Rolex Sea dweller

[craigdonnelly]

Hello can anyone tell me what year Rolex discontinued the Sea Dweller? Cheers

[RGambo]

they still make them as far as I'm aware. they just changed the design about 5 years ago. My father has one of the older designs, the new ones are just too chunky.

http://www.rolex.com/watches/rolex-deepsea/m116660...

[stuttgartmetal]

2009

[yeti]

Is the internet broken?

16600 Sea-Dweller replaced by Deepsea Sea-Dweller in 2008, there are some 2009 watches about though.

[craigdonnelly]

Yes the Deep Sea replaced the Sea Dweller but it is too chunky! Thank you

[Dominic H]

There might even be a few 2014's knocking about too....

[yeti]

craigdonnelly said:

Yes the Deep Sea replaced the Sea Dweller but it is too chunky! Thank you

Too chunky for what? I'm wearing one!

[craigdonnelly]

Too chunky for my tastes. I really respect the Deep Sea but too big, too flash and not as cool as a sea dweller.

The Sea Dweller had impressive capabilities and restrained... A bit like my E60 M5 lol

[andy tims]

Dominic H said:

There might even be a few 2014's knocking about too....

So you've heard the rumour too. Reckon its going to happen?

[yeti]

craigdonnelly said:

Too chunky for my tastes. I really respect the Deep Sea but too big, too flash and not as cool as a sea dweller.

Interesting

This was posted by a chap called craniotes on tz-uk the other day - I thought i summed up the watch really well:

"I've always viewed the DSSD as Rolex's "sod off" watch. To wit, before the DSSD debuted, Rolex was seen as way behind in the dive watch "arms race" in terms of depth rating, bracelet/bezel construction, lume strength, etc, with other companies, both big and small, boasting of watches that could go deeper than the Sea-Dweller and do so without a rattletrap bracelet, scratch-prone aluminum insert bezel or average lume.

Enter the DSSD...

Now, it was Rolex's turn to laugh at the puny efforts of the upstarts with a watch that could dive on the wreck of the Titanic, if it were so inclined, and still have meters to spare. What's more, it would do so with a solid-link bracelet that sported an ingenious on-the-fly microadjustment, it would tick of the minutes with a platinum-infused ceramic bezel that floated on four spring-loaded ball bearings and it would glow in the Stygian gloom with an exclusive lume formulation that went all night on a single charge. Couple this with its 5mm domed sapphire crystal, fully graduated Cerachrom bezel and matte-dial -- all of which served to recall Rolex's glorious past beneath the waves -- and boom, everyone can now shut the hell up and bow to the new king.

Sure, the end result was a large, heavy watch with a too-narrow bracelet and big-bux price tag, but no longer could anyone claim that Rolex was behind the curve in the genre that it all but invented. Don't like it? Buy a Sub-C and shut the hell up. Too big? Buy a Sub-C and shut the hell up. Too expensive? Buy a Sub-C and shut the hell up. In essence, they were telling us to accept that they now made the deepest-diving production watch in the world, and to deal with it and move along (To be sure, PITA, Hublot, CX Swiss Military and UTS have all made mechanical watches that are rated deeper, but to date, only the DSSD comes in at under 18mm thick, and is a true serial production piece.)

In summation, the DSSD is a halo piece, and one that I seriously doubt was ever intended to set sales records. Its purpose, as stated above, was to remind folks of the engineering capabilities of the brand and in doing so, restore some of the luster that had faded in the light of pieces from Omega, Girard-Perregaux, et al"

[x5x3]

I have both so win-win?

but it is always the DSSD I wear, don't hate it until you have tried one on

[Dominic H]

andy tims said:

Dominic H said:

There might even be a few 2014's knocking about too....

So you've heard the rumour too. Reckon its going to happen?

You mean the Rolex 116600/216600? No, I don't think for one second Rolex will introduce a 3rd dive watch in between Sub-C and DSSD. Nor do I think they'll discontinue DSSD and replace it with a 'junior' watch. All I was alluding to was the possibility of mint 16600's stored away with sealed with undated paperwork.

[yeti]

x5x3 said:

I have both so win-win?

but it is always the DSSD I wear

I >had< both and sold the 16600 as it had been firmly superseded by the Deepsea and it wasn't getting worn. It had doubled in value too which is always nice. I also bought a birth year 1665 so have all the bases covered for myself. Very happy with that pairing.

[dom9]

craigdonnelly said:

Too chunky for my tastes. I really respect the Deep Sea but too big, too flash and not as cool as a sea dweller.

+1

SD over DSSD every time for me too!

However, both are fantastic pieces!

[chris56]

Dominic H said:

You mean the Rolex 116600/216600? No, I don't think for one second Rolex will introduce a 3rd dive watch in between Sub-C and DSSD. Nor do I think they'll discontinue DSSD and replace it with a 'junior' watch. All I was alluding to was the possibility of mint 16600's stored away with sealed with undated paperwork.

It would appear according to an Italian Rolex new model price list just posted on TZ_UK that the Rolex 116600 is the new Rolex Sea Dweller 4000. Price is 8550 Euros in Italy which has higher VAT than other EU countries. Availability is summer 2014

Edited by chris56 on Wednesday 26th March 10:18

[Dominic H]

chris56 said:

Dominic H said:

You mean the Rolex 116600/216600? No, I don't think for one second Rolex will introduce a 3rd dive watch in between Sub-C and DSSD. Nor do I think they'll discontinue DSSD and replace it with a 'junior' watch. All I was alluding to was the possibility of mint 16600's stored away with sealed with undated paperwork.

It would appear according to an Italian Rolex new model price list just posted on TZ_UK that the Rolex 116600 is the new Rolex Sea Dweller 4000. Price is 8550 Euros in Italy which has higher VAT than other EU countries. Availability is summer 2014

Edited by chris56 on Wednesday 26th March 10:18

We'll simply have to wait and see Chris. Historically it's easier to get an invite to a Bildeburg conference than any preview from Rolex on a forthcoming Basel model launch.
Today is the media preview day at Basel, so we should get conformation very shortly.

This shot of the security on the Rolex stand at Basel, was on respected watch journalist James Dowling's twitter feed a short while ago...



The window blinds should be going up any minute now...

Edited by Dominic H on Wednesday 26th March 11:14

[jshell]

It's on the Rolex website! SeaDweller 4000. Fecking Yay!!!!!!!!

http://www.rolex.com/watches/baselworld-2014/new-r...

[Dominic H]

Dominic H said:

andy tims said:

Dominic H said:

There might even be a few 2014's knocking about too....

So you've heard the rumour too. Reckon its going to happen?

You mean the Rolex 116600/216600? No, I don't think for one second Rolex will introduce a 3rd dive watch in between Sub-C and DSSD. Nor do I think they'll discontinue DSSD and replace it with a 'junior' watch. All I was alluding to was the possibility of mint 16600's stored away with sealed with undated paperwork.

Following the launch of 116600 Seadweller 4000



I shall be eating my hat and then having a slice of this for pudding...

[Riff Raff]

Dominic H said:

Following the launch of 116600 Seadweller 4000

I can't see the DSSD on the Rolex website. Does that mean it's discontinued, or just that I can't work the internet?........

Also, there doesn't seem to be the rumoured Pepsi GMT, which is a bugger, as I'll now just have to go on the look out for a BLNR one.

[coldsnap]

Riff Raff said:

I can't see the DSSD on the Rolex website. Does that mean it's discontinued, or just that I can't work the internet?........

Also, there doesn't seem to be the rumoured Pepsi GMT, which is a bugger, as I'll now just have to go on the look out for a BLNR one.

I suppose its good news for DSSD owners, re short run, numbers and therefore 2nd hand prices. Anyone forecast where this puts 16600 values?