1953 Rolex Submariner 'Top of the World to Bottom of the Sea' Print Advertisement
Approximately 6.5 x 10 inches.
1953 was the year Rolex owned both ends of the earth. Hillary and Tenzing summited Everest with Rolex on the expedition. A few months later, a special Oyster strapped to the outside of the bathyscaphe Trieste came back from more than 10,000 feet down, still keeping time. Rolex turned that double win into this ad, which introduced American readers to a new watch built for the “skin-diving” craze: the Submariner.
This is launch-era Submariner advertising. The illustrated watch is the original design, with no crown guards and no model name on the dial, set between climbers on the ice and a diver on the reef. Copy covers the rotating bezel, pitched to divers tracking their air supply, and closes with an offer to write in for the free Submariner booklet. It ran in National Geographic at the start of a Rolex relationship with the Society that continues today.
This is an authentic vintage print, not a reproduction, pulled from an original period issue. It’s a piece of its time that works in an office, a den, or next to the watch box. It’s the right gift for the Sub owner who already has everything.
What you see is what you get; the ad in the photo is the exact one that'll come to you. Listed sizes are close, but treat them as ballpark, not gospel.
Not feeling it? Send it back within 30 days in the same shape it arrived and we'll refund you in full. No drama.
Go with custom framing and we'll reach out to design something that does the piece justice. We have examples from our own offices and from current clients to give you inspiration.
Every unframed ad rides safe: acid free sleeve, stiff backerboard behind it, another board up front, all tucked into a rigid photo mailer and sent USPS with 3-day tracking. It'll get to you the way it left us.