New 1680 Red Sub - Care Questions

[RZee]

Hello everyone,

Last week my wife surprised me with a 1972 1680 Red Sub, and I've been loving every minute with it on my wrist. I'm not new to Rolex (currently have a President; previously had a '62 Oyster Perpetual), but I am new to vintage, and wanted to ask y'all's opinions on caring for this particular watch, as it will by my daily wearer.

To me, the dial is near flawless. I wanted as little patina on the tritium markers and hands as possible, as I prefer a new/out of box look on the vintage watch. I've read Mark's Red Sub write-up multiple times, and am hopeful my tritium markers won't yellow. I'm mostly concerned about the tritium cracking and becoming unsightly. What is y'all's experience with that? Do you take care to avoid sudden/abrupt movements, or is that not a concern? Most of my day is spent in an office, but I'd like to wear my 1680 while golfing, or at sporting events where there's lots of clapping and high fives. Advisable or no?

Other than the tritium concerns, is there anything else I should keep in mind, or particular good care practices? I still have the 9315 folding link bracelet on it, but will be upgrading to the 93150 soon. I'm also pretty sure it has a luminova pearl, which I'll be looking to change back to a matching tritium pearl.

I love the watch, and am looking forward to many years of continued use.

Thanks, Ryan

[BrazenC5]

Congrats on the red sub! I have a 69 meters 1st mark 1 myself and love it.

Regarding the lume, the more you wear it outdoors, you won't get the darker lume plots...tend to stay lighter out in sunlight, which works in your favor.

Also, you dont have to worry about the lume flaking...it is more of an issue with gilt dials as the lume plots are applied much thicker in relation. No need to baby it.

The only 2 things I'm careful about is not to knock it against doorways, and I dont take it with me if I know my hands or arms will get wet, just try to keep it out of water given that if water does get in the case and ruins the dial, most of the value is out the window and period correct dials are hard to come by.

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[zapokee]

That's quite a wife you've got there. Mine makes a point of studiously ignoring my interest in watches.

[Styles Bitchley]

Originally Posted by zapokee

That's quite a wife you've got there. Mine makes a point of studiously ignoring my interest in watches.

X2

Nice watch! Nice wife!

[tekno]

Don’t shoot MG’s with it on. It can make the lume come off the hands or crack. Don’t bang it around.

Just enjoy the watch, keep the crown tight and use dish soap to clean the DNA out here and there.




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[swaini3]

Congrats on the Red Sub. looks great.
Got confused with the (owned a '62 Oyster Perpetual but Im new to Vintage)....
With time, you may notice scratches on the crystal (if light, Polywatch will be of good help). Pls get it pressure tested at a watchmaker, just to make sure its waterproof (whether you intend to swim with it or not).
Yes, clapping and high fives are fine.
Enjoy.

[RZee]

Originally Posted by swaini3

Got confused with the (owned a '62 Oyster Perpetual but Im new to Vintage)....

Owning the ‘62 was an interesting experience. I say I’m new to vintage because I had the ‘62, but I didn’t appreciate it or learn anything from it. I owned it, wore it for a couple years, and then it sat around for a long time before I decided to sell it.


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[RZee]

Originally Posted by tekno

Don’t shoot MG’s with it on. It can make the lume come off the hands or crack. Don’t bang it around.

Just enjoy the watch, keep the crown tight and use dish soap to clean the DNA out here and there.

A couple questions here:

So shooting is out, but what’s your opinion on golf? Would you (or anyone else you know with a 1680 or similar watch) do activities like that without fear of risking any damage? Most people are saying clapping/high fives are okay, but I will say I can get pretty aggressive with it. I’m a die-hard Longhorn, and things can get pretty spirited at DKR in the fall. Still okay?

I’ve also wondered about cleaning. When I clean my President, I run it under a warm tap, soap up all crevices thoroughly, and then rinse. However, I’ve gotten the impression that I should avoid water near the crown at all costs with this 1680. Is that right? Any better ways to clean?

Thanks


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[L.K Johnson]

Originally Posted by swaini3

Congrats on the Red Sub. looks great.
Got confused with the (owned a '62 Oyster Perpetual but Im new to Vintage)....
With time, you may notice scratches on the crystal (if light, Polywatch will be of good help). Pls get it pressure tested at a watchmaker, just to make sure its waterproof (whether you intend to swim with it or not).
Yes, clapping and high fives are fine.
Enjoy.

Word! Couldn’t agree more!

[Styles Bitchley]

Originally Posted by RZee

A couple questions here:

So shooting is out, but what’s your opinion on golf? Would you (or anyone else you know with a 1680 or similar watch) do activities like that without fear of risking any damage? Most people are saying clapping/high fives are okay, but I will say I can get pretty aggressive with it. I’m a die-hard Longhorn, and things can get pretty spirited at DKR in the fall. Still okay?

I’ve also wondered about cleaning. When I clean my President, I run it under a warm tap, soap up all crevices thoroughly, and then rinse. However, I’ve gotten the impression that I should avoid water near the crown at all costs with this 1680. Is that right? Any better ways to clean?

Thanks


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Not sure how dirty it’ll get but a dry microfibre should work for most instances. If the bezel eventually gets gunked up and hard to turn, you can pop it off with a plastic knife or credit card and clean it out. There’s a lot of opinions about whether you should risk getting it wet. But it’s a dive watch. If you service it properly it should be water tight for most things.

The only other activity I’d recommend avoiding with it on is heavy drinking (ask me how I know). ;-)

[tgoose1]

Good for ya, very nice looking red. But, if I had to be so concerned about handling an ever fragile and aging Rolex with expensive red ink, don't think I'd be able to enjoy it much. That's why I sold mine after 35+ years of ownership some years ago to a collector who will never wear it.

[southtexas]

Originally Posted by RZee

Hello everyone,

Last week my wife surprised me with a 1972 1680 Red Sub, and I've been loving every minute with it on my wrist. I'm not new to Rolex (currently have a President; previously had a '62 Oyster Perpetual), but I am new to vintage, and wanted to ask y'all's opinions on caring for this particular watch, as it will by my daily wearer.

To me, the dial is near flawless. I wanted as little patina on the tritium markers and hands as possible, as I prefer a new/out of box look on the vintage watch. I've read Mark's Red Sub write-up multiple times, and am hopeful my tritium markers won't yellow. I'm mostly concerned about the tritium cracking and becoming unsightly. What is y'all's experience with that? Do you take care to avoid sudden/abrupt movements, or is that not a concern? Most of my day is spent in an office, but I'd like to wear my 1680 while golfing, or at sporting events where there's lots of clapping and high fives. Advisable or no?

Other than the tritium concerns, is there anything else I should keep in mind, or particular good care practices? I still have the 9315 folding link bracelet on it, but will be upgrading to the 93150 soon. I'm also pretty sure it has a luminova pearl, which I'll be looking to change back to a matching tritium pearl.

I love the watch, and am looking forward to many years of continued use.

Thanks, Ryan

Nice watch and great gift from the wife! The watch has survived in excellent condition for almost 50 years, I think it will survive you wearing it as you like.

I’ve owned one for the past 6 years, and between my wife and I, it’s been worn almost daily. It has a few more scratches and dings on the case now, and the tritium has actually gotten lighter as it’s been exposed to constant sun (it lived in a safe for decades before I bought it). She wears it to charity meetings and around town, I wear it using a saws all, working on an oil rig, wiring billfish (that one was probably stupid), shooting semi automatic long guns, breaking up a porch with a jack hammer, with a tuxedo to a dinner party, and picking up the kids from school. Point being, they’re pretty tough. Enjoy it, it’s a beauty!

Here’s a “before and after” pic of it 6 months after being liberated from the safe (it’s even lighter now, but still a nice cream color):





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[twnturbo]

oh wow defintie color shift on that one form being out for 6 months

[tekno]

My Tudor Sub is my daily knock around watch, I would look at getting something like that to take the strain off your other two because they are so valuable.
I don't own a watch as valuable as yours, but my 16750 is not something i want to wear daily. I think the nicer the watch is, the more you notice every bump/bruise.

Explorer 16570
crisp 4-5 digit datejust
tudor sub
tudor chrono

Originally Posted by RZee

A couple questions here:

So shooting is out, but what’s your opinion on golf? Would you (or anyone else you know with a 1680 or similar watch) do activities like that without fear of risking any damage? Most people are saying clapping/high fives are okay, but I will say I can get pretty aggressive with it. I’m a die-hard Longhorn, and things can get pretty spirited at DKR in the fall. Still okay?

I’ve also wondered about cleaning. When I clean my President, I run it under a warm tap, soap up all crevices thoroughly, and then rinse. However, I’ve gotten the impression that I should avoid water near the crown at all costs with this 1680. Is that right? Any better ways to clean?

Thanks


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[Weghead]

Beautiful piece. That’s a good wife you’ve got.

[Trog]

Does your wife have a sister?