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Rolex Submariner Date "Triple Zero"

Reference 168000. 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

The 168000 is a short transitional run and the reference number appears in no Rolex catalogue, so the most common problem is a 16800 or a 16610 offered as one. The case number between the lugs settles it.

What to look at

1. case Reference number between the lugs
   Correct A six-digit 168000 stamped between the lugs at twelve, with the serial at six
   Red flag A five-digit 16800 or 16610, which are the two references most often sold as this one
2. case Serial number series
   Correct An R-series serial consistent with the 1988 to 1989 window
   Red flag A serial from a clearly different period, which indicates the caseback or the case does not belong to the watch
3. movement Caliber 3035
   Correct A 27-jewel cal. 3035, the quickset-date caliber carried over from the 16800
   Red flag A cal. 3135, which is the movement of the 16610 that replaced this reference
4. crystal Sapphire crystal with cyclops
   Correct A flat sapphire crystal, correct for this generation
   Red flag An acrylic crystal, which belongs to earlier Submariner references
5. dial Tritium dial markings
   Correct A tritium dial marked T SWISS T, consistent with the late 1980s production window
   Red flag A Luminova dial marked SWISS MADE, which post-dates this reference by roughly a decade
6. bracelet Oyster bracelet and clasp code
   Correct A Rolex-signed clasp with a date code at or shortly after the case date
   Red flag A clasp code from well outside the production window

Known issues on this reference

• Because the run was brief and the watches look identical to their neighbours, misattribution is the dominant risk. The reference is stamped between the lugs and is the only thing that resolves it.
• The 904L steel claim attaches to the reference rather than to any visible feature, so it cannot be confirmed by eye and should not be treated as an authentication tell.
• Serial numbers for the run fall in the R series. A serial outside that range on a watch described as a 168000 warrants explanation.

Parts that are commonly replaced

• Bezel inserts fade and are commonly replaced, including with aftermarket parts.
• Service replacement of the dial and hands during the 1990s would have fitted Luminova parts, which is genuine Rolex work but is not original to a 1988 watch.

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 sothebys.com. What else the catalog does not know.

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