1984 Rolex Submariner Date 16800 Matte Dial Box & Papers
Ref: 16800
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its Rolex box & Rolex paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original 20mm stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet with an OysterLock safety clasp and will fit up to a 7.1-inch wrist. The watch is from Circa. 1984 and is in worn/fair condition with a faded black aluminium bezel insert, as you can see from the photographs. The case and bracelet do feature signs of wear throughout, a full case and bracelet refurb can be provided at an additional cost. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YyHrX1j-DdTmzgP06GydYvYj78O33s1c?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 6:55 - https://youtu.be/PKbgjCv4U_U
The Watch
Here we have a 1984 Rolex Submariner Date 16800 Matte Dial Box & Papers. Released in 1979 as a major upgrade to the outgoing ref: 1680 with a new hard-wearing crystal and improved movement, this early example retains the matte dial and painted indices of the ref: 1680. The 40mm stainless steel Oyster case curves over your wrist with drilled tapered lugs, polished and brushed surfaces transition with crisp edges, and a lug-to-lug length of 47mm and a case thickness of 12.5mm give the watch an impressive wrist presence, on the right side is a signed Rolex screwed-down crown and the crown guards are part of the case which gives it strength. The unidirectional faded black aluminium divers bezel insert has gone a subtle blue hue and holds a sapphire crystal above a matte black dial. This MK1 dial has painted disc and baton indexes that are painted with Tritium marking the hours, Mercedes's hands are filled with Tritium complemented by a sweeping lollipop counterweighted second-hand. At 3 o’clock a date window with cyclops magnification on the crystal. At noon a Rolex crown with the text “Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date”, at 6 o’clock we have “Submariner 1000ft= 300m” “Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified”, on the bottom edge, you can see "Swiss-T<25". On the reverse, a coin-edged screw-down case back, inside an automatic Rolex Cal. 3035, 27 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, it is fitted with a Free sprung Breguet hairspring, and for the first time a quick set date function, this movement was first introduced in 1977. The watch comes paired with its original Rolex 20mm stainless steel Oyster bracelet with an OysterLock safety clasp and will fit up to a 7.1-inch wrist, and this watch is sold with its Rolex box & Rolex paperwork.
Personal Note
The Rolex Submariner reference 16800 is easily one of my all-time favourites, especially the earlier models like this example from 1984 with the beautiful matte dial, large lume plots and this example even has a beautifully faded bezel insert which just tops off this charming watch on the wrist! If you have been looking at older subs and haven't decided on which one to get, I would highly recommend booking an appointment to see this piece in the metal and on wrist for yourself! But be warned... You will likely leave with it on your wrist and a huge smile on your face.
The Brand
In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which were installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers developed a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster, and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released Datejust. The Datejust was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960, saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.