Reference:16808: Difference between revisions

|title=Rolex Submariner 16808 (circa 1979–1987) | Rolexopedia

|description=Collector guide to the gold Rolex Submariner 16808: calibre 3035, dial and marker variants, bezel, bracelets and auction examples.

|keywords=Rolex, Submariner, 16808, calibre 3035, nipple dial, 92908, 9958

|image=Ref 16808 hero.webp

|image_alt=Yellow gold Rolex Submariner Date reference 16808

|type=Article

<small>[[Reference:submariner|Submariner]] → '''16808'''</small>

[[File:Ref 16808 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Yellow gold Rolex Submariner Date reference 16808|Rolex Submariner Date 16808.]]

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 Tom Mulraney 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.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"

| <code>16808</code>

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

| calibre 3035, quick-set date, 27 jewels, 28,800 vph

| 18k yellow gold, commonly catalogued at 40mm

| sapphire with Cyclops date magnifier

| 300m / 1,000ft

| rotating gold bezel with blue or black aluminum insert

| blue or black, commonly paired with a matching insert

| markers and lume

| nipple-style gold markers on some dials; flatter luminous markers also documented; tritium on catalogued examples

| 18k gold Oyster; 9958 bracelet and 92908 clasp stamp appear on documented examples

| Submariner Date 16618, introduced around 1988

==Place in the line==

The 16808 replaced the gold 1680/8 and arrived with sapphire crystal and calibre 3035. It ran alongside the steel 16800; the two-tone Rolesor 16803 followed around 1984. The 16618 carried the full-gold Submariner Date into the 3135 generation around 1988.

The 16808 shares much of the 16800’s case and movement design. Tom Mulraney 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.

Tom Mulraney 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. Use these catalogue dates as anchors for the individual watches; they do not date every 16808 by serial.

The bezel insert came in blue or black aluminum, usually paired with a dial of the same color. Tom Mulraney dates the move to a ratcheting unidirectional bezel on the steel 16800 to around 1981. For the gold 16808, check the bezel on the individual watch; the 16800 evidence places the change around 1981.

==Movement notes==

Calibre 3035 is an automatic date movement with quick-set date, 27 jewels and a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The current Movement reference lists 48 hours of power reserve. The 16618 replaced it with calibre 3135.

[[File:Ref 16808 movement.webp|thumb|right|240px|alt=Rolex calibre 3035 movement from a Submariner 16808|Calibre 3035, removed for service.]]

===Blue and black dials===

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. Tom Mulraney describes that marker change, while Sotheby’s catalogued a circa-1987 nipple-dial example. Published examples place both styles in the run; their serial order remains unestablished.

Auction catalogues identify tritium on these dials. The reviewed examples carry tritium markings. Check the lume on each dial, especially where service parts may have been fitted.

===Color-change dials===

Auction catalogues describe blue dials that aged to brown. Sotheby’s calls the circa-1987 case 9,623,728 a tropical blue dial and says it turned brown; Monaco Legend describes similar brown change on its 1982 example. Sellers sometimes call purple-looking examples violet or purple. Those color names describe appearance; the auction records trace the examples to blue dials that changed with age.

[[File:Ref 16808 dial-detail.webp|thumb|right|240px|alt=Blue Rolex Submariner 16808 nipple dial with raised gold hour markers|Blue nipple dial.]]

==Case, bezel, crystal and crown==

The 18k yellow-gold Oyster case measures about 40mm in most catalogues. Antiquorum recorded a circa-1981 example at 39mm, so catalogue measurements vary by a millimeter. The watch has crown guards, a screw-down Triplock crown, a sapphire crystal and a rotating bezel with an aluminum insert. The dial states 1,000ft=300m on documented examples.

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

[[File:Ref 16808 case-crown.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=18k yellow gold Submariner 16808 case flank with Triplock crown and guards|Gold case, Triplock crown and guards.]]

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. Tom Mulraney describes hollow end links on this generation before the later solid-end-link Submariners. These lots document two fittings; identify each bracelet from its hardware and the watch’s records.

Inspect each bracelet for play and wear. A clasp code dates the clasp or bracelet, not the watch head. Boxes, guarantees and booklets in auction descriptions belong to those lots and should be checked against the watch’s own serial and provenance.

==Auction record==

Each auction description dates and characterizes its own lot; together, the entries show examples across the run rather than a complete production ledger.

{| class="wikitable"

| Christie’s, case 6,412,142

|-

| blue dial and bezel, calibre 3035 with 27 jewels, 40mm, gold Oyster bracelet

|-

|-

| blue nipple dial described as tropical brown, calibre 3035, 40mm, box and papers listed

|-

| Sotheby’s, case 9,623,728

| tropical blue nipple dial described as turned brown, calibre 3035/27 jewels, 40mm

|-

| Antiquorum, case 6,516,672

| circa 1981

| colour-change dial, calibre 3035/27 jewels, 39mm; non-original box

|}

See also [[Reference:submariner|Submariner family guide]], [[Reference:Movements|Movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|Bracelet and clasp guide]] and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|Serial numbers]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">

File:Ref 16808 dial-detail.webp|Blue nipple dial and applied markers

File:Ref 16808 case-crown.webp|Gold case and Triplock crown

</gallery>

* [https://www.rolex.com/watches/submariner Rolex Submariner technical material] — current terminology for the family

* [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", 2020-08-20]

* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6539583 "Submariner ref. 16808, case 6,412,142, circa 1979", Christie’s]