Rolex Sea-Dweller 1665 'Double Red'

€ 31.200
  • Free worldwide delivery

Fill up those oxygen bottles and put on your goggles, 'cause in to the depths we go. And what will assist us in doing the job? A highly desired, reference 1665 Rolex 'Double Red' Sea-Dweller.

By the 1960s, Rolex had earned its spurs as one of the premier makers of tough and trustworthy toolwatches. With the advent of deep-sea diving for commercial and research purposes, Rolex partnered with the French diving company COMEX to produce a waterproof watch to withstand the extreme pressures at such depths. The resulting watch, the ref. 1665 Sea-Dweller, was introduced in 1967. Unlike its older sibling, the Submariner, the Sea-Dweller could be taken much further, more than triple the depth, underwater due to a thicker case and crystal as well as a critical invention: the helium escape valve.

The ref. 1665 was in production in various iterations until the early 1980s. These watches feature dials with two lines of text (“Sea-Dweller” and “Submariner 2000”) printed in red, earning them the nickname ‘Double Red Sea-Dweller’. This specific watch belongs to the very last batch of the red Sea-Dwellers, when already some white-text ones were in production. Regardless the 'Double Red's' were distinguished from the white ones by having the serial number not only engraved in the case but also on the inside of the case-back and as such confirming the double-red text.

The example we have right here dates back to 1976 and is in a condition worth mentioning. In the Oyster case sits a 'Mark IV' dial with stunning lightly cream-colored lume plots, perfectly matching with the hands. As we've mentioned many times, in the world of vintage Rolexes, collectors tend to search out the fine red printing on dials. Such as Red Submariner's, Big Red Daytona's and in this case Double Red Sea-Dwellers.

During this period Rolex was still working on their patents and on some specific bracelets you could find a little typ-o. As you can see all this goodness is carried by a cool folded Oyster bracelet, which remains in a very good condition with only some scratches on the surface. And if you look a bit closer.. you can find that exact typ-o; "PATETED" on the inside of the clasp. A piece that is, more than 49 years old, in great condition combined with a dial that is as good as they come is what we call a homerun in AVW-world.

Introduction

Rolex Submariner Sea-DwellerIn 1926, Rolex’ visionary founder Hans Wildorf patented the world’s first waterproof and dustproof watch case: the famous ‘Oyster.’ Three decades later, in 1953, Rolex introduced one of the world’s first wristwatches geared specifically towards divers: the Submariner. Rolex had to confront a number of challenges when designing its first dive watch. The watch obviously had to withstand significant amounts of pressure and had to accurately measure time spent underwater, which the first Submariner achieved by introducing a 330ft/100m depth rating and a rotating diving bezel. It also had to be easily legible in conditions of reduced visibility yet aesthetically pleasing. Hence, the Sub’s iconic large white tritium hour markers and Mercedes hands set against a contrasting black dial.During the 1960s, the needs of professional divers working at great depths led to the development of the first ‘ultra water resistant’ tool watches designed for conducting safe diving operations at depths of 300 meters (1,000 ft.). However, these were still not sufficient for deep-sea divers who experienced failure as their watch crystals broke during compression due to the build-up of helium. To aid these divers, Rolex released in 1967 the Sea-Dweller Submariner (ref. 1665) in cooperation with the French engineering and deep-sea diving company COMEX. The Sea-Dweller range has been standard issue for COMEX divers and since 1977 Rolex has even produced them with customized COMEX dials.By increasing the thickness of the crystal and incorporating a helium escape valve for saturation diving, the early Sea-Dweller could be taken as deep as 610 meters (2,000 ft). A characteristic aspect of the Sea-Dweller is the absence of the date magnifier (‘cyclops’) that is present on other Rolex Oyster models with a date complication.REF.1665Double Red Sea-DwellerThe first Sea-Dweller reference (1665) was launched in 1967. During the first 10 years of production, the two lines of text “Sea-Dweller Submariner 2000” on the dial were printed in red, earning it the nickname ‘Double-Red Sea-Dweller’ or DRSD. From 1977 until the end end of the 1665’s production run in 1983 the text was printed in white instead.

Specifications

Shipping

We offer complimentary worldwide shipping by insured courier. Packages are generally dispatched within 2 days after receipt of payment and are shipped by private courier, PostNL, FedEx or Ferrari group; depending the value and destination. Consult us if you prefer another method of shipping. For all destinations tracking is available.