The Rolex Submariner reference 16613 serves three purposes in my collection. The first is to complete my collection of the best of the Rolex sport watches. This F series Submariner joins my Y series Explorer II and GMT Master II to represent the 3 Rolex watches I admire the most. The second purpose is to have an example of the vaunted Submariner in my collection. As I've been saying for years, the Submariner has it's pluses and minuses, but you simply can't take away the tremendous horilogical impact of the Rolex Submariner. As a collector, I wanted to add one to my collection. The third, and perhaps most important reason is that I happen to love the look of this watch.

The markers and hands are 18k gold, and the background of the date window is off white to more closely coordinate with the gold accents. The sharp eyed in the audience will notice one of the more difficult to counterfeit hallmarks of authenticity on a Rolex watch - the laser etched crown on the sapphire crystal at 6 o'clock, visible between the words "Swiss" and "Made".

While this is certainly a pretty watch, you can dive with it if you choose to do so in a watch that retails for nearly $7000.00. The 16613, like the 16610 is water resistant to 300 meters, and has a uni-directional rotating bezel. It also has a dive suit extension built into the clasp. Here's a view of something I've always found visually appealing about the Submariner - the oversized Rolex Triplock crown.

Rolex certainly isn't the greatest brand ever, nor is the Submariner the greatest watch. But the appeal of both the brand and it's most famous model cannot be denied. Nor can be denied the unique pleasure of slipping on a gold watch. While I never thought I'd be fortunate enough to own one Rolex, let alone three, I find myself in that very position. Thanks go out to the Internet watch community that has taught me so much about watches and helped me launch a 2nd career writing about, and photographing watches.