Reference:16800: Difference between revisions

The [[Reference:16800|16800]] is the transitional Submariner Date, the watch that carried the line from its vintage roots into the modern era. Introduced around 1979 as the successor to the [[Reference:1680|1680]], it arrived with three fundamental changes that would define the modern Submariner: a '''sapphire crystal''' (the first ever fitted to a Submariner), a 300-meter depth rating (up from 200m), and a quick-set date via the caliber 3035 movement. Production ran until about 1988, when the [[Reference:16610|16610]] took over for a 23-year reign. Between those two sat the transitional 168000 “Triple Zero.”

The sapphire crystal is the single most important technical landmark of this reference. Every Submariner before the [[Reference:16800|16800]] (the [[Reference:1680|1680]], the [[Reference:5513|5513]], the [[Reference:6538|6538]]) wore an acrylic crystal. The [[Reference:16800|16800]] broke that continuity and established the standard that all subsequent Submariners would follow. That line was never crossed back.

The [[Reference:16800|16800]] run spans about eight to nine years, 1979 to 1988. The most important internal split is the movement.

The first [[Reference:16800|16800]] examples carried the caliber 1575, the same movement used in the [[Reference:1680|1680]]. These watches have a sapphire crystal and 300m rating but lack the quick-set date function. The date advances only by running the hands past midnight. An early [[Reference:16800|16800]] looks thoroughly modern on the outside but operates like a vintage Submariner inside. That paradox gives these examples their own character.

The name Triple Zero comes from the three consecutive zeros in the reference number itself: 168000. Its collector significance runs deeper than numerology. The 168000 is the first 904L steel Submariner; the switch from 316L to 904L happened here, and every subsequent steel Rolex sport watch (including every [[Reference:16610|16610]] and 116610) uses 904L. The 93150 bracelet with 501B end links distinguishes every 168000 from every [[Reference:16800|16800]], which makes it the key authentication checkpoint when the reference number itself is not visible. And at about seven to nine months, the 168000 is the shortest-run Submariner of the modern era. Volume is believed to be very low, though no confirmed production numbers exist.

The movement split is the defining internal variation of the [[Reference:16800|16800]].

 

Caliber 1575 carried over from the [[Reference:1680|1680]] with no quick-set date, no hacking, 19,800 bph. These early pieces are the rarer configuration. Caliber 3035 was the new movement for this era: quick-set date, hacking seconds, 28,800 bph. The 3035 is the caliber most [[Reference:16800|16800]] buyers will encounter.

The case is the same 40mm crown-guard Oyster used on the [[Reference:1680|1680]], but the crystal change is the defining break with the past. The sapphire crystal is flat and substantially harder than the old domed acrylic. It does not develop the warm dome distortion that vintage collectors prize on the [[Reference:5513|5513]] or [[Reference:1680|1680]]. It also does not scratch under normal wear. The transition from acrylic to sapphire on the [[Reference:16800|16800]] drew a line between the vintage and modern Submariner eras. Rolex never retreated from it.

The bezel uses an aluminum insert, black with a pearl (lume pip) at 12 o’clock. This insert style continued through the [[Reference:16610|16610]] era. The depth rating is engraved 300m / 1000ft on the rehaut or printed on the dial depending on production date.

 

The Triplock crown is standard.

The [[Reference:16800|16800]] was fitted with the 93150 Oyster bracelet with '''593 end links'''. The bracelet does not have solid end links (SEL); that upgrade arrived with later references. The clasp uses an older-style fold-out diver’s extension. This is the critical authentication detail when distinguishing the [[Reference:16800|16800]] from the 168000: the 501B end links that sometimes appear in [[Reference:16800|16800]] listings belong to the 168000 “Triple Zero.” Any [[Reference:16800|16800]] offered with 501B end links either has a replaced bracelet or is misidentified.

Packaging for the [[Reference:16800|16800]] follows three documented box configurations across the production run:

 

The earliest boxes are the American horseshoe style. Mid-production examples carry the Brettchen with sea-bottom motif box. Late production shipped in the tree-pattern box with beige envelope.

Specific lot-level auction data with hammer prices is not captured in this corpus. This is a gap that should be filled with targeted auction research.