The 1680: a few questions...

[J!m]

So the 1680 is a special watch to me. I love the look of the high crystal and cyclops. The no-nonsense design that is truly a "form following function" exercise. '69 would be my birthday watch (III 69 to be exact) and an appropriate 1680 has been a dream of mine for a long time. Based in the cost:salary ratio I currently suffer from, I expect it will remain elusive for the rest if my life...

But as nice as that intro may be, I have a couple questions.

1) when was the 1680 introduced? I read that 1965 was the first year; however I have never seen one older than 1969 which I have also heard is the first year. Not a big deal either way, but if my birth year watch was also the first year of production, that would obviously be super-cool!

2) the bezel. I saw a particularly spectacular example once where the little note was included with the other original papers bragging about the bezel function requiring downward pressure to allow rotation. I have never seen any early bezels with construction differing from the standard bi-directional snap together with thin spring washer between... Am I missing something? Did they have another design for this at some point before the ratcheting bezel was introduced much later?

I guess it doesn't matter-I'll probably never own this watch but it us fun to dream...