The Submariner's public life began at the Basel Spring Fair of 1954, where Rolex showed the reference 6204: a 100 meter diver with a rotating bezel and a name that would outlive every watch in this file. Behind the debut sits one of vintage collecting's favorite arguments, because the big-crown 6200 carries an earlier reference number and many collectors hold that it was actually produced first. Rolex's records do not settle it, which by now should sound familiar.
Survivors of the earliest Submariners lived seventy years through an era when nobody considered them precious, and it shows: replaced dials, service hands, and polished cases are the norm rather than the exception. Original examples trade at the level where every part is scrutinized by people who do this professionally.
The founding document, and priced like one. At this altitude the watch is bought through specialists, with provenance, and after independent inspection. The reference number on the caseback is the beginning of the question, not the answer.
Production windows and specifications compiled from documented collector references and period catalogs, cross-checked across independent sources; manufacturer records for this era are approximate by Seiko's own account.