Submariner LV different dials

[marke]

I have been told that there are different dials on some of the LV watches.

What are the different faces and i have been told by Rolex that this will also affect the value of the watch

can anyone expand on this ......

I am sure BO will be the guru on this,,,,

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Well, there have been various font varieties of both the dial and the bezel numbers and colour:


(Pic by an Italian member here; "+TOM+").

BTW.: Note the LV bottom right. It has LUG HOLES! The pic of this LV was taken at the Basel Fair 2003. Apparantly, Rolex chose to exhibit an LV with lug holes but never put one into regular manufacture.

[pwrslider]

Bo... you truly amaze me. If there ever was a Rolex guru...it was you! Great collection of LV dial pics!

[artbypaul]

Originally Posted by pwrslider

Bo... you truly amaze me. If there ever was a Rolex guru...it was you! Great collection of LV dial pics!

Agreed! Excellent information!

Paul

[Jimbits76]

Bo... you truly amaze me. If there ever was a Rolex guru...it was you!

You do realise his head will now be getting as big as JJ's!!!!!!!!

J

[topcat30093]

Bo, you are outstanding when it comes to info about Rolex watches.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Jimbits76

You do realise his head will now be getting as big as JJ's!!!!!!!!

J

How the hell did I get dragged into this one, Jim?!!

[pwrslider]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

How the hell did I get dragged into this one, Jim?!!

jj.......I think if you look in any random thread...you will be named at some point.!!!

..and just in case you're not...I'm goin back to the beginning to make sure you are...and maybe..just maybe I can catch your post count!
ooop sorry!

[Trurolexer]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

Well, there have been various font varieties of both the dial and the bezel numbers and colour:


(Pic by an Italian member here; "+TOM+").

BTW.: Note the LV bottom right. It has LUG HOLES! The pic of this LV was taken at the Basel Fair 2003. Apparantly, Rolex chose to exhibit an LV with lug holes but never put one into regular manufacture.

Nice info as always, Bo!!! Thanks!!!

[vjb.knife]

Maybe it is just the photo you posted or quite possibly my eyes but I don't see the difference between the dials on the watches labelled mark 2 4 and 5 and 1 and 3 seem the same. My Sub LV is like 2,4 & 5 on the dial unless there is some subtle difference there. And I am not really picking up the bezel differences at all. I also find it hard to believe that any of these 'variants' would be worth anything more than the others, but then people will buy the strangest things.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

The difference of the bezel number ("4") is subtle, indeed.

Also, you see an oval "O" in "ROLEX" on some LV's (typically the first ones).

Another difference are the minute markers at six (some are complete, some have "½" minute markers between 29 and 31).

Lastly, the green colour of the bezel inserts have had various shades.

[Lol-x]

Thanks for all that interesting information on the LV.
My question is which LV is the most desirable and is one type of dial superior to the others?

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Thanks for all that interesting information on the LV.
My question is which LV is the most desirable and is one type of dial superior to the others?

Well, I wouldn't say any of the dials and bezel varieties are "superior" to the other, but I'd say that the "Oval O" dial is not seen too often.

Having said that, we are talking dial font variations here, not a big deal, really. It's like with the "II versus ll" fonts of the GMT II. May be a nice conversation piece but not really anything that would boost value much, imho.

[Davvan]

Is it possible to tell from the serial number witch dial I have?
mark I-V? It´sa D model bought 2005 with the oval "O"

[vjb.knife]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

The difference of the bezel number ("4") is subtle, indeed.

Also, you see an oval "O" in "ROLEX" on some LV's (typically the first ones).

Another difference are the minute markers at six (some are complete, some have "½" minute markers between 29 and 31).

Lastly, the green colour of the bezel inserts have had various shades.

Not sure where mine is in the different types but here is a scan of it. This shows the details well but the color of the bezel is not so true to life. I like the watch a lot and wear it often doing any activity including Diving. It is a Z serial number.

[Lol-x]

Good points Bo. I don't know that any particular model of the LV is moe desirable.
The LV was an anniversary release and in that regard it might be that the first year of issue may in the future be more desirable at some time in the future.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Yup, I'd tend to agree with you that the first batch of LV's will be very desirable.

Again, it's like with the SS "Zenith" Daytonas. They're all pretty sought-after, but the first ones are really hot among collectors, not just due to the (fairly big) difference of the first bracelets being all-matte, but also due to very tiny dial varietes such as the socalled "Floating Cosmograph" (space between "Oyster Perpetual" and "Cosmograph") but also because of the "Inverted 6" on the sub dial at six, etc., etc.

It can seem silly at times, but there we are.

[problmchylde]

Nice info as always Bo.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

I believe Mike has the LV as one of his preferred "study objects", so I am sure he can give this more substance with additional information and pics.

[harvey]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

Well, I wouldn't say any of the dials and bezel varieties are "superior" to the other, but I'd say that the "Oval O" dial is not seen too often.

Having said that, we are talking dial font variations here, not a big deal, really. It's like with the "II versus ll" fonts of the GMT II. May be a nice conversation piece but not really anything that would boost value much, imho.

my d series lv bought in 2005 has the oval "o" as shown here

[mike]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the LV and have tried to study this particular reference as it's future might be interesting.

Having said that, I'm always reluctant to get to specific as to what or when changes were made. Rolex always has a way of making a mess of bright line definitions. LOL!

While more study is necessary, it seems -in general- early examples had what has been called the "oval" or "eggshape" oval. This appears to have been in the Y and F series and some D series pieces.

We see in Harvey's photo an example of a D with the oval and I have a D with the more normal O.

Mine--F on the left and D on the right.



Note also how "SWISS MADE" spans a full five ticks on the older version as opposed to the newer.--Note the newer spacing on Harvey's oval example as opposed to mine.

In some sense, if I had to guess, perhaps the earlier oval O might be a small factor to future collectors, but I honestly can't say.

The shade of green used certainly has changed a bit with early examples being a bit brighter and as seen in Bo's comparison shot a difference in font can be seen.

What some have reported---and something I've yet to be able to confirm---is/was a size difference in the bezel insert. Some have reported not being able to substitute a black insert on some examples (which I assume to be early versions)????

This is certainly not the case on my D as it's the one sporting the black insert
in this photo,



With the advent of the scripted rehaut, I wonder if we've seen the last change in the LV prior to the release of the larger cased Submariner line in a year or two.

Some notable collectors have speculated the demise of the LV when this happens.-----I DON"T KNOW.

If that would happen, I'm sure future collectors will categorize the heck out of what will have been a very short run reference.

I do think it's important to remember that despite how "available" the LV may be in some areas, it's not a watch one finds everywhere all the time. Far fewer examples are made compared to the black--and that's always been the case.

But......Boy is it fun to speculate!!

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Excellent info, as always, Mike!

You sure are privileged to own two LV's!