Rolexopedia

Rolex 16618 Submariner

This is a checked version, approved on 28 September 2026. New changes may have been made.


Submariner › 16618

Rolex Submariner 16618 in 18k yellow gold with blue dial, full watch and bracelet
Rolex Submariner 16618 in 18k yellow gold with blue dial, full watch and bracelet

The 16618 is the full 18k yellow-gold Submariner Date of the caliber 3135 era. It ran alongside the two-tone 16613 and is generally dated from about 1988 until 2008 or 2009, depending on whether a source means factory production or final delivery stock. The reference changed in stages rather than at one clean cutoff.

It follows the 1680/8 and 16808 in the gold Submariner line and precedes the ceramic-bezel 116618. Its 40mm gold case, caliber 3135, sapphire Cyclops crystal, and aluminum bezel identify it as a pre-Cerachrom generation.


Core facts

detail value
reference 16618 (LN = black, LB = blue)
family Submariner Date
production about 1988 to 2008; some sources use 2009 for final delivery stock
movement caliber 3135 (date, quick-set, 28800 bph)
case 40mm, full 18k yellow gold
crystal sapphire with Cyclops
water resistance 300m
bezel 18k gold with aluminum insert (blue or black)
lume tritium (early), Luminova (~1998), Super-Luminova (late)
bracelet 93158 → 93258 (SEL transition, see bracelet section)
rehaut plain (early), engraved ROLEX ROLEX (~2005 onward)
successor 116618

Where it sits in the gold Submariner lineage

The 16618 is the full-gold member of the caliber 3135 Submariner Date group, alongside the steel 16610 and Rolesor 16613. They share the broad case and movement architecture, while the case, bezel, bracelet, and clasp materials differ. The gold construction makes the 16618 heavier than the steel and two-tone versions.

What changed inside the reference arrived in pieces. Lume ran through three generations, the bracelet gained solid end links, the rehaut picked up its engraving, and no single year marks the break. A late-1980s watch and a late-run watch carry the same reference number but can differ in lume, bracelet, rehaut, and other parts.

Production outline

Collector and auction references describe the same broad stages seen on the 16613: tritium, then non-tritium lume; a bracelet change from 93158 to 93258; and an engraved rehaut on later examples. Rolex has not published a complete serial-linked change chart, so the individual parts and service history remain decisive.

Early production (~1988–1998)

Early watches carry tritium lume (marked T SWISS T or T<25) on the 93158 bracelet with hollow end links. The plain rehaut and hollow-link bracelet date these examples firmly to the pre-millennium era. Early tritium examples are documented in auction catalogues. Bonhams offered a circa-1988 blue-dial example in October 2022 with a US$35,000–55,000 estimate; it did not sell. That lot is evidence for one watch, not a general market ranking.

Mid production (~1998–2005)

Dial lume moved from tritium to Luminova and then to Super-Luminova. The bracelet moved to the 93258 with solid end links around 2000. Published sources do not pin either changeover to a single serial band. A blue-dial example purchased new on 18 March 2003 sold at Bonhams in June 2025 for a hammer price of US$22,000 against a US$12,000–18,000 estimate, cased at no. P616061.

Late production (~2005–2009)

The late watches carry the engraved inner rehaut, with ROLEX ROLEX repeating around the ring and the serial at 6 o'clock. Late examples share some visible features with the following 116618, but parts and service history still require individual inspection.

Movement notes

Caliber 3135 runs throughout, the same movement used in the steel 16610 and the two-tone 16613. Quick-set date, 28,800 vph, Microstella regulation for fine-tuning. The 3135 is widely documented across Rolex references. Service interval, condition, and performance depend on the individual movement and its maintenance history.

Case material has no bearing on movement specification. A 16618 and a 16610 from the same year are mechanically identical; only the metal around the movement differs.

Dial map

 
Champagne Serti dial with diamond hour markers and sapphire indices

Champagne Serti dial

A factory gem-set configuration documented at auction: Bonhams catalogued one under its own "Sultan" dial name in June 2023, a sunburst champagne dial with diamond-set hour markers and baguette-sapphire-set quarters, paired with a gold bezel and blue calibrated insert. The lot came from the original owner, who bought it new on 28 December 1998, with box, punched guarantee and a 1998–1999 calendar card, and sold for a hammer price of GBP 20,000 against a GBP 20,000–30,000 estimate.

Blue dial (LB)

 
Rolex Submariner 16618 — 18k yellow gold with blue dial and bezel

Blue sunburst dial with gold applied markers and gold hands. This is the more commonly photographed and traded configuration of the two. Lume runs from tritium through Luminova to Super-Luminova across the run, on the same schedule as the 16613.

Rolex Forum collectors have documented tropical purple shift on blue 16618 dials. After decades of UV exposure and chemical aging the pigment oxidizes to a purple or plum hue, with forum examples drawn from 1989 and 1991 production. An even, attractive shift is treated as a desirable feature rather than a defect. The tropical shift is better documented on the 16613 because production volumes were higher, but it occurs identically on the 16618. A major auction house has now catalogued the shift directly rather than as a forum observation alone: Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr listed a circa-1991 example in October 2025 with the dial described in its own catalogue text as "sunburst blue/purple," selling for a hammer price of EUR 20,000 against a EUR 15,000–20,000 estimate.

Black dial (LN)

Black dial with gold applied markers. It surfaces less often in the secondary market and trades at a discount to the blue. A circa-1991 example sold at Bonhams in February 2024 for a hammer price of GBP 16,000 against a GBP 8,000–12,000 estimate; its clasp was stamped S7, a service-replacement code rather than a period-original stamp.

Lapis lazuli dial

A lapis lazuli stone-dial variant of the 16618 is documented on Rolex Forum. Some 16618 examples are documented with lapis lazuli stone dials. The stone and marker construction should be checked against provenance and specialist references; appearance alone does not establish factory origin, and aftermarket stone dials exist.

Tiffany & Co. co-signed dials

Collector and auction records document 16618 dials co-signed Tiffany & Co. with gem-set markers. A co-signature requires provenance and construction checks because aftermarket Tiffany-stamped dials exist; no premium or factory status should be inferred from the stamp alone.

 
Blue dial detail — gold hands and hour markers against sunburst blue

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The entire case is 18k yellow gold: body, bezel, crown, crown tube, and case back, with crown guards present and a Triplock crown sealing to 300m. It wears substantially heavier than the steel 16610 of the same generation.

The crystal is sapphire with a Cyclops magnifier. The blue or black aluminum bezel insert can scratch, fade, and be replaced. Cerachrom arrived with the 116618 successor.

Collector references describe an early ‘Flat 3’ insert font in some examples, with a flatter form at the 15-minute numeral. It can support a parts assessment, but replacement inserts and overlapping production make it an identification lead rather than a stand-alone date rule.

The inner rehaut is plain on early and mid-production watches. Late examples carry the engraved ROLEX ROLEX text.

Hallmarks follow the standard Rolex precious-metal marking of the period. Helvetia bust with "G" Geneva assay mark through the mid-1990s, then the St. Bernard dog Barry mark from 1995 onward.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

  •  
    Caseback and clasp with Rolex coronet engraving
  •  
    18k yellow gold Oyster bracelet and Fliplock clasp
  •  
    Full 18k gold Oyster bracelet, blue-dial 16618

Along with lume type, the bracelet is one of the primary authenticity and dating checkpoints on a 16618, running on the same transition schedule as the two-tone 16613.

Early bracelet: 93158

The early bracelet is a full 18k gold Oyster with Fliplock clasp, and it is prone to stretching over time. Gold is softer than steel, and daily wear on a heavy gold case will eventually open play between the links. Stretch is common on well-worn examples and a known condition factor at market. The 93158 is associated with early production. Sources disagree about end-link construction within the reference, so the hardware should be checked on the individual bracelet rather than inferred from the bracelet number alone.

Later bracelet: 93258 (solid end links, SEL)

The 93258 is associated with solid end links, called SEL in collector shorthand. The change is generally placed around 2000, but no complete factory cutoff is published. Bracelet construction and stretch should be checked directly.

The 93158-to-93258 change can help assess fitment, but it is not a stand-alone authenticity rule. A later watch with an earlier bracelet may reflect a replacement, retained original, or incomplete provenance. A circa-2005 blue-dial lot sold by Bonhams in February 2020 (hammer GBP 18,000 against a GBP 8,000–12,000 estimate) was fitted with a 93258 Oyster bracelet and a clasp stamped OP2, corroborating the 93258 fitment on that later production.

Clasp date codes follow the standard Rolex scheme of the period. An S stamp indicates a service replacement. The code dates the bracelet alone; the watch head's own age is a separate question.

Special branches

The page's documented branches are gem-set or special dials, including the champagne configuration catalogued by Bonhams. No military or institutional branch is asserted here without a named catalogue record.

No-holes case (D-serial onward)

Rolex Forum documentation places the no-holes case on the 16618 at around the D serial (roughly 2005–2006), following the same timing as the steel 16610 and two-tone 16613. Earlier examples have drilled lug holes; D-serial and later examples do not. The change is a useful lead when combined with serial, movement, bracelet, and service evidence; it is not a stand-alone authenticity test.

Historical market and auction record

Auction records document both blue and black configurations, along with gem-set and early examples. The dated lots below are individual observations; condition, originality, papers, bracelet components, provenance, venue, and date all affect the result. No current reference-wide price band is asserted here.

Modern pricing benchmark

The 126618 successor uses a 41mm case, caliber 3235, and Cerachrom bezel. Current retail and secondary prices change over time, so no comparison or discount is stated here.


  •  
    Full-gold 16618
  •  
    Champagne Serti dial
  •  
    Blue dial
  •  
    Blue dial detail
  •  
    Caseback and clasp
  •  
    Clasp detail
  •  
    Gold bracelet

Related references

See also the Submariner family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.

Sources

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