On the 16803 the rotating bezel, crown and bracelet centre links are 18k yellow gold and the rest is steel. The bezel insert is black anodised aluminium.

Does this Submariner come with box and papers?

The listing does not mention them, so assume neither and ask the seller.

Is a Rolex on Amazon authentic?

This unit is sold and authenticated by What Goes Around Comes Around through Amazon Luxury Stores, with Amazon’s 30-day return window on top. Amazon itself does not authenticate the watch; the reseller does.

Illustrative render — hero view of the Rolex Submariner Date 16803 (steel and 18k yellow gold, black dial, black bezel)

Rolex · Submariner Date · 16803 · two-tone · pre-owned on Amazon

The two-tone Submariner of the 1980s.

Q: Does a two-tone Submariner hold its value?

Two-tone Submariners have resold close to what people paid for them for a long time, sometimes more, sometimes less. That is a pattern, not a promise, and nothing here is investment advice.

The 16803 is the Submariner Date Rolex made from about 1984 to 1988 in steel and 18k yellow gold: a 40mm Oyster case with a gold rotating bezel and black insert, a black dial with the luminous markers in gold surrounds, Mercedes hands, the date under its Cyclops, and the two-tone Oyster bracelet with a flip-lock clasp. It was the first two-tone Submariner with a sapphire crystal and the calibre 3035 quickset date, and it is the shape every two-tone Submariner since has kept. Pre-owned through a Luxury Stores reseller, graded Excellent with light scratching and tarnishing to the hardware.

This Submariner on Amazon (pre-owned)$10,000–$25,000 band

Case

40mm, steel and 18k yellow gold, unidirectional gold bezel with black insert, 300m

Listing: 16803, 40mm, two-tone; Rolex 16803

Movement

Calibre 3035 automatic, quickset date, about 42 h

Rolex 16803

Dial

Black, luminous markers in gold surrounds, Mercedes hands, Cyclops date

Listing: black; photograph

Bracelet

Oyster, steel and yellow gold, flip-lock clasp

Listing: flip-lock clasp; photograph

Made

About 1984 to 1988

Rolex 16803 production

This unit

Excellent; light scratching and tarnishing throughout hardware; no box or papers mentioned

Listing, What Goes Around Comes Around, 2026-09-13

Why the 16803 matters

Rolex made the Submariner in two-tone from the 1970s, but the 16803 is the one that brought the modern specification: a sapphire crystal in place of acrylic, the calibre 3035 with a date you can set from the crown without cycling the hands, and a case rated to 300 metres. It ran only four or five years before the 16613 replaced it with the calibre 3135, which makes it a short reference and one collectors know by number.

The look is the classic two-tone Sub: gold bezel and crown, gold centre links on the bracelet, and a black dial where the luminous plots sit in gold surrounds. The lume on a watch this age has usually turned cream; the listing photograph shows it warm. The flip-lock clasp is the period one, before the glidelock of the ceramic era.

Illustrative render — why the 16803 matters of the Rolex Submariner Date 16803 (steel and 18k yellow gold, black dial, black bezel)

Reading the listing

The seller gives the reference and the size, 16803 and 40mm, and the condition: Excellent, with light scratching and tarnishing throughout the hardware, which is honest for a two-tone watch from the 1980s. The rows say made in Switzerland and flip-lock clasp, and the photograph confirms the black bezel insert, the gold-surround markers, the Cyclops date and the two-tone Oyster bracelet. No box or papers are mentioned, so assume neither and ask.

The calibre, crystal, water resistance and production years here are Rolex’s published figures for the 16803, not measured on this unit. A watch this age should have been serviced; ask when it last was, and ask whether the bezel insert and lume are original.

Illustrative render — reading the listing of the Rolex Submariner Date 16803 (steel and 18k yellow gold, black dial, black bezel)

Buying it pre-owned on Amazon

Rolex is pre-owned only on Amazon. This unit is sold by What Goes Around Comes Around through Amazon Luxury Stores, authenticated by the seller with Amazon’s 30-day return window on top; it is one piece, and when it sells the listing goes away, so the second button opens the live search for two-tone Submariners.

Two-tone Submariners from this period have resold close to what people paid for them for a long time, sometimes more, sometimes less; that is a pattern, not a promise, and nothing here is investment advice.

Illustrative render — buying it pre-owned on amazon of the Rolex Submariner Date 16803 (steel and 18k yellow gold, black dial, black bezel)

Specs

Reference: 16803
Case size: 40mm
Case material: Stainless steel and 18k yellow gold (Rolesor), unidirectional bezel with black insert
Movement: Automatic, Rolex calibre 3035, quickset date
Caliber type: Rolex 3035, chronometer
Crystal: Sapphire Crystal, Cyclops
Water resistance: 300m (30 ATM)
Power reserve: About 42 hours
Complications: Date
Origin: Swiss Made

Specifications as published by Rolex. We research from manufacturer documentation and published sources rather than hands-on testing. Researched 2026-09-13.

Verdict

A 1980s two-tone Submariner Date, the 16803, pre-owned on Amazon: the black-and-gold Sub with the first sapphire crystal and quickset date, from a reseller with Amazon’s return window.

Strengths

The two-tone Submariner shape, unchanged since
Sapphire crystal, quickset date and 300m from the 1980s
A short, four-to-five-year reference collectors know
Amazon’s return window on top of the seller’s authentication

Trade-offs

Tarnishing and scratching noted; a used watch of its age
No box or papers mentioned; ask
Service history not stated; ask
About 42 hours of reserve, not the 70 of modern Rolex

Buy it if

Someone who wants the two-tone Submariner with a bit of age on it and a reference with a story.

Skip it if

You want a modern ceramic-bezel Sub, box and papers, or an all-steel watch.

This Submariner on Amazon (pre-owned)$10,000–$25,000 band

FAQ

The 16803 (about 1984 to 1988) uses the calibre 3035; the 16613 that replaced it uses the 3135 and ran until 2009. Same two-tone case, bezel and bracelet design; the 16613 is the one you see far more often.

Compare

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Sources

Researched and last updated 2026-09-13. We do not test watches in hand; every figure above is traceable to the manufacturer or the sources listed here.

Rolex Submariner Date 16803 (steel and 18k yellow gold, black dial, black bezel)

Reference 16803 · $10,000–$25,000

This Submariner on Amazon (pre-owned)

Prices and availability change; the band above is a research figure, so check the current listing.

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