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.
Rolex or Omega? Which one is the first watch that landed on the moon. I think it is the Omega, what do you think? Because the name, Omega Speedmaster, it is also called Moonwatch. Although Speedmaster is not sold as well as the Seamaster of Omega, it also has some popular models, for example, the Dark Side of the Moon. Before the appearance of OM factory, there are only some small factories that were manufacturing the replicas of Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon, however, there were still a lot of people that have asked me about this watch since I opened this blog. Now, OM factory pushed the sales of replica Omega Dark Side of the Moon to another height. This model is even in the top five list of best-selling replica Omega watches.Like its name “Black Black”, the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon is in full black. The watch is made of black ceramic in case and bezel, 44mm case diameter is large but is exactly in line with our aesthetic standard. Solid ceramic case has brushed finish, it has a great texture and feels very good. Tachymetre scales on black ceramic bezel are in matt black. Two chronograph pushers use different processing, which is polished and contrasting with the brushed case.
Black dial has a micro-sand finish, there are two small dials, like the two eyes of owl. Small second hand is running on the subdial at 9 o’clock. The subdial at 3 o’clock now works the same way as genuine watch, there are two hands on that subdial, the longer hand is displaying minutes chronograph, while the shorter hand is hour-chronograph pointer. The movement has been modified by OM factory, so the minute and hour chronograph could be completely achieved on this replica watch.Black nylon strap may be the best match for this watch. The texture of the black nylon band is exactly in line with the black matt finish of the watch. On the back side of the band, the side that touches your skin, is made of genuine leather. I tried this type of band on my hand, it maintains the soft wearing comfort of full genuine leather band, but also looks very cool due to its black nylon material on outside.
Before going into a further discussion of the replica, let’s check its specification first.Movement: Super Copy 3186 Automatic, Decorated Movement Plates and Rotor, Correct Hand StackCase: 904L Stainless Steel Bezel: Blue/Black Ceramic with Silver Markers Crystal: Scratch-proof Sapphire Crystal with Laser Tiny Crown Logo at 6 o’clock Dial: Black with Superlumed Hour Markers and Hands Bracelet: 904L Stainless Steel Bracelet with Rolesor Clasp Water Resistant: 50m Like the two Submariner watches Noob just published in 2018, the case of 116710 BLNR replica is also made of 904L stainless steel. The upgrade of case and bracelet material makes the replica watch have the same weight as genuine. Case is 40mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness. With a smooth polishing on the edge, the case does not feel scratch when wearing on hand. Smooth streamlined case design makes the watch fit your wrist better. Bezel is the place that has the greatest improvement. Compared with previous V7, the bi-colored bezel of V8 has a more natural color transmission from blue to black. GMT markers on the bezel are engraved correctly.On black dial, there is an extra blue hand with a big arrow indicating GMT time. Hour markers have silver edge and are filled with white lume material like hands. If you concern the hand stack, then this V8 replica GMT Master II 116710 BLNR has a correct hand stack. From top to bottom, the hands are second hand, minute hand, blue GMT hand and hour hand, while other factories and previous version of Noob 116710 BLNR usually set the GMT hand at the bottom.At last, the replica is equipped with a Swiss 3186 automatic movement, we also call it Super Copy 3186. It is not an Asian clone 3186 on basis of a Chinese movement, this Super Copy 3186 runs more accurate and stable than any other 3186 movements developed before. Now, the factory will send one pair of blue rubber straps for free if you order this GMT Master Rolex watch.I want to introduce more Rolex watches here because a few factories produced some innovative replica Rolex watches with 904L stainless steel and better clone movement. Now it is not surprising most Submariner replicas are equippeed with Super Copy 3135 movement, since the end of 2017, some factories even used clone 3235 in Datejust models.
The case is made of 316L stainless steel and then has 18K rose gold coating plated, the gold coating is thick, which is almost 5 mils. You must concern whether the rose gold coating will fade or not, I must say yes, even gold coating on genuine watches will fade, but on the replica, it will keep its gold tone after two years of wearing, that’s enough for us. The case has a very big diameter, which is 46mm, even though the case is brushed very well, but check its case edge, it does not feel as smooth as replicas made by ZF. The back is see-through crystal, which uses sapphire like the crystal on the front.The dial is in blue color, looks very charming. Amazong all IWC Le Petit Prince models, the one with blue dial is the most popular. Like the case, hour markers and hands all feature rose gold edge. Both subdials have refined circles, the small second hand is runniong on subdial at 9 o’clock. The subdial at 3 is an indicator that is displaying the remaining power reserve. It is marked with 7 DAYS, but the replica has 3-day power reserve. At 12 o’clock, there is a fan-shaped indicator that features three small windows, which displays month, date and week separately. The Annual Calendar function just works the same way as genuine watch. To get a better readability, the replica not only has big hour markers, it also has genuine Swiss lume material applied on markers and hands.
