Completing The Package:  Accessories For a Vintage 1680 Submariner
By: John B. Holbrook, II
May 5th, 2008

While I consider myself to be a collector of modern Rolex pieces, the lure and appeal of some vintage models is hard to ignore.  Now, locating an example of the vintage Rolex model you're interested in at an affordable price point is challenge enough.  But it's truly rare to find an example which has with it all of the original accessories which would have come with the watch when it sold brand new.  Having done the restoration work on my 1970 1680, (click here for the article) and having made the decision that I wanted to keep the watch in my permanent collection, I decided that I the watch was special enough that I should "complete" it with all of the original accessories.  It took me about three months, but I did achieve the goal.  Here's the watch - a fine example of a red 1680 Submariner from 1970 (the year of my birth):  

Keep in mind that I purchased the watch with the original paperwork which was the key to making the search for the rest of the accessories.  Without the original chronometer certificate (which has the serial number of my specific watch on it), my watch could never be truly complete: 

Now here's a shot of the complete assembled package:

The first step was tracking down a proper inner and outer box which would have come with a 1970 - while there's a couple of different box variations which are technically correct for vintage 1680, most collectors prefer the "seahorse" outer box.  When these watches were sold, most people threw out either the outer box, or both boxes.  Even when they were kept, often boxes are damaged or discolored greatly.  The outer box which I located is quite pristine:

Notice velvet slotted insert in these shots of the inner box - it's very difficult to find a box with this part intact, and often they are sold without this critical piece:

Here's a shot of the items which usually were included in the box - a red chronometer hang tag, an anchor, and the triplock crown hang tag:

Of these three, the green triplock hang tag seems to be the most difficult to find - it was actually more costly than the inner and outer box set which I acquired:

Vintage style anchors are also getting harder to source - friend and fellow collector Ed Delgado of www.doubleredseadweller.com (thanks Ed!) helped me with this item. Note the depth rating which is correct for the 1680 Submariner - 200m/660ft.

It was about a three month chase, but the satisfaction of owning one of the few, complete 1680 red Submariners from 1970 made it all worthwhile.  If you're wondering where I sourced them from, all the accessories came from different sources - specialty vintage Rolex dealers, eBay, and friends.  When hunting down vintage Rolex accessories, you have to leave no stone unturned.