The Luxury Watch Blog

Introduction.

I recently obtained a Sea Dweller (model number 16600). As the name implies and as most of you will know, this is the deep sea diver of the Rolex line. It uses Rolex movement 3135, and is COSC certified. I was looking for a rugged tool watch in this line. I like a date feature in a watch, and found that I did not like the Cyclops. I know many are fans of that feature, but–and this is a personal opinion–I found the Cyclops overwhelmed the crystal and was distracting to me. So, I chose the Sea Dweller; it is rugged, heavily built, meant to last, is beautiful in a low-key fashion and has the features I want in a tool watch.

Overall.

Rolex has been a name most of has have know since we were quite young. I recall the excellent advertisments that Rolex ran in the National Geogprahic magazines of the 1970’s, portaying their watches as the quintessential tool for explorers and adventurers far and wide. It was a watch that looked rugged, the first I’d seen with protective shoulders around the crown, indicative of the risks of adventure that the wearer accepted by taking on such an iconic watch. It certainly wasn’t the plain flat disc that my father and uncles wore. Since I’m a firm believer that a tool watch is to be used, not locked away, I have been wearing the Sea Dweller at work and at home, and have not been suprised to find it is a beautiful, accurate and rugged timepiece that is a pleasure to use.

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Auberlen, Alhadeff and Hand co-driving the 05 Luggage Express Team Sigalsport Dinan BMW finished 16th in the final round of the 2007 Rolex Sports Car Series in Utah. The team had a fantastic car and ran in the top five for over three hours of the 7 ½-hour endurance event and Bill Auberlen also took command of the race on lap 29. An unexpected electrical connector problem after three hours ruined all chances of finishing on the podium.

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The hairspring is the most overlooked of all watch components; like the human heart, it continues, unbidden and unseen, its vital role. Not only do its oscillations have to be precisely regular, they have to be so in the most hostile of environments; the human hand and wrist are the parts of the body which undergo the most variation in position and temperature (think about it, what other part of your body goes in the freezer?). Yet we expect microscopic accuracy from a modern watch, an accuracy of 1 second per day is equivalent to hitting a 1 inch bull’s-eye at a distance of over a mile.

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On May 12-13 ^th, Antiquorum Geneva will hold its second auction of 2007, in which nearly 696 watches and clocks will be auctioned off.

On this occasion, two lots, No 311 and 312 will be sold and we are proud to share with you the wonderful story of lot No. 311. We warmly thank Mr Alan Downing, who we met at our Antiquorum Office in Geneva three weeks ago, for sharing with us the exceptional story of this Pow Rolex.

Following a very interesting discussion with Mr Downing and thanks to the rich illustrative material he provided us with, we hereby present the story of this Rolex Oyster which belonged to Mr Clive James Nutting, Corporal in the Royal Corps of Signals, who was a prisoner in Stalag Luft III from 1939 to 1945. This essay written by Alan tells us the story of Clive Nutting and shows how Rolex (and other watch factories) were engaged in the regular supply of watches to men incarcerated in Prisoner of War camps like Stalag Luft III (located at Sagan, 100 miles southeast of Berlin, at present Poland). This camp is probably the most famous of all Prisoner of War Camps due to it being the scene of the great escape of march 1944 and the subsequent making of the 1962 film of the same name.

We are pleased to share this story, provided by Alan, and photos with the TimeZone community in advance of the catalog’s publication.

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They say there’s a “sucker born every minute” but you’re not a sucker if you intentionally know what you’re getting into. On a recent trip to New York City, I knew that Canal Street was the place I could find the not-so-elusive fake Rolex watch. Sure enough, I had to walk only one block of the infamous market district before I was approached by a nervous-looking guy offering what he promised was a “genuine” Rolex time piece.

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When divers swim in deep water they normally wear “Dive Watches” they special watches are designed to withstand the water pressure. One of the major issues is the helium build up in the watch case as diver goes deeper. Therefore the watch company’s have designed Helium Release Valves or HRV’s. Now each manufacturer has there own unique way to release the helium for example Rolex has a unique way of releasing the helium by letting it go though the protective rubber seal. Omega has a screw to release the heluim.

The discussion continues at WatchUSeek Forum

Note: if you own a Movado Watch do not swim with it

VS

CASE & CRYSTAL

As you can see from the case dimensions, both watches are fairly similar in size. Compared to the 45.5mm PO, I think the 42mm version makes for more of an “apples to apples” comparison with the SD.

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There is no denying that Rolex has a certain mystique that goes with its name, and until you own one it is hard to comprehend what it is. So I took the plunge, after reading tons of reviews and literature like this one that I am writing now, on most of the Rolex Professional Collection, such as the Submariner Date, the Explorer 2, the GMT Master 2, the Yacht Master 1and of course, the Sea-dweller. I finally settled for the legendary Sea-dweller (Oyster Perpetual Date, reference 16600, recommended retail price USD$5,350 at the time of this article, August 2007). I took into consideration factors such as the respect this watch commands among the dive watch fraternity, its incredible technical specifications and capability, the classic timeless cosmetic appeal, and also, the rich illustrious history behind it. It sure took me some time to come to this decision, but I have not regretted a single bit. I cannot begin to describe just how excited I felt when I first saw my Z-series Sea-dweller. There it was, sitting in the new design, large and heavy Rolex box. To side-track a little, in my opinion, this new design box that was introduced somewhere in the early 2005 is a huge improvement over the scrawny looking old wooden box that Rolex had been using for the past 20 to 30 years. I feel any Rolex watch sits much safer and look more secured in this huge solid box with a nice soft padded cream interior, compared to the old one. I am not sure what material it is made of, but it feels too heavy to be wood. Could be hardened plastic, I guess.

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Check out this Picture! According to the TimeZone Forum. This is a Rolex SS Daytona!

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