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Old 6 December 2019, 01:41 PM   #1
oysterquartz17000
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16803 with nipple dials?

Hi, whilst we are debating the legitimacy of blueberry bezel inserts, I thought it a good time to raise the subject of nipple dials on bi-metal submarines in the 1980's.

As you can see, my 16803 has a nipple dial. It was sold in Switzerland in July 1984. Are these factory installed or something perhaps added by AD's as an option at the point of purchase?
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Old 7 December 2019, 11:54 PM   #2
oysterquartz17000
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Close up of the dial.
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Old 8 December 2019, 03:42 AM   #3
rootbeer7
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I may be wrong, but that dial looks earlier than mid-80s.
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Old 8 December 2019, 08:31 AM   #4
oysterquartz17000
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rootbeer7 View Post
I may be wrong, but that dial looks earlier than mid-80s.
Well thats just it, there appears to have been something going on in the mid 1908's with the 16803's whereby either they were sold with these dials or had them installed as an option at the point of sale. There are quite a few around.

All the watches pictured below are different, but they are all from around 1984, which I obtained from the sites where they were listed.
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Old 8 December 2019, 08:44 AM   #5
oysterquartz17000
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Just a side note, my watch was only serviced for the very first time in 2014. Prior to that there are no case markings indicating any other work had been done on the watch. Also the watch came with everything, both boxes, papers and all other accessories. If a dial had been removed the owner would have retained it.
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Old 8 December 2019, 09:32 AM   #6
Robtayham
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oysterquartz17000 View Post
Just a side note, my watch was only serviced for the very first time in 2014. Prior to that there are no case markings indicating any other work had been done on the watch. Also the watch came with everything, both boxes, papers and all other accessories. If a dial had been removed the owner would have retained it.
Did you have it serviced at a RSC? If so, what did they say about the dial?
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Old 8 December 2019, 12:09 PM   #7
oysterquartz17000
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No not yet, I only just bought it. It was serviced in 2016 and currently runs at -2 per day.

It's a weird one as I do find a lot of examples of this dial and watch configuration out there. However I read comments that it may be a customization.
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Old 8 December 2019, 07:35 PM   #8
oysterquartz17000
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It looks like this was discussed quite a few years ago.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=338688

It seems the general concsensus was that the nipple dial from the 16808 was the only dial available initially for the 16803 with a precious metal surround. Therefore the early 16803's were sold with this dial installed, mostly from 1983 and 1984. However evidence is still hard to come by.
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