Although the Rolex Submariner began its life in 1953 as a sturdy no-frills stainless steel dive watch, today, this famed diver is considered to be one of the world’s greatest luxury watches – while still very capable of plunging into the deep to accompany aquanauts. The Sub’s graduation from utilitarian to upscale no doubt began when Rolex introduced the very first Submariner in solid yellow gold. Nothing says fancy like armor made of shiny precious metal. Let’s find out which reference was the first Rolex Submariner gold watch and lay out the details. When your life depends on a limited tank of oxygen strapped to your back, you are naturally more concerned about the passing minutes rather than what day it is. Which explains why early dive models from the 1950s (Fifty Fathoms, Submariner, Seamaster 300, Breitling Superocean, etc.) didn’t worry about putting a date window on the already limited real estate of the dial. The First Yellow Gold Rolex Submariner Not only did Rolex make the Submariner ref. 1680 in stainless steel, but the company also manufactured a solid yellow gold Submariner 1680. It’s important to note that the first yellow Sub is sometimes simply called the yellow gold Submariner 1680 or the Submariner 1680/8; however, it is not the Submariner 16808 – that’s an entirely different generation. Back to the yellow gold Submariner Date 1680. Rolex’s first gold diver made its debut in 1969, flaunting an 18k yellow gold 40mm Oyster case fitted with a matching 18k yellow gold Oyster bracelet. Early examples of the Submariner ref. 1680/8 featured a rotating bezel with a black aluminum insert and a matching black dial.
While bidirectional rotating bezels may be quicker for wearers to turn to the appropriate spot, as a dive bezel it’s not the best option. If the bezel gets accidentally knocked, this could cause divers to miscalculate how long they have been underwater. Therefore, a unidirectional bezel is more prudent because accidental knocks to the bezel can only result in overestimating immersion time – it’s far preferable to start ascending to the surface earlier or spend longer than necessary at a decompression stop.Rolex began equipping the Submariner with unidirectional bezels starting with the Submariner Date ref. 16800, which was introduced around 1979. The no-date Submariner model received a unidirectional bezel with the introduction of the Submariner ref. 14060 in 1990.Like the previous generation, the new unidirectional bezels included aluminum bezel inserts. In 1983, Rolex introduced the first two-tone Submariner model in the form of the Submariner Date ref. 16803, which sported a yellow gold knurled bezel with a black or blue aluminum insert. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Submariner in 2003, Rolex introduced the stainless steel Submariner Date ref. 16610LV with a green bezel insert.In 2008, Rolex introduced the first Submariner models equipped with unidirectional bezels featuring Cerachrom inserts. Cerachrom is Rolex’s proprietary ceramic alloy that is not only resistant to scratching but also to fading. The 60-minute graduations are cut into the bezel and then the ceramic bezel insert is fully coated with either yellow gold (for yellow gold and two-tone models) or platinum (for white gold or steel models). The gold/platinum is then polished away from the ceramic surface until only the recessed numerals and markings are left with the metal filling.By 2012, Rolex had rolled out the Cerachrom bezels across all Submariner models and color options include black, blue, and green. A quick way to know the color of the bezel is to look at the letters in the reference number: LB (blue bezel), LN (black bezel), and LV (green bezel).
However, the dials of the gold Sub were not the standard black dials of their stainless steel counterparts.A few years later, around 1971, Rolex offered another colorway of the yellow gold Submariner featuring a bright blue bezel and dial. The yellow gold Submariners in blue also has the same “nipple dial” design. Particularly intriguing with the blue gold Submariner 1680/8 models is how the dials have transformed into different colors over time including lighter blues, vibrant purples, and rich reddish brown (also known as “tropical dials” in vintage Rolex terminology). Comparing the Rolex Submariner to the GMT-Master II.Two watches, perhaps the two most well-known in Rolex’s sports watch lineup, have amazing similarities, and one can be forgiven for confusing them at a distance. These two watches are, of course, the Submariner dive watch (ref. 116610) and the GMT-Master II (we’ll call it the GMT for short, but we’re talking about the current ref. 116710).The Submariner GMT Master Comparison .The individual histories of the Submariner and the GMT are well documented elsewhere, so let’s compare and contrast the two current models.First, the similarities. The Submariner and the GMT-Master II are luxury watches. Both watches are currently housed in the 40mm diameter so-called “super case” with a ceramic or Cerachrom bezel insert. This case, done in 904L stainless steel, debuted in 2007 with the GMT (the Submariner received the new case a year later). There are minute differences in the two cases, but you need to set them side by side and look very closely to see them.Both watches buckle to your wrist with the current Oyster bracelet.
Then there’s the much more subdued fixed stainless bezel of the Explorer II which matches the case and features a 24-hour marked scale. This feature was specifically built for explorers who need to distinguish day from night – think cave explorers or polar explorers in the height of summer when the sun never sets.For decades, the durable and waterproof Oyster case on the Explorer II measured 40mm, but upon its redesign for the 40th anniversary of the collection in 2011, it was enlarged to 42mm. However, while Rolex produces a precious metal version of the Submariner, the Explorer II is exclusively offered in 904L stainless steel, and there have never been any solid gold or two-tone models ever produced. The current Explorer II is only offered on a steel Oyster bracelet with a Oysterlock clasp, but to be honest, when it comes to the Explorer II, collectors are much more concerned with what really makes this watch: the face.The dial of the Explorer II is iconic for a few reasons. The most notable being the colored 24-hour hand which circles the face. First there’s the iconic orange 24-hour hand, originally designed to help polar and cave explorers distinguish night from day, that gained its cult-status from the original “Steve McQueen” reference. Rolex eventually brought back the bright orange hand with much fanfare. Then there’s the red 24-hour hand which graced the dial for decades – it’s distinctly different than the orange hand with a skinnier body and smaller luminous triangle at the tip. The dials with a red 24-hour hand are far less punchy than their orange counterparts, but still make the Explorer II standout from the rest of the Rolex lineup.Then there are the dial colors – available in effortlessly-cool black and the coveted ‘polar’ white. The polar dial is totally cool and clean, the white face outfitted with white lume plots and Mercedes hands outlined in black. The black face on the other hand has a totally different appeal. While it boasts the same features, the darker face really highlights the stainless steel bezel, lume hour plots and lume-filled Mercedes hands (this time in white gold rather than finished black). It’s a punchier look, and the colored 24-hour hand – especially the orange one – shines against the black a little brighter.
Case lugs have a curved line so the whole case can fit your wrist very well. Do not worry that the rose gold tone will fade, it will not because the rose gold coating is so thick. After many years of wearing, you can send the watch to us, we can do rose gold plating for you in factory. Bezel is real black ceramic with rose gold markings. On solid case back, the center is brushed while the round edge is polished. The back of each lug is engraved with some symbols, I do not know them.Rose gold dial has Swiss lume applied on hour markers and hands, there will be a strong blue lume effect in the dark. The sunray rose gold dial has a high quality texture. Three subdials have their correct function, small seconds subdial is positioned at 6 o’clock, the small dial at 3 o’clock is for 30-minute chronograph, while the small subdial at 9 o’clock is for 12-hour chronograph. These subdials are all working right. In details, they have rose gold edge with black circles on the center.The replica Rolex Daytona watch is equipped with a black leather band, which is made of genuine alligator leather. The leather strap has a rose gold buckle, there is a delicate Rolex Crown on the buckle. When opening the clasp, you will notice the engravings are perfectly done by the factory. By the way, the watch has a water resistant depth of 50 meters.Rolex only published several pieces Daytona watches for women, but every Daytona watch they unveiled is very suitable for women to wear, I do not think Rolex Daytona is exclusive for men. Under current trend, the Daytona, whose case diameter is up to 40mm, looks neutral and is a nice choice for women. Daytona is the only model of Rolex that has a chronograph function. It is only in 40mm and does not have other options, except some vintage models like Paul Newman Daytona. Among all Rolex models, the popularity of Daytona is close to Submariner.Due to its high popularity, Daytona is also highly welcomed in replica watch industry, it is replicated by a lot of watch manufacturers. Different factories make different quality of Daytona replica watches. The general rule is small factories make low quality Daytona replicas, while big factories make high quality ones. However, I do not recommend you to buy the most expensive replicas, you need to find the right one. Sometimes the watch is not very stable even you spent more than $600 USD on it, from a big factory such as Noob, ARF, etc. But sometimes a replica watch from a common watch factory can serve you for years. This situation always happens, some clients also complained that their expensive watches have issues only after several months. I must say this situation is common, you just need to find a right watch supplier who could do a careful quality control before shipping your order.
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