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Lot #3309

Rolex Sea-Dweller 1665 Great White

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Introduction

Debuting in 1967, with the specific aim of bolstering Rolex's dive watch offering, the Rolex Sea-Dweller built upon the industry-leading dive watch credentials that the Submariner had earned Rolex over the previous 14 years. Created specifically with professional divers in mind, Rolex collaborated with diving companies like COMEX to perfect the Sea-Dweller's design and ensure it would be the ultimate dive watch. Featuring the ingenious Helium-Escape Valve that Rolex had patented the same year, a hugely impressive water resistance, and a sizeable case design, the Sea-Dweller rightfully toppled the Submariner as Rolex's most hardcore dive watch. Today offered in a few separate styles such as two-tone, with various dials, and in two different case sizes (43mm and 44mm), the Sea-Dweller has taken a leaf from the rest of Rolex's offerings and merged its tool-watch focused design with tasteful aesthetics, to create one of the most sought-after and best-equipped dive watches that any diver might ever need.

The 1665 Sea-Dweller was the first watch manufactured by Rolex to include the HEV. Made specifically with commericial divers in mind, it had a depth rating of 2000 feet, as opposed to the 660 feet of the standard Submariner. At first commercially introduced with the text "SEA-DWELLER SUBMARINER 2000" in red, the all-white variant appeared around 1979.

Loupe This Scorecard

Grade

V 8.5

Status

Vetted & Approved

Included

Watch Only

Est. value range

$10,000 – $15,000

The Details

Brand

Rolex

Dimensions

40mm

Model

Sea-Dweller

Movement

Automatic cal. 1575

Reference

1665

Bracelet

Stainless steel Oyster bracelet

Year

1981

Condition

Excellent

Material

Stainess steel

Included

Watch and box

Dial Color

Black

THE DIAL
THE DIAL

Boasting a beautiful matte black 'Great White' dial (so-called due to its white 'Sea-Dweller' text), this example's original tritium hands have aged to include the same deep orange patina as on its tritium indexes.

THE CONSTRUCTION
THE CONSTRUCTION

Featuring a famously robust construction, the ref. 1665 was a large watch when it was first released but today, it wears like a modern diver with its 40mm diameter filling the wrist like so many other contemporary timepieces.

TIMING MACHINE READOUT
TIMING MACHINE READOUT

This reading was taken (crown down) with a ONEOF Accuracy Boutique Edition timing machine at time of cataloging. It is provided as a courtesy only, and shall not be construed as a warranty or guarantee of any kind. Please refer to our terms and conditions of sale for more information.

Condition

Watch is in excellent overall conditinon. Case exhibits some minor surface wear, with some scratches and marks visible. Wear and small scratches visible near the lug-holes due to bracelet removal. The lugs retain a crisp chamfered edge as seen in the images. Bezel teeth have minor wear, and the insert shows little visible damage. Original tritium pearl matches the luminous hands and indexes. The dial is in excellent condition with little wear. The original luminous dots have aged to a strong dark yellow/orange color. There are some minor marks visible on some of the indexes. Watch comes on a 91350 oyster bracelet with 11 linsk total. It shows minor stretch and fits an approx 7" wrist.

Our Perspective

First introduced in 1977 and in production until approximately 1983, the "Great White" was so-called due to the all-white text of the dial that replaced the ref. 1665 dials that featured red text, making them a unique transitional oddity.

Justin Gruenberg

Co-founder