Although the Rolex Submariner began its life in 1953 as a sturdy no-frills stainless steel dive watch, today, this famed diver is considered to be one of the world’s greatest luxury watches – while still very capable of plunging into the deep to accompany aquanauts. The Sub’s graduation from utilitarian to upscale no doubt began when Rolex introduced the very first Submariner in solid yellow gold. Nothing says fancy like armor made of shiny precious metal. Let’s find out which reference was the first Rolex Submariner gold watch and lay out the details. When your life depends on a limited tank of oxygen strapped to your back, you are naturally more concerned about the passing minutes rather than what day it is. Which explains why early dive models from the 1950s (Fifty Fathoms, Submariner, Seamaster 300, Breitling Superocean, etc.) didn’t worry about putting a date window on the already limited real estate of the dial. The First Yellow Gold Rolex Submariner Not only did Rolex make the Submariner ref. 1680 in stainless steel, but the company also manufactured a solid yellow gold Submariner 1680. It’s important to note that the first yellow Sub is sometimes simply called the yellow gold Submariner 1680 or the Submariner 1680/8; however, it is not the Submariner 16808 – that’s an entirely different generation. Back to the yellow gold Submariner Date 1680. Rolex’s first gold diver made its debut in 1969, flaunting an 18k yellow gold 40mm Oyster case fitted with a matching 18k yellow gold Oyster bracelet. Early examples of the Submariner ref. 1680/8 featured a rotating bezel with a black aluminum insert and a matching black dial.
The dial has a lot things worthy of talking. First it is about the high readability. White dial has thick black Arabic numeral hour markers, the minute markers are also in black color, it is very convenient for the wearer to catch time from the dial. The big triangle marker at 12 and hour markers at 3, 6 and 9 are applied with Swiss Superlume material, so in dark condition, you will find these four markers will emit a strong green light, this improves the dial readability. There are three working subdials, they are sunken from the main dial. Each small dial works well and features a blue hand. Among them, small seconds subdial is at 9 o’clock, 30-minute chronograph counter and 12-hour chronograph counter are positioned at 12 and 6 o’clock repectively. At 3 o’clock, next to the hour marker, there are two square windows, the left window is displaying current day, while the right window is showing date, both have black font. All hands on the white dial use blue color, not only eye-catching, but also give your eyes fresh outlook.
