Rolex Submariner 14060 Review

THE FIRST LOOK

Rolex Submariner 14060 First Impressions

What hits you the moment you pick up the 14060.

The Rolex Submariner 14060 is the Submariner with everything stripped away. No date, no Cyclops, no engraved rehaut, no chronometer text. Among all the Rolex watches that cross our bench, few feel this quiet in the hand. Pick up a Rolex Submariner 14060 after a modern ceramic Sub and the first thing you notice is what is missing: bulk. The case is slim, the lugs taper to a fine point, and the whole watch feels like a tool someone forgot to make luxurious. That is the appeal.

Flip it over and the second impression lands: this is the bridge between vintage and modern. It replaced the Rolex Submariner 5513 and kept its two-line dial and drilled lugs, but it added a sapphire crystal, a Triplock crown, and 300 meters of water resistance. On a good example the gloss black dial is deep, the white gold marker surrounds are crisp, and the tritium has gone a soft cream that photos never capture. It looks like a 5513 that grew up and got a real job. Expect a watch that is more charming in person than any listing photo suggests, and expect to care about details (lume color, insert fade, end links) you never thought about on a modern Rolex.

THE WEARING EXPERIENCE

How the Rolex Submariner 14060 Wears on the Wrist

How the 14060 actually wears, day in and day out.

The Rolex Submariner 14060 wears smaller than its 40mm label. Measured without the crown it comes in just under 39.5mm, the lug-to-lug is roughly 47.5mm, and the thin, tapered lugs hug the wrist rather than bridging it. It sits comfortably on a 6.25-inch wrist and still looks correct at 7.5 inches. Compared to the current Rolex Submariner 124060, which is a true 41mm with broad lugs, the 14060 feels a full size down. Next to the ceramic Rolex Submariner 114060 it is lighter by a noticeable margin, mostly because of the hollow-link bracelet.

At about 12.5mm thick with a flat crystal, it slides under a dress shirt cuff without a fight, which no ceramic Sub can claim. The weight is biased toward the head, so the bracelet needs to be sized snug or the case rolls to the outside of the wrist over a long day. Once dialed in, it disappears. This is the Submariner you forget you are wearing, and after a week you will understand why so many collectors who own a modern Sub keep reaching for the five-digit one.

SHOP THIS WATCH

Shop the Rolex Submariner 14060

Browse authenticated Rolex Submariner 14060 watches available now at WatchGuys.

If a slim, no-date Submariner with an aluminum bezel and an honest tritium dial is what you are after, here is what we currently have on hand, each one inspected by our watchmakers for original dial, hands, insert, and bracelet.

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BUILD QUALITY

Rolex Submariner 14060 Specifications

Case, dial, bezel, and bracelet, examined the way we inspect them before a watch is listed.

Case

The Rolex Submariner 14060 case is the classic five-digit Oyster profile: slim, tapered lugs with drilled holes, modest crown guards, and a flat sapphire crystal with no laser-etched crown on pre-2002 examples. The finishing is brushed on top of the lugs and polished on the flanks, with a crisp transition line that is the first casualty of a careless polish. Rounded lug tips and a soft flank-to-top edge mean the case has been buffed, and that knocks real money off the price. The Triplock crown screws down with a short, positive action and the drilled lugs make strap changes a spring-bar tool and thirty seconds, which is part of why collectors cross-shop this reference with true vintage Rolex. The 300-meter rating is real, but we treat any 14060 that has not been pressure tested in the last five years as a desk diver until it is serviced. Serial numbers sit between the lugs at six o'clock; our Rolex reference numbers page decodes the letter prefix to a production year.

Dial and Bezel

The Rolex Submariner 14060 dial is gloss black with applied white gold surrounds, Mercedes hands, and only two lines of text at six o'clock. Nearly every example carries tritium lume (look for "SWISS-T<25" below six). Tritium stopped glowing decades ago, so what you are buying is the color it has aged to: ivory, cream, or a deeper butterscotch, ideally matching across hands and markers. Mismatched tones mean replaced hands, and a bright white, strongly glowing dial means a Rolex service dial. The later Rolex Submariner 14060M switched to Super-LumiNova, which is why the two references read so differently at night. Legibility in daylight is excellent; the flat crystal has no anti-reflective coating, so expect glare at steep angles.

The bezel is a unidirectional steel ring carrying an anodized aluminum insert with a luminous pearl at twelve. The action is firmer and less refined than a ceramic Sub, with a mechanical click you feel through the fingers rather than a damped turn. Aluminum fades under sunlight toward charcoal and picks up hairline scratches, and both are considered character rather than damage. An insert that is dead black with perfectly sharp printing on a 1990s watch is almost always a service replacement, which some buyers prefer and most collectors discount.

Bracelet

The Rolex Submariner 14060 bracelet is the 93150 Oyster with 593 hollow end links and a stamped Fliplock clasp with a flip-out diver's extension. It is the weakest part of the watch by modern standards. The hollow center links stretch with age, the end links rattle slightly against the case, and the clasp is pressed steel that looks like it was made in 1990 because it was. There is no micro-adjustment; sizing is done by removing links and using the two-position clasp holes. In exchange you get a bracelet that is light, flexible, and drapes around the wrist better than any solid-link Oyster. Hold the bracelet horizontally by the clasp: if the links sag more than a few degrees, budget for a replacement, since a correct period 93150 runs well over a thousand dollars.

EXPERT TIP | Robertino Altieri | WatchGuys CEO

What to Check on a Pre-Owned Rolex 14060

"Four things decide what a 14060 is actually worth. One, is the dial original tritium with hands that match it in color? Two, has the case been polished, and how much? Look at the lug tips and the brushed-to-polished line on the flank. Three, is the bezel insert period correct or a service replacement? Four, how much stretch is in the 93150 bracelet? A watch that passes all four with a box and papers is a different animal from one that passes two. I have bought 14060s that looked identical in photos and were two thousand dollars apart in real value."

UNDER THE HOOD

Rolex Submariner 14060 Movement Review

How the Caliber 3000 performs where it matters: on the wrist, every day.

The Rolex Submariner 14060 runs the Caliber 3000, a 27-jewel automatic beating at 28,800 vph with hacking seconds, bidirectional winding, and roughly 42 hours of power reserve. It is not chronometer certified, which is why the dial carries two lines instead of four. In practice that certification gap is smaller than it sounds. A 3000 that has been serviced in the last several years typically runs within a few seconds per day on the wrist, and the ones that drift are the ones that have not seen a watchmaker in fifteen years. The movement has a time-only, no-complication simplicity that makes it cheap to service and hard to break. Hand-winding through the Triplock is smooth with a faint, even resistance, and the rotor is quiet enough that you will not hear it unless you hold the watch to your ear.

The 42-hour reserve is the real-world limitation. Take the 14060 off Friday evening and it will be stopped by Sunday afternoon, so this is a watch you wear or wind, not one you leave in a box for a long weekend. The Caliber 3130 in the 14060M added a full balance bridge and a larger balance for better long-term stability, but on a daily basis the two feel the same. Service at Rolex runs roughly $900 to $1,100 and takes two to three months; a competent independent will do it for $450 to $650. Either way, a documented service in the last five years is worth paying for, because a dry 3000 wears its mainplate jewels and that is a far more expensive fix than routine maintenance.

EXPERT TIP | Robertino Altieri | WatchGuys CEO

Service Costs and the Tritium Dial Problem

"When you send a 14060 to Rolex, the technician is allowed to replace the tritium dial and hands with luminova service parts, and if the lume is cracked or lifting they usually will. That turns an eight-thousand-dollar collector's watch into a very nice six-thousand-dollar watch. Always ask for original parts to be returned and tell them in writing not to replace the dial, hands, or insert. If a seller tells you the watch was just serviced at Rolex, that is exactly when I look hardest at the lume."

MARKET VALUE

Rolex Submariner 14060 Price

What the 14060 costs right now on the secondary market.

The Rolex Submariner 14060 price in October 2026 sits between roughly $8,000 and $10,500 for a complete set, with the market average just above $9,300. That makes it one of the few Submariners with a sapphire crystal that still lands inside our Rolex watches under $10,000 collection. The spread inside the range is driven by things that do not show up in a spec sheet: an even, creamy tritium dial with matching hands, an unpolished case, an original faded insert, and a bracelet without stretch. Early E and X serial examples with strong patina sit at the top. A watch-only example with a service dial and a buffed case belongs at the bottom, no matter how clean it photographs.

Over the past twelve months the 14060 has gained close to 10 percent, outpacing the broader Submariner index as buyers priced out of five-digit Date models and ceramic Subs move to the no-date. It is still a few hundred dollars below the 14060M average, which is unusual given the 14060 is older, rarer in top condition, and the only one with tritium. We track the full lineup on our Rolex Submariner prices page, and if you own a 14060 with its box and papers, this is a strong market in which to sell your Rolex.

HEAD TO HEAD

Rolex Submariner 14060 Comparison

The 14060 against the three references buyers actually cross-shop.

Rolex 14060 vs. Rolex Submariner 14060M (Caliber 3130)

The Rolex Submariner 14060 and the 14060M are the same watch on the outside, so the choice is movement and lume. The 14060M brings the Caliber 3130, Super-LumiNova that still glows, and, on 2007 and later four-liners, chronometer certification and an engraved rehaut. The 14060 brings tritium patina, a cleaner plain rehaut, and the last of the true 1990s character. If you want the watch to glow at night and run certified, buy the M. If you want the one that looks like a 5513 under a sapphire crystal, buy the 14060 and save a few hundred dollars doing it.

Robertino's Take

"I have sold a lot of both, and the 14060 is the one I tell collectors to buy. The M is the better daily watch on paper. The 14060 is the one that gets harder to find in good condition every year, because tritium dials do not grow back. Nobody has ever regretted buying a clean two-liner with cream lume. Plenty of people regret the service-dial one they saved eight hundred dollars on."

Rolex 14060 vs. Rolex Submariner 16610 (Date)

The Rolex Submariner 14060 and the Rolex Submariner 16610 share an era, a bracelet, and an aluminum bezel, and they trade within a few hundred dollars of each other. The 16610 adds a date, a Cyclops, the chronometer-rated Caliber 3135, solid end links on later examples, and a case that is a true 40mm, slightly larger than the 14060 (the bezel inserts do not interchange). The 14060 answers with a symmetrical dial, a thinner feel, and a lighter head. This one is purely about whether you want a date window. If you do, the 16610 is the better-equipped watch for the money. If you do not, the 14060 is the cleaner design and the rarer one in untouched condition.

Rolex 14060 vs. Rolex Submariner 124060 (Current No-Date)

The Rolex Submariner 14060 and the current 124060 are the same idea thirty years apart. The 124060 gives you a ceramic bezel that will never fade, Chromalight, a 70-hour Caliber 3230, a solid Oyster bracelet with Glidelock, and a five-year factory warranty if you can get one at retail. It also costs roughly $2,500 to $4,000 more pre-owned and wears like a bigger, heavier watch. Buyers choosing the 14060 are choosing comfort, patina, and a lower entry price over durability and convenience. There is no wrong answer here, but there is a clear one if you have a smaller wrist or wear a shirt cuff every day.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Is the Rolex Submariner 14060 Worth It?

Our verdict on the 14060 after years of buying, selling, and wearing them.

The Rolex Submariner 14060 is worth buying, and at current prices it is the best value in the entire No-Date Submariner lineage. It is the perfect watch for the collector who wants a Submariner that wears like a vintage piece but can be worn in the rain, swum in after a service, and read at a glance. It suits smaller wrists, dress cuffs, and anyone who finds the modern Sub a little too polished. The single strongest reason to buy it is that it is the last Submariner with tritium, drilled lugs, a plain rehaut, and a sapphire crystal all at once, and the supply of untouched examples shrinks every year.

Who should skip it: anyone who needs lume that glows, a weekend-proof power reserve, or a bracelet with micro-adjustment. Those buyers should look at the 14060M or the 124060. Buyers who love the look but not the price should look at a Tudor Black Bay, which delivers the slim, aluminum-bezel diver feel for a third of the money. For everyone else, we rate the 14060 an 8 out of 10: a point off for the non-chronometer movement and the dated bracelet, and nothing off for how it wears. You can read our other luxury watch reviews for the references it competes with.

Robertino's Take

"I was gifted a No-Date Submariner when I graduated high school and I still wear it. The 14060 is that watch for a whole generation of buyers. It is not the most accurate Sub or the toughest. It is the one you put on and stop thinking about. Buy the cleanest tritium example you can afford with box and papers, do not let Rolex touch the dial, and hold it. It is not going to get cheaper."

Buy Rolex Submariner 14060