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Rolex Submariner Date "Bluesy", Yellow Gold

Reference 126618LB. A sheet to take with you: the numbers to check the watch against, what to look at, and what to ask. It does not authenticate anything and it does not tell you whether to buy.

Check the numbers

Measure or ask. A watch that does not match these is not necessarily wrong, but it is a question worth the answer.

Anything above marked not recorded is a gap in this catalog, not a property of the watch. Do not read a blank as a zero.

Before anything else

A solid yellow-gold Submariner, the first in this catalog: every other Submariner row here is steel. Gold and the blue Cerachrom bezel are what a fake targets, and both are checkable.

What to look at

1. case Weight and gold hallmarking
   Correct Substantially heavier than a steel Submariner of the same size, correctly hallmarked
   Red flag Light for its size, or shallow and uneven hallmarks
2. case Blue Cerachrom insert through a chip
   Correct The same blue through the full thickness of any chip
   Red flag A different colour or pale substrate at a chipped edge, indicating a coated insert
3. movement Cal. 3235 behaviour
   Correct Instantaneous midnight date change, hacking seconds, roughly 70 hours reserve
   Red flag A date that creeps over minutes, or seconds running with the crown out
4. bracelet Solid gold Oyster and Glidelock
   Correct Solid links, even brushing, Glidelock stepping positively through its detents
   Red flag Hollow links, or a clasp that slides without detents

Known issues on this reference

• Solid 18ct gold is markedly heavy. A gold-coloured Submariner that feels like a steel one is not this watch.
• The Cerachrom insert is coloured through the ceramic and the numerals are coated in gold. A chipped edge showing a different colour underneath is decisive.
• Case, dial, hands and bracelet are otherwise the current 41mm Submariner generation, so the tells on the steel entries in this catalog apply unchanged.

Parts that are commonly replaced

• Bezel inserts are replaced after damage and are the swap that most changes value on a gold reference.
• Clasps are replaced; confirm Rolex markings and gold hallmarks on the replacement.

Ask the seller, whatever the watch

• When was it last serviced, by whom, and is there paperwork?
• Has the case ever been polished?
• Which parts are not original to it?
• Do you have the box, papers and the original bracelet or strap?
• Why are you selling it?
• Can I see it in daylight, and can I take a photo of the caseback?

What this sheet is standing on

The specifications above are sourced to rolex.com, fratellowatches.com. What else the catalog does not know.

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