Rolex Sea-dweller 126600 - love it or hate it?

the 126600 widely known as the 50th anniversary of the sea dweller is also known to be one of the most controversial sea level ever produced with its 43 millimeter face and cyclops the sea dweller was first introduced in 1967 slightly over 10 years after the Submariner was launched back in the 50s Rolex was giving out free Subs in exchange for saturation diving data for comics and a feedback that Rolex received was the crystal on the submariners were popping off during decompression this led to the invention of the helium Escape valve that allows helium particles to escape and the first sea dweller was born the very first production of the sea dweller was the reference 1665 or the double Red Sea dweller with a nickname refers to the two red lines on the dial sea dweller and San Marina 2000 which had a 40 millimeter diameter with a helium Escape valve on the left and a date window at the three o'clock position I like this submarena the sea dweller did not have a cyclops over the date window as crystals on the sea dollar were Dome shaped which could withstand more pressure than flat crystals there were also prototypes known as the single Red Sea dwellers which were given to professional divers to test the watches prior to the commercial production of the sea level and their only top is as known there is a great article on the single red on periscope.com which I've included the link in the description below if you're interested after a production period of 10 years the great white was introduced in 1977 as the red lines in the previous models were not printed in white and it was from this reference that we no longer see the submarine attacks on the sea dweller dial as it was the last scene to alert with a Plexiglas Crystal which is regarded by many as one of a defining features of a vintage watch [Music] the reference 16600 or known as the triple six was introduced and it was the first sea dweller to be fitted with a sapphire crystal it was during this reference in the 1980s that the Luminous material evolved from tritium to luminova then to Super luminova you can easily tell which is which by looking at the bottom of the dial Swiss T25 indicates tritium Swiss indicates luminova and swiss mean indicates super luminova the reference 16600 was also the last 40 millimeter C dweller with an aluminum bezel and its last year of production was around 2009. fast forward to 2014 the reference 116600 was introduced and a c dweller was given a ceramic upgrade to its bezel it also came with the modern Glide long adjustment on the clamps and had a tapered case instead of the super case like the Submariner yet it was the most shortlisted Weller in history as it was only been in production over three years and it was also the last 40 millimeter C dweller so in 2017 Rolex launched the 126600 on the 50th anniversary of the sea dweller or commonly known as the st-43 this reference became the first scene dweller in history to have a 43 millimeter case and a cyclops over the date window the single rate tax also adds a touch of vintage charm similar to the single read prototype in the 1960s both the new features of the sd43 Drew mix reactions of enthusiasts as when the XC dweller was 40 millimeter with no Cyclops it may go unnoticed as it looked like a noted Submariner but packs a stronger capability under the hood allowing it to fly under the radar but for those with larger wrists like myself the 43 millimeter fits perfectly on my 7 inch wrist and the bigger case size makes it look like a bigger brother to the Submariner while I would agree that the Cyclops graze the difference between a Submariner and a sea dweller in terms of looks some say that the Cyclops was introduced to mask a design floor of the sd43 as sea dweller has always been at 40 millimeter sizes the diameter of the movement cannot accommodate the new 43 millimeter size resulting in a date window the loop misaligned from the hour markers but with the Cyclops the magnification with a lighter table solving this misalignment issue since 2017 there is another variation of the sd43 from late 2018 where at six o'clock there is a current net between Swiss and made and there's a serif on top of the number one of the 1200 feet tanks at sc43 with these variations are known to be the Mark II for some may argue that the Mark 1 is the true 50th Anniversary piece for the sea dweller and thus potentially be more valued than the mark twos I doubt there'll be a great price difference in terms of resale value between the two in the future unless Rolex officially recognizes that one that's the 50th Anniversary please for the sea dweller so what do you think of the sd43 and its controversial changes Dustin Mark 1 and Mark II variant makes a difference for you would you prefer a Submariner or a silver let me know in the comments below and I'll see you guys in the next video

Channel: ahorologyjourney

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Length: 5min 38sec (338 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 08 2023