Rolex Submariner 1680/8

This is a terrific opportunity to acquire the Holy Grail of Gold Submariners.

The 1680/8 was introduced in 1969. For the first year of production, the gold submariner was issued with a rare meters first dial. Only a handful of these watches have surfaced in collector circles in the last several years, making them extremely hard to find.

This particular example is in beautiful condition. The dial, the most important feature of this rare variant, is in mint condition with a beautiful even patina.

The case shows some minor wear as would be expected of a watch of this vintage, but I elected not to have it polished, leaving it to the owner to decide. Finding a beautiful gold submariner that has not been overpolished is not easy, given how soft the gold is and the tendency to have it polished with every service. This example has nice thick lugs and is in excellent condition. With a polish, it would be gleaming. I personally prefer to keep it as is, but again, up to the buyer.

Hands are beautiful tritium and match the dial perfectly. The tritium second hand is a bit lighter, so might have been replaced during a service long ago, but works beautifully with the rest of the hands and dial.

Movement was recently serviced by Rolex Canada and functions flawlessly. Having a rolex authorized service performed earlier this year substantially increases the desirablility of this watch.

Overall, this is an excellent collector grade watch and a cornerstone for any serious rolex sports model collection. The beautiful thing about this watch is its versatility. It looks terrific dressed up with a suit, or worn casually. These vintage rolex gold submariners have a warmth to the gold which makes it much less "blingy" than modern counterparts. And on a black strap it is pure elegance.

Of all my vintage rolexes, this one garners the most compliments and attention. It is simply stunning.

Will be supplied with a rare original red large format inner box, which was correct for this vintage. The later gold subs were issued with the leather "buckle box", while the earliest vintage ones came with this box.

Price for this rare bird is $25,000 USD plus shipping/insurance. I am willing to deliver to US depending on location, or ship via USPS registered insured within the US. I am open to trades for other vintage rolex sports models, partial or full. Trade value $30k USD, but also depends on relative value of your trader(s). I have stellar international references and buyer should have same. Wire transfer only on this one
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