Reference:16808: Difference between revisions

The Submariner Date 16808 is the 18k yellow-gold member of the five-digit generation introduced alongside the steel 16800. Its 40mm case uses a sapphire crystal, a 300m depth rating and calibre 3035 with quick-set date. Christie’s and Monochrome date the reference from about 1979 to 1987. The Field Manual gives 1977 in its text but 1979–1987 in its own reference table, so surviving dated examples support a circa-1979 start more clearly than a precise factory launch date.

| circa 1979–1987 in Monochrome and Christie’s; Field Manual text gives 1977 while its table gives 1979–1987

The 16808 shares much of the 16800’s case and movement design. Monochrome notes that the inside caseback is stamped <code>16800</code>; Phillips records the same stamp on one 16808 lot. Treat that as a documented feature of the family, then assess the caseback and its fit on the individual watch.

Monochrome and Christie’s place the 16808 around 1979–1987. The Field Manual’s table gives the same span, while its running text says “Launched in 1977.” Auction records add dated examples: Christie’s catalogues case 6,412,142 as circa 1979 with a guarantee dated August 1982; Phillips dates case 6,667,544 to circa 1981; and Sotheby’s dates case 9,623,728 to circa 1987. Catalogue dates are estimates for those watches, not a serial-year conversion for every 16808.

The bezel insert came in blue or black aluminum, usually paired with a dial of the same color. Monochrome dates the move to a ratcheting unidirectional bezel on the steel 16800 to around 1981. For the gold 16808, date the bezel feature from the individual watch; the 16800’s 1981 change supplies context, not a serial cutoff.

The 16808 is documented with blue or black dials and matching blue or black bezel inserts. The markers are applied gold. Early examples use nipple-style markers, with a raised gold center around a luminous plot; flatter luminous markers also appear in the reference’s documented run. Monochrome describes that marker change, while Sotheby’s catalogued a circa-1987 nipple-dial example. The dated examples place both styles in the production run, without a secure serial cutoff between them.

The inside caseback stamp <code>16800</code> appears on a Phillips-catalogued 16808 and is also noted by Monochrome. Some watch components may have been replaced during service; assess the case, caseback, movement and papers as separate evidence.

Gold Oyster bracelets appear on the catalogued watches. An archived circa-1980 listing records a 9958 bracelet with 46 end links. Phillips records a circa-1981 example with clasp stamp 92908 and end links marked 46. Monochrome describes hollow end links on this generation before the later solid-end-link Submariners. Check the hardware and records on each watch; these lots do not establish a universal fitment sequence.

* [https://monochrome-watches.com/rolex-submariner-history-part-3-the-5-digit-references/ Tom Mulraney, "History of the Rolex Submariner – Part 3, The 5-Digit References", Monochrome, 2020-08-20]