"Celebrity Watch Hunting" focuses on the watches worn by celebrities from various genres. This time, we focus on the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date, a favorite of professional wrestler Seiji Sakaguchi.
Text by Yukaco Numamoto
Article published on June 2023, 11
Seiji Sakaguchi wearing the memorable Rolex given to him by Antonio Inoki
Seiji Sakaguchi, who was active during the Showa period and was known as the "Wild Eagle of the World" during his active career, currently serves as an advisor to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. In a photograph taken in September 2023 at the unveiling ceremony for the "Burning Fighting Spirit Antonio Inoki Statue," a memorial service for the first anniversary of Kanji Inoki's death, Sakaguchi was wearing a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date watch on his left wrist. Apparently, this Rolex was a gift from Antonio Inoki to celebrate his 9th birthday.
Seiji Sakaguchi was originally a judoka, competing in the 1965 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and winning a bronze medal. He then turned to professional wrestling at the age of 25. At 194cm, he was unusually tall for a Japanese wrestler at the time, and had a physique that rivaled even foreign wrestlers. It's no surprise that his ring name in the United States was "Big Saka."
After returning to Japan after completing his training in the United States, Seiji Sakaguchi became a star on a par with Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki, achieving many memorable matches and achieving brilliant results. After transferring to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he teamed up with Antonio Inoki. Their popularity earned them the nickname "golden duo," and they became the saviors of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which was struggling with attendance figures.
Antonio Inoki, a charismatic figure who teamed up with Seiji Sakaguchi, passed away on October 1, 2022, and various events are still being planned for him. The "Burning Fighting Spirit: Antonio Inoki Exhibition" was held at Keio Department Store in Tokyo from August 3 to 15, 2023, and concluded to great acclaim. The same exhibition will run from November 15 to 26 at Hanshin Department Store in Osaka. For Seiji Sakaguchi, it must be a source of pride that Antonio Inoki, the one and only figure he shared with for nearly 50 years, continues to capture the hearts of fans.
At the memorial service for Antonio Inoki's first anniversary, Seiji Sakaguchi, who was 81 at the time, reminisced about many memorable moments and introduced the watch he was wearing at the time to the press as "a Rolex given to me by Antonio Inoki as a gift for his 60th birthday." He had owned several other Rolexes, but sold them all, and now he treasures only this one. "It must be worth a lot," he said with a big smile, referring to this special watch filled with memories that only Seiji Sakaguchi could know.
The Rolex Submariner, released in 1953, was Rolex's first diver's watch, waterproof to a depth of 100m. With a graduated rotating bezel, large hands and luminous material, and a highly visible display with hour markers, it remains the design standard for diver's watches and has a special presence in the Rolex collection to this day.
Seiji Sakaguchi's Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date is a gift he received as a 60th birthday present, which, working backwards from his own words, means he turned 60 in 2002, so the watch is likely the Ref. 16613LN, which was sold between 1989 and 2009. The movement has been changed from the previous model's Cal. 3035, which had a single balance bridge, to the Cal. 3135, which has a twin-bridge balance cock, improving maintenance. This movement would be used in Rolex date models for 27 years, since its release in 1987.
Seiji Sakaguchi was also photographed wearing this watch at the Antonio Inoki Farewell Party held in March 2023. He said, "I got rid of my other Rolexes," which suggests that each watch holds irreplaceable memories. That same month, he received the Japan Professional Sports Award for Achievement in Sports, and it's likely that the same watch was on his wrist on that day as well.
The current model of the Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date, Ref. 126613LN, has a case size that is approximately 1mm larger than the original. The movement it is equipped with is the Cal. 3235, which was first released in 2015 and has been granted 14 new patents. The Chronergy escapement, with its revised tooth profile and lighter weight, has improved escapement efficiency.
Automatic (Cal. 3235). 31 jewels. 28,800 vph. Power reserve approximately 70 hours. Stainless steel and 18K yellow gold (diameter 41mm). Water resistant to 300m. Price: 2,043,800 yen (tax included).
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