1997 Rolex Submariner Steel & Gold "Bluesey" 16613 Box & Papers
Ref: 16613
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel & 18ct Yellow Gold
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its Rolex presentation box, swing tag & Rolex paperwork. The watch comes paired with its Rolex bracelet with 11 Links (1 link short of a full bracelet) 20mm 18ct Yellow Gold/stainless steel (Rolesor) and end links with an OysterLock safety deployant clasp and dive extension. The watch is from February 1997 and is in worn but very fair condition, with a sticker still on the case back, as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months Non-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zvxa-QCcpNimKyEZwoslprDNR0ZKfrwa?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 2:26 - https://youtu.be/uVfPnsgMgeQ
The Watch
Here we have a 1997 Rolex Submariner Steel & Gold (Rolesor) "Bluesey" 16613 Box & Papers with a 40mm stainless steel Oyster case that 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 18ct Yellow Gold Rolex Triplock screwed-down crown protected by crown guards that are part of the case, which gives it strength. The unidirectional 18ct Yellow Gold bezel has deep knurling with a blue anodised aluminium divers bezel insert that holds a flat sapphire crystal above a stunning sunburst blue dial. Applied 18ct Yellow Gold surround disc and baton indexes are filled with Tritium lume marking the hours, 18ct Yellow Gold Mercedes's hands are filled with Tritium lume complemented by a sweeping lollipop counterweighted second-hand. At 3 o’clock, we have the date window with Cyclops magnification on the crystal. At 12 o’clock, the Rolex crown with the text “Oyster Perpetual Date” is precisely applied; at 6 o’clock, we have the additional fourth line “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. 3135, 31 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, it is fitted with a Parachrom hairspring, designed by Rolex; it offers greater resistance to shocks and to temperature variations, this movement was first introduced in 1988. The watch comes fitted on its Rolex 20mm 18ct Yellow Gold & stainless steel (Rolesor) Rolex Oyster bracelet and end links with an OysterLock safety clasp and dive extension. This watch is sold with its Rolex presentation box, swing tag & Rolex paperwork.
Personal Note
It is always a great privilege to acquire a watch from the original family, especially one that was clearly cherished and well looked after like this wonderful Bluesey 16613 from 1997 featuring its box and paperwork and back from a light polish, now looking incredible and ready to be worn and enjoyed for a further 26+ years! There will forever be something alluring about the combination of steel, gold and blue, a match that works beautifully. I would not hesitate to add this one to your collection!
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 came up with 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 the 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.