Rolex Has a New Submariner. It Isn’t a Dive Watch

But it may be the ultimate desk diver.

Close-up of a black Rolex Submariner watch face with silver hour markers and a magnified date window.

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By Johnny Brayson

Published November 3, 2025

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Updated November 4, 2025

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Rolex has a new Submariner Date, and its specs are unlike any dive watch we’ve ever seen from the brand.

This Submariner Date has a case that measures 80mm across, nearly twice the diameter of a normal Submariner Date. It features a secular calendar that requires no adjustment for the next 400 years. Its crown not only doesn’t screw down, but is removable, and though it’s knurled, its 60-minute bezel is fixed and doesn’t rotate.

If this all wasn’t weird enough, it gets weirder. The new Sub is powered by a battery-powered quartz movement instead of an automatic. Most blasphemous of all, the model is not waterproof at all and shouldn’t even be exposed to significant humidity.

So then, just how is Rolex‘s new Submariner a dive watch? Well, that’s just the thing. It isn’t. In fact, it’s not a watch at all.

rolex submariner laying in water — Rolex’s latest Submariner is quite a different from the one we’re used to seeing.

Desk diver

Taking the term desk diver to the extreme, Rolex has created an official Submariner Date Desk Clock and quietly released it as part of the brand’s line of accessories a few months ago. Shout out to our friends at Hodinkee for spotting one of these in the wild at Watches of Switzerland’s store on Bond Street in London and bringing it to wider attention. Otherwise, this thing may have slipped under the radar.

As I mentioned in the intro, there’s a lot about this clock that is quite different from a Submariner Date dive watch. However, there are also many similarities, beyond the shared basic design.

The dial remains glossy black lacquer, and that aforementioned fixed bezel still gets a Cerachrome insert. What’s more, the bezel pip, applied indices and Mercedes handset are all filled with Rolex’s Chromalight lume — a lot of it. The massive crystal is also made of sapphire, just like on the clock’s wristworn counterpart, and the signature cyclops magnifier over the date window remains intact.

Round silver desk clock designed like a Rolex Submariner watch with a black dial on a wooden table. — Behold, the next Rolex status symbol.

The way the clock is set up is pretty interesting, as there’s a round, watch-like “case” that locks into a half-cylinder base, which itself rests on a pedestal that allows the clock to be rotated. All of these parts are made of 316L stainless steel instead of Rolex’s usual 904L Oystersteel.

Once removed from its base, the clock reveals a unique caseback decorated with Geneva striping. This is where you’ll find the removable crown and, even more strangely, an LCD digital display. On a Rolex. On a Submariner! We’re through the looking glass here, people.

The caseback features gold text calling out the new in-house quartz movement — Rolex Cal. 8335 — and the fact that the movement is a secular calendar with 30 jewels. That’s a whole lot of lubrication for a quartz movement, so I’m assuming the movement is quite complex, and I suppose it would have to be to calculate dates without intervention for the next four centuries.

Black Rolex Submariner watch face with glowing blue hour markers and hands on a dark background. — The clock shares several features with a Submariner watch, including a Cerachrom bezel insert and Chromalight lume.

The LCD screen displays the date, including the year, and is adjusted via two buttons on either side of the screen. The time is set with the crown, and the seconds hand hacks. The seconds hand also has a low-battery indicator, which jumps four seconds at a time when the battery is near the end of its life.

The movement is arguably the most interesting thing about this clock, and depending on how big it is, there’s a small hope we could see it (or a derivative) used to power a watch someday. I mean, the Land-Dweller already looks quite a bit like an Oysterquartz, so why not throw a Cal. 8335 in one and see what happens?

Pricing and availability

I can easily see the Rolex Submariner Date Desk Clock (Ref. 909010LN) becoming the next must-have Rolex status symbol, and I wouldn’t be surprised if next year at Watches and Wonders I see people wearing them after they’ve been converted into Flava Flav-approved necklaces, pocket watches or even makeshift wristwatches. Hodinkee reports that Watches of Switzerland already has a waitlist for them, which is not at all surprising.

What is somewhat surprising is the price of this thing. Rolex is selling this desk clock at its boutiques and select retail partners for a whopping $10,270. That’s just a few hundred dollars less than an actual Submariner Date watch at $10,650, and it’s several hundred more than a Submariner no-date, which retails for $9,500.

That’s pretty wild, as I can’t imagine anyone choosing this clock over a no-date Sub. Then again, I doubt anyone’s choosing between the two. If you’re buying this clock, you likely already own an entire fleet of Rolexes.

Silver and black Rolex Submariner watch face with bezel and magnified date window.

Rolex Submariner Date Desk Clock

Specs

Case Size	80mm
Movement	Rolex Cal. 8335 quartz secular calendar
Water Resistance	N/A

$10,270 at Rolex

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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