Perhaps the most controversial moment in the history of the world’s favorite dive watch – the Rolex Submariner – came in the late 1960s when the ref. 1680 emerged; the first reference to sport a date function. For many of the more traditional fans, the ones invested in the brand’s legacy of tough but stylish tool watches, it marked the point at which the Submariner began to stray from its true roots and enter the realm of being a status symbol. Today, late run examples of the ref. 1680 act as the ideal gateway into vintage Rolex ownership, while the rarest early specimens are incredibly sought-after and often mentioned in similar conversions that include Double Red Sea-Dweller and Bakelite bezel GMT-Master watches. Whatever stage you are at in your Rolex collecting journey, the Submariner ref. 1680 makes a tantalizing target