ROLEX SUBMARINER DATE ``BLUESY`` AUTOMATIC 40MM STAINLESS STEEL & 18K YELLOW GOLD REF. 16613 BLUE (TROPICAL PURPLE FADE) WXO COA

• Brand: Rolex
• Model: Submariner Date ``Bluesy``
• Reference: 16613 (16613LB configuration — blue dial, blue bezel)
• Year: 1989 — L-series serial
• Reference production run: 1988–2009
• Case size: 40 mm
• Case thickness: approx. 12.8 mm
• Case material: Yellow Rolesor — stainless steel with 18k yellow gold
• Bezel: Unidirectional rotating, solid 18k yellow gold with blue anodised aluminium insert, 60-minute dive scale
• Crystal: Sapphire with Cyclops date magnifier
• Dial: Factory gloss blue with gold-surround indices, aged to a purple/violet tropical hue; tritium luminous
• Hands: Mercedes, tritium
• Movement: Rolex Calibre 3135, self-winding
• Jewels / frequency: 31 jewels, 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
• Power reserve: approx. 48 hours
• Chronometer: COSC-certified
• Functions: Hours, minutes, centre seconds, quickset date
• Crown: Triplock screw-down, 18k yellow gold
• Caseback: Solid, screw-down
• Water resistance: 300 m / 1,000 ft
• Bracelet: Two-tone Oyster, steel outer links with 18k yellow gold centre links
• Clasp: Folding clasp with divers extension
• Condition: Pre-owned — Excellent
• Service: Serviced
• Inclusions: WXO — watch only
• COA: Certificate of authenticity included

A 1989 L-serial example of the reference that defined the two-tone Submariner. The 16613 replaced the 16803 in 1988 as the first Rolesor Submariner built around the modern Calibre 3135, and this watch sits in the earliest window of that production run. First-year and near-first-year L-serial examples carry the details collectors now seek out specifically: tritium luminous material, drilled lug holes, and the earlier bracelet architecture — a specification set Rolex quietly moved away from across the following two decades.

The purple dial is the reason this one stands apart. A small number of early ``Bluesy`` dials were finished with a pigment formulation that has aged unpredictably, shifting from factory blue to a deep violet-purple that flashes under direct light and settles back toward blue in shade. This is natural, irreversible ageing that cannot be manufactured or replicated, and it is confined to a narrow production window — the overwhelming majority of 16613s remain plain blue for their entire lives. Set against the 18k gold bezel surround, indices and crown, the purple reads far warmer and more unusual than the standard configuration.

Calibre 3135 — the movement that carried Rolex for three decades. Self-winding, 31 jewels, running at 28,800 vph with roughly 48 hours of reserve and COSC chronometer certification. The 3135 introduced the full-balance-bridge architecture and quickset date that made this generation of Submariner genuinely wearable day to day, and it remains the most serviceable and best-understood automatic Rolex ever built. This example has been serviced and is running.

Excellent condition throughout. Case and lugs retain strong definition, the gold bezel and insert present cleanly, and the dial is free of the moisture damage, lacquer lifting or lume degradation that afflicts many watches of this age. Critically, the dial and hands are original to the watch — the purple patina and the tritium ageing are consistent with one another, which is the pairing that matters to a vintage buyer and the first thing lost when a watch is fitted with service replacements.

Watch only, with certificate of authenticity. Offered as WXO — no box or papers — which is the norm for 1989 examples and is reflected in the asking price. A certificate of authenticity accompanies the watch, independently confirming the reference, case, movement and dial as genuine Rolex. For a watch whose value rests substantially on the originality of a single component, that documentation carries more practical weight than a period box would.

(SN:16613) (336833-9)

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