Rolex 116618 Submariner
Submariner -> 116618
The 116618 is the full 18k yellow-gold Submariner Date of the Cerachrom era, in production from roughly 2008 to 2020 on caliber 3135. Rolex has offered a full yellow-gold Submariner Date in every generation since the 1680/8 arrived in 1969, and the 116618 is the fifth chapter of that line — the first one to pair the full-gold case with a Cerachrom ceramic bezel.
Within its own generation it is the loud one. The steel 116610LN is the workhorse and the white-gold 116619LB is a stealth play that reads as steel on the wrist. The 116618 reads as gold in every light.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 116618 (LN = black, LB = blue) |
| family | Submariner Date |
| production | about 2008 to 2020 |
| movement | caliber 3135 (date, quick-set, 28800 bph, ~48hr power reserve) |
| case | 40mm Super Case, full 18k yellow gold |
| crystal | sapphire with Cyclops |
| water resistance | 300m |
| bezel | Cerachrom ceramic (blue or black), gold-filled numerals |
| lume | Chromalight (blue glow) |
| bracelet | full gold Oyster ref.97208 with Glidelock, polished center links |
| rehaut | engraved ROLEX ROLEX |
| predecessor | 16618 |
| successor | 126618LB / 126618LN |
Gold Submariner lineage
Rolex has offered a full yellow-gold Submariner Date across every major generation since 1969.
| reference | years | notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1680/8 | 1969–~1977 | First gold Submariner; nipple hour markers; early blue dials prone to tropical aging |
| 16808 | ~1977–1988 | Transition reference; same basic construction |
| 16618 | 1988–2008 | Last aluminum-bezel gold Sub; predecessor to 116618 |
| 116618 | ~2008–2020 | First ceramic-bezel gold Sub; Super Case; Glidelock |
| 126618LB / LN | 2020–present | 41mm; caliber 3235; thinner lugs; 21mm bracelet; $48,600 retail |
Where it sits in the generation
The 116618 is the full-gold member of the ceramic-era Submariner generation, alongside the steel 116610, the Rolesor 116613, and the full white-gold 116619LB. The two precious-metal models launched together around 2008 and carried the first Cerachrom ceramic bezels in the Submariner family. The steel 116610LN and two-tone 116613 only followed in 2009–2010. Gold led the generation in.
What changed from the 16618
The gold Submariner took the same generational package the 116610LN brought to steel. Cerachrom ceramic replaced the aluminum insert, the Glidelock clasp replaced the Fliplock, the case widened into the broader-lugged Super Case, Chromalight replaced SuperLuminova, and the rehaut picked up engraving. The 16618's aluminum bezel faded under UV exposure. The ceramic insert does not.
Production outline
Both LB (blue) and LN (black) variants ran the full twelve years, with no mid-run changes documented beyond the standard ceramic-era specification.
Case, bezel body, crown, crown guards, bracelet, and case back are all 18k yellow gold, which makes the 116618 one of the heaviest Submariner references in any generation. Owners posting on Rolex Forums report a total weight near 227.5g fully linked. The density is obvious on the wrist next to a steel 116610LN, and still obvious next to a Rolesor 116613.
Movement notes
Caliber 3135 throughout, the same movement that runs the 116610, the 116613, and the 116619LB. Quick-set date, 28,800 vph, Microstella regulation, and a Parachrom blue hairspring in Rolex's paramagnetic niobium-zirconium alloy, more resistant to magnetic interference than the older hairspring alloys. Rolex fits the 3135 to steel, two-tone, yellow-gold, and white-gold Submariners without modification, so the 116618's premium over the 116610LN buys materials and finishing. Mechanically the two watches are the same.
The successor 126618 moved to caliber 3235, which brought a 70-hour power reserve, the Chronergy escapement, and updated regulation. That is the functional gap between the 116618 and the current gold Submariner.
Dial map
Blue dial (LB)
Like the two-tone 116613LB, the blue-dial 116618LB went through a dial-finish transition during production. Earlier examples carried a flatter blue; later production moved to the more pronounced sunburst blue that became the standard across the gold Submariner line. The exact timing on the 116618LB is less well-documented than on the two-tone reference.
The sunburst blue is the 116618's signature configuration. In shadow it reads deep midnight blue; in full direct sunlight it reaches pale sky blue. The gold Maxi markers, the oversized lume plots of the ceramic era, and the gold hands widen that range, since a gold case throws back more light than a steel one. Set against the blue Cerachrom, the result is warm gold framing cool blue. The Rolesor 116613LB gets close, but its steel outer links and steel case back dilute the gold; on the 116618 there is no steel anywhere.
Black dial (LN)
Black dial with gold Maxi markers. Black against a full gold case reads more formal than the blue, closer to a tuxedo than to a sport watch.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
Case
The entire case is 18k yellow gold: body, bezel, crown, crown tube, crown guards, and case back. Lugs and crown guards are heavier than the 16618's, the geometry collectors call the Super Case or Maxi Case. Triplock crown, sealed to 300m.
A 40mm case on a 20mm bracelet. The successor 126618 went to 41mm with thinner, more tapered lugs and a 21mm bracelet; Fratello's review of the 126618LB called the new lugs pointier and closer to the original 1680/8, a retreat from the blocky Maxi Case shape. The 116618 is where that broad-lug geometry peaked.
Bezel
Cerachrom ceramic, the change that defines the generation. It does not fade and it does not scratch the way the 16618's aluminum insert did. Numerals and graduation marks are filled with gold instead of the platinum used on the steel and white-gold models, matched to the case. It is the only gold-filled bezel in the generation.
Crystal
Sapphire with Cyclops over the date window. The inner rehaut is engraved with repeating ROLEX ROLEX text and the serial number at 6 o'clock.
Hallmarks
Hallmarks follow the standard Swiss precious-metal system. A 750 stamp, meaning 18k or 750 parts per thousand fine gold, should appear on the case and case back. The St. Bernard "Barry" mark is the Swiss precious-metals stamp used post-1995.
Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes
Bracelet
The 97208 is a full 18k yellow-gold Oyster with a Glidelock extension giving roughly 20mm of micro-adjustment. Polished center links sit against brushed outer links, so the bracelet shifts finish as it moves; Colin A. White's The Vintage Rolex Field Manual treats that contrast as a distinguishing quality of the gold Submariner bracelets. The steel 116610LN Oyster is brushed throughout and does none of it.
Full-gold construction makes this one of the heaviest bracelets in the Submariner catalog. The bracelet does not change during the run; every 116618 carries the same Glidelock-equipped 97208.
Production volume estimates
Estimates published in the early 2010s put combined gold Submariner output, 116618 and 116619LB together, at roughly 8,000 units a year. Rolex publishes no production figures, so the number circulates through the trade with no factory source behind it. Read it as an order of magnitude, not a count.
Market and collector context
The 116618 trades in a different segment from the steel Submariners. The price gap against a 116610LN is too wide for the two to be a genuine cross-shop; the comparison that matters is against other precious-metal sport watches and against the white-gold 116619LB.
The successor 126618LB retails at $48,600 USD. The 116618 sells well under that on the secondary market, discounted for the 40mm case, the older caliber 3135, and the absence of a current warranty. Blue LB dials turn up far more often than black LN, and the LN sometimes trades a little softer for it.
There is no meaningful auction record for the 116618. Gold Submariner lots at the major houses belong to the 1680/8 and the vintage references; the 116618 is recent enough that it still moves through the dealer market, and asking prices there are the better signal.
Related references
- Submariner 116619LB — "Smurf", White Gold (2008–2020)
- Submariner 116613 — 2009–2020
- Submariner 116610LV — "Hulk", Green Dial (2010–2020)
- Submariner 116610LN — 2010–2020
- Submariner 114060 — 2012–2020
- Submariner 16610LV — "Kermit", Green Bezel (2003–2010)
See also the Submariner family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.
Sources
- History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 2, The 55XX References and 1680 Date — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
- Bob's Watches two-tone Submariner history — Bob's Watches editorial staff, Bob's Watches
- The Rolex Submariner: A Complete Collector's Guide — Stephen Pulvirent, Sotheby's
- Gray & Sons Submariner Date history — Gray & Sons editorial, Gray & Sons
- Rolex Submariner Reference Guide — Professional Watches editorial, Professional Watches
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra