All good things must come to an end, and it is as true at Rolex as anywhere else. Over the years, certain pieces have disappeared from the portfolio, either replaced with an updated version or else retired completely. Rolex actually seems to make a habit of discontinuing many of their references with little or no warning, and for reasons only they understand. In some instances, the withdrawn watches are real fan favorites, and it leaves potential customers with just one option to get hold of them.Below, we take a look at five of Rolex’s most-loved discontinued models that are now only available on the pre-owned market.Rolex has a history of marking the key birthdays of a number of its icons with some kind of out-of-the-ordinary celebration, and in 2003, the Rolex Submariner celebrated its 50th anniversary. The world’s most famous luxury dive watch marked its half-century in style with the release of the ref. 16610LV, not only the first Submariner to be fitted with a black Maxi dial, but also the first to have a green bezel.Major departure that it was for the model, it became something of an opinion splitter. There had been variations on the traditional black bezeled pieces before – blue versions (although only on gold and two-tone pieces) being the most common; however, the emerald surround on this anniversary edition led to it picking up a nickname from both the ‘for’ and ‘against’ camps. Those who loved the new colorway called it the Kermit; those less keen christened it the Vomit Sub.
I think most of you guys have been waiting for a long time to get such great Daytona replicas. Let me show how perfect the four Daytona replicas are.Case is a pity because Noob does not use 904L stainless steel on them. It is made of 316L stainless steel, but that’s enough. If you are seeking for perfection, maybe in the next improvement, Noob will use 904L stainless steel on case and bracelet material on these four Daytona watches. In my opinion, 316L is good enough, you know, it has been used as main watch material for a lot of years. The four Daytona replica watches here are all 40mm in case diameter, and 13mm thick. For 116500, the bezel uses black ceramic, and 116520 uses stainless steel bezel. The inside case back is engraved with correct information like genuine. The case back is screwed down, it is sealed perfectly.For 116500 and 116520, each has black dial and white dial available. Three subdials are working like genuine Rolex Daytona.
Although the rotating bezel serves to record dive times, this has not stopped Rolex from making a few ultra-lavish Submariners with precious gem-set bezels that forsake the tool watch nature of the model. First, there’s the white gold Submariner 116649EMBR (presented in 2010) with a bezel set with 36 emeralds and 12 diamonds. Then in 2018, Rolex introduced the white gold Submariner 116659SABR with a bezel set with nine light blue sapphires (to mimic the first 15-minute markings), 27 dark blue sapphires, and 12 diamonds.To summarize, the history and evolution of the Submariner bezel is generally divided into three generations: bidirectional bezel with aluminum insert (early-1950s – late-1970s), unidirectional bezel with aluminum insert (late-1970s – late-2000s), and unidirectional bezel with Cerachrom ceramic insert (late 2000s until present). Which is your favorite type of Submariner bezel?
Frontal crystal is made of sapphire, the surface has a layer of anti-reflective coating that looks a little purple when seeing at a certain angle. This features on the replica is 100% the same as genuine. Black dial does not have special points, like other diving watches, it has a strong lume effect. See the dial lume picture below, you can see there are three different lume color on the dial. The skeletonized design of hour and minute hands is also my love about the replica. Central second hand has a red tip that just echoes with the red “Seamaster” lettering below OMEGA LOGO. I have to say the skeleton design of hands is a little similar to the feel which the bracelet gives to me.Finally it comes to the band, which is fully brushed stainless steel bracelet. I can not find a professional word to describe the bracelet, but actually I find its design perfectly matches the whole theme of the replica watch. I can not find any other bracelet on this watch that will have such a design similarity to its hands and bezel. Perhaps a vintage nato strap will also work fine.The bracelet looks a little loose on my wrist, but the watch body seems to be very nice, I love big watch.
