Rolex John Bull Submariner Reference 16803 Two Tone

The Rolex Submariner is one of the most renowned sports watches of all time. This reference 16803 features a 8.6M serial number dating to circa 1985. The case was hand finished / carved at time of purchase at the Bahamian official Rolex retailer John Bull by their master watchmaker Günter Miethe. This was a popular request by the Bahamian retailer throughout the 1980s and these watches are highly prized by collectors for their unique look and island vibes. Our understanding is that Rolex gave their blessing to their official retailer John Bull to customize these watches for the local Bahamian market at the time. While most of the John Bull watches with a bark carved finish were all-steel Submariners and a few were all-steel GMT-Masters, this is an extremely unusual two-tone Bluesy example. We understand at the time of purchase the buyer wanted a green dial, so the original dial was refinished in a metallic green that is reminiscent of the color in the flag of The Bahamas.

To learn more about the Rolex Submariner, you can watch my ‘Reference Points: Understanding The Rolex Submariner’ video and read the corresponding article.

The watch does not come with box and papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well. It recently passed a water resistance test of 1 bar after our watchmaker replaced all the gaskets. The watch and bracelet have not been polished since new beyond the John Bull finish, so it has its full proportions.

I fell in love with this watch when I first saw it and I think any buyer that gets this can have a watch they will never see on another person’s wrist. I can’t imagine a more fun watch to wear on a trip to The Bahamas!

SOLD (SBUXYT2967)

SOLD