Buying Blue Rolex Submariner Watches in Steel and Gold

The blue Rolex Submariner was popular in the 1970s. Still, since the blue dial and bezel were only available in solid 18-carat gold, the blue Submariner was out of reach for many buyers. In 1984, however, Replica Rolex released the first two-tone Submariner (Ref. 16803), offering a black or blue dial and bezel. This expanded the availability of blue Rolex Submariner watches to a wider range of potential buyers.
While Rolesor (Rolex’s signature term for the use of stainless steel and gold components on a watch) may not seem like the kind of material combination one would immediately think of for a diving tool, gold’s extreme resistance to saltwater corrosion (even better than steel) actually makes this blend surprisingly appropriate. The gold components provide the replica watch with much of the same luxurious sparkle of a solid gold model, with little of the weight or cost typically associated with gold luxury timepieces.
The first generation of the two-tone Blue Submariner also brought a number of other updates to the collection, such as a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, a unidirectional rotating bezel, and an increased depth rating of 300 meters. These same improvements were also found on the solid gold version of the Blue Submariner (Ref. 16808), marking a major step forward for Rolex’s iconic dive watch. By the end of the 1980s, however, a new movement gave the Submariner another update, and in 1988 fake Rolex introduced a new generation of Submariners that largely retained the core design of its predecessors but now featured the newer 3135 movements.
The blue dial and bezel are only available on the two-tone and solid gold versions of the Submariner Date, although the new Ref. 16613 and Ref. 16618 look virtually identical to their predecessors’ two-tone and 18-carat gold models (respectively), although the new versions with the updated Cal. 3135 movements will continue to be produced. The new version of the 3135 movements will remain in production for more than 20 years until Rolex finally overhauled the Submariner in 2008.