A beautiful full-set Sub Date from a collector

A few weeks ago, this vintage Rolex Submariner Date ref. 1680 landed on my desk. The owner, a low-profile but dedicated Rolex collector, came across it several years ago during one of his hunts. A prime example of provenance, this watch has quite an intriguing backstory.

Rolex Submariner Date ref. 1680

This Rolex Submariner Date dates to 1979. Reference 1680 was produced between approximately 1969 and 1979, so this example was made toward the end of the production run.

According to Nicholas Foulkes’s Submariner book , Rolex produced 111,226 steel examples of the Submariner Date 1680. There was also a 5,765-piece run of the 1680 in gold.

This also means you’ll come across the 1680 relatively often. As the first Rolex Submariner with a date complication, it preceded reference 16800, which Rolex would later replace with the famous 16610. The 1680 also had a sibling — the Sea-Dweller ref.…