5, 1962

   'Dr. No' is released in the United Kingdom, with Sean Connery wearing a two-line 6538.

9. 1963

   The watch returns in 'From Russia with Love.'

10. 1964

    'Goldfinger' shows it on a striped nylon strap.

11. 1965

    'Thunderball' is the fourth film with Connery's 6538.

12. Jun 2018

    An Explorer-dial, red-depth 6538 sells for $1,068,500 at auction in New York, a Submariner record.

13. Dec 2018

    An unpolished 1957 four-line 6538 sells for $567,000 at auction in New York.

14. Aug 2019

    A tropical-dial four-line 6538 estimated at $180,000 to $280,000 fails to sell online.

15. Dec 8, 2025

    A fourth-series 1959 example is offered in New York at $100,000 to $200,000 and sells for a reported $432,000.

The world in 1956

• Jun 29, 1956

  President Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System.

• Jul 25, 1956

  The Italian liner Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with the Stockholm.

• Jul 26, 1956

  Egypt's President Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal.

• Oct 23, 1956

  The Hungarian Revolution breaks out against the Soviet-backed government.

• Feb 20, 1962

  John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth.

• Jul 23, 1962

  Telstar relays the first live transatlantic television signal.

• Oct 16, 1962

  The Cuban Missile Crisis begins.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 'James Bond' (big crown) is number 12 of 100 in the watches entries of the FLOAT 100. 54 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (9 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The record-setting million-dollar 6538 had no bezel: its first owner, a painter, took it off because paint kept jamming it.
• The 6538's crown is about 2 mm wider than the standard crowns of its day, so divers could turn it wearing gloves.
• The striped strap Connery wore is often called a NATO strap, but the British military strap by that name came later.
• One collector who studies these watches says he has heard that the red-depth dials are called 'prototypes' inside Rolex.
• Radium lume on these dials still registers on a Geiger counter, and cataloguers report the reading.
• James Bond has worn Omega, not Rolex, in every film since 1995's 'GoldenEye.'