After fighting Batman, piloting a sortie over Dunkirk and living as an alien symbiote, we are entitled to aspire to the most ultimate luxury. At least that's what it is for Tom Hardy, seen at the New York premiere of Venom: The Last Dance with a Submariner Date ref. 116610LN. A natural choice — the Sub is not a watchmaking legend for nothing.
Born in 1953, in the heady period of the beginnings of recreational diving, this watch was designed to accompany divers beneath the surface without losing their sense of time, thanks to a rotating bezel. With its affordable price, it has been the ideal tool for athletes, explorers, soldiers and many others for decades. From the 1970s, it became a luxury product, available in gold and two-tone models. These days, it is very difficult to find in stores.
© Karwai Tang, Getty Images
© Rolex
The Submariner worn by Hardy, also an Air Jordan fan as he demonstrated recently, is not the most modern steel version of the Date — ref. 126610LN — which measures 41 mm. This one, the 116610LN, comes from an earlier generation, one millimeter larger. When the new Sub models showed up in 2020, it was the first time in decades that Rolex had increased the case size. This subtle change is typical of the approach of the crown brand, which perfects its catalog over time and with caution.
It turns out the Submariner isn't the only Rolex Tom Hardy owns. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that Tom is a Rolex man. We also find, in his collection, a “Polar” Explorer II ref. 216570, worn during the Toronto International Film Festival, a Sky-Dweller in white gold which accompanied it on many red carpets, or the Datejust Turn-O-Graph, no longer produced to date. But be careful, we are not dealing with a fanatic, he also owns a model of the limited edition of the Omega Seamaster “Casino Royale”. (Not a word to the people at Rolex!) We have also seen him wearing several Bremont watches, including the U2/51-Jet and the ALT1-P2 Jet, notably in Venom.
Endowed with the characteristic roughness of old-school actors, Tom Hardy blends perfectly into the world of the Submariner: he embodies its practicality and reliability as much as its raw beauty. Not to mention the well-deserved exclusivity of this watch: the Sub is today a luxury product, and the actor's films have generated some 7 billion dollars. Finally, let's add to this a hint ofEnglish connection : Hans Wilsdorf, originally from Germany and founder of Rolex, initially established his business in England before moving to Switzerland for tax reasons. All we have to do now is to find out if Tom Hardy has his diving experience, to know to what depths his loyalty is likely to take him…
Originally published on GQ US.
