Rolex

Where does one start with a watch with as rich a history as the 1680? Well, it is probably worth starting with some basic information. The information I will give is drawn from a number of sources, but obviously any errors are entirely due to me! It is also true that this forum is very rich in information about the 1680 reference. Mark Leman’s article, in particular was truly great. I am not sure anything can be added to that as a reference piece. (Rolex Red Submariner - Everything Red Sub Reference).

Although I have seen conflicting evidence on when the first 1680 was launched by Rolex, I believe the first watches were available from 1966. There is also conflicting evidence on how long the watch was actually in production. Many reports suggest through to 1980, however a production run through to 1973 also seems plausible since the “White” Sub started to be produced from 1973. Plausibly they were both in production from 1973-80.

The watch in my collection has a Mk 2 dial. According to Leman, there are 8 varieties of dial. The Mk1 typically can be found with a serial number between 2.07m – 2.15m. The Mk2 and Mk3 dials are found between 2.15m-2.45m. These three dial varieties all differ in a number of ways, but all three have one thing in common: their depth rating is written with the “metres” first. Mark 4 dials and onwards have their depth written with “feet” first. In terms of rarity, the Mk1 dial is the rarest with just some 4% of Red Sub dials having those specific Mk1 traits. Mk 2 and Mk3 dials are also rare insofar as only 15% or so carried the Mk2 and Mk3 traits. Clearly, as watches were returned for service, the older dials will have also suffered service dial replacement.

My 1680 is a Mk2, as stated. It’s serial number falling in the earlier half of the range mentioned by Leman. Bill posted a shot of his 1680 a few weeks ago…also a Mk2. We cross-checked and found our watches to be within 500 of each other.

But Ricciardi also did something else that is unusual - possibly unique. On the underside of one of the lugs, Ricciardi had a unique number reference engraved into the steel of the watch. This number was recorded by Ricciardi in its records of sales so that it could identify any specific watch it had sold as well as the details of the first owner. I have blurred some of the number detail, but the scan shows clearly the nature of the engraving on my watch’s under-lug. When I first saw this, I was slightly concerned. Sometimes one finds a rare watch and one of its previous owners has had their names or initials engraved on the underside. I know this shouldn’t put me off, but it so often does. Seeing the odd number engraving gave me similar thoughts. But not in this case. As Peppo pointed out, this is what Ricciardi used to do, and it makes the watch very special as a result.

The watch also has its original stamped papers. Ricciardi also liked to stamp those papers and counter-sign too.