Vintage Rolex Red Submariner 1680 Mark I Meters First Dial

This Red Sub is in overall great, attractive condition. The case is strong with scratches, wear and some light nicks; it has been polished. Between the lugs show some wear and scratches. The crown is a later trip-lock replacement. The bezel ring has remained sharp and the bezel insert is in great condition with some wear and scratches. The pip at 12 is a later replacement. This watch has retained its correct date wheel with closed 6s and hooked 7s. The Mark 1 dial is in great condition with light patina. The lume on the dial has aged to an attractive and consistent off white, marshmallow color. Some of the lume plots show signs of degradation. The five and six o'clock plots show lume wear towards the top of the plots; this might have been done by a hand dragging over them in the past. The hands are later replacements and have been color corrected and match the lume on the dial. The hands have developed some patina. The “Red Submariner” text on the dial has faded a bit, we have seen this before with other Mark 1 dials. The folded link bracelet is in excellent condition with light wear throughout. The bracelet has a slight indentation on the first center link after the end link on the 6 o'clock side. The crystal is a later service replacement.

Rolex introduced the reference 1680 around 1969 and it was in production until roughly 1979. This was the first Submariner to feature the date function and Rolex still offers date and no-date models to this day. This example has the word "Submariner" written in red text and collectors refer to these as the "Red Submariner." Rolex did this until around 1975 and then they switched to all white text. Collectors tend to gravitate towards these Red Subs and we have seen demand increase significantly in the last couple years.

Collectors have identified six different “Red Sub” dials and this example features a Mark I dial. The Mark I dial is distinguished by meters first depth rating with closed 6’s and an overall compressed looking font for the depth rating. The “f” in feet is also long and curvy which is unique to this dial type. These Mark I Red Subs are not very common and some of the least seen versions of the 1680. 

This Sub also features a folded link bracelet with error divers extension. Rolex misspelled patented on the divers extension, it reads "Pateted." These error bracelets are becoming more sought after by collectors because they bring the watch to the next level of rarity. From a far all these "Red Subs" may look the same, but when you dive into the little details you can quickly realize how different the variations are. Rolex was really experimenting and its fun to see the evolution.  

This watch is fresh to market coming directly from the family of the original owner. We don't come across many Mark 1 "Red Subs" so when this came in, we got pretty excited. The dial on this has aged beautifully and the lume plots have turned to an off white, marshmallow color that looks great against the matte dial. In some lights this black dial has an almost super dark brown tropical feel so it will be interesting to see how it looks in a couple decades!