Reference:16808

Submariner → 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

detail	value
reference	16808
family	Submariner Date
production	circa 1979–1987 in Tom Mulraney and Christie’s; Field Manual text gives 1977 while its table gives 1979–1987
movement	calibre 3035, quick-set date, 27 jewels, 28,800 vph
case	18k yellow gold, commonly catalogued at 40mm
crystal	sapphire with Cyclops date magnifier
water resistance	300m / 1,000ft
bezel	rotating gold bezel with blue or black aluminum insert
dial colors	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
bracelet	18k gold Oyster; 9958 bracelet and 92908 clasp stamp appear on documented examples
predecessor	Submariner Date 1680/8
successor	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 16800; 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.

Production outline

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.

Calibre 3035, removed for service.

Dial map

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.

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 16800 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.

Gold case, Triplock crown and guards.

Bracelet and clasp

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.

catalogue	example	recorded details
Christie’s, case 6,412,142	circa 1979	black nipple dial, 40mm case, gold Oyster bracelet; guarantee dated 10 August 1982
Christie’s, case 7,066,758	circa 1981	blue dial and bezel, calibre 3035 with 27 jewels, 40mm, gold Oyster bracelet
Phillips, case 6,667,544	circa 1981	calibre 3035/27 jewels, 40mm, bracelet clasp 92908, end links 46; inside caseback stamped 16800
Monaco Legend, case 7,538,212	1982	blue nipple dial described as tropical brown, calibre 3035, 40mm, box and papers listed
Sotheby’s, case 9,623,728	circa 1987	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

Related references

• Submariner Date 1680/8
• Submariner Date 16800
• Submariner Date 16803
• Submariner Date 16618

See also Submariner family guide, Movement reference, Bracelet and clasp guide and Serial numbers.

• 
  Submariner Date 16808, yellow gold
• 
  Blue nipple dial and applied markers
• 
  Gold case and Triplock crown
• 
  Calibre 3035

Sources

• Wikipedia: Rolex Submariner — family chronology
• Rolex Submariner technical material — current terminology for the family

• Tom Mulraney, "History of the Rolex Submariner – Part 3, The 5-Digit References", 2020-08-20
• The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
• "Submariner ref. 16808, case 6,412,142, circa 1979", Christie’s
• "Submariner ref. 16808, case 6,667,544, circa 1981", Phillips
• "Submariner ref. 16808, case 7,066,758, circa 1981", Christie’s
• "Submariner ref. 16808, tropical nipple dial, circa 1987", Sotheby’s, 2021
• "Submariner ref. 16808, blue tropical nipple dial, case 7,538,212", Monaco Legend Auctions
• "Submariner ref. 16808, colour-change dial, case 6,516,672", Antiquorum, 2026-05-10
• "Submariner ref. 16808, black nipple dial, circa 1980", Lunar Oyster