Rolex’s new book on Submariners reminded me of a version of the famous dive watch called “Bart Simpson.” This ’60s version gets its chronological nickname from a small detail on its dial: the spikes on the Rolex Coronet logo (you know, the lil’ crown) are a little stiffer than usual, resulting in a vague resemblance Is. simpsons Character. That’s all we need to make this already desirable submarine even better More Collectable and rare.
The fact that quirky design details have the ability to multiply the value of a Rolex may be my favorite thing about the Crown collection. Imagine a giant man losing his mind over a watch because its logo somewhat resembles the head of a cartoon character – that’s pretty much the atmosphere at your local watch club! There are endless examples of small details that add value, but I have a very soft spot for variations of the Coronet because it’s the only place where design really comes into play – the Big Crown on the Submariner or the fact that a Watch Four lines of text are not as fun features to check out than a crown that looks like Bart Simpson or an amphibian’s leg.
These subtle differences in the Rolex logo are very important because everything about the manufacturer’s watches is usually so standardized. The Rolex logo was not established until 1925, 20 years after founder Hans Wilsdorf founded the brand. There have been few dramatic changes in the nearly 100 years since, but there are some important dates that should be considered. For 40 years, starting in 1925, the Rolex Coronet continued to come in gold. This changed in 1965, when the crown was replaced with a bronze or slightly lighter gold color. In 2002, the shining gold crown returned. In between, plenty of distinct versions of the Coronet have emerged, and parsing out these tiny differences is a way to tell not only what era a watch is from, but also its value.
I’ve ranked my favorite versions of the Coronet below. (Although many of these already have established nicknames, I have nicknamed those that have not been named. They are marked with an asterisk.) Eric Wind of Wind Vintage, @T_Swiss_T and Paul of Bob’s Watches Special thanks to Altieri for his help.
Bonuses (not actually individual coronets, but important references in Crown history):
“Coronet Dial” 6244
It is not necessarily a coronet ups and downsBut if we’re going to talk about crowns I really want to show you Eric Koo’s reference 6244. For this watch, Rolex used their logo for every second hour marker, resulting in a very rare watch. I really like when Rolex uses unusual indices (the reference 6062 “star-dial” might be the watch from the brand I like most), and the crown dial is a really nice addition to the generally stable Rolex. Playful design.
laser-etched crown
