Brand
Rolex Sea-Dweller Ref. 126600
Forever a part of the Rolex brand vision from Hans Wilsdorf was tapping into a market for watches that could be worn during active sports by the participants themselves rather than on the sidelines. Water-resistant, in a loose definition of the world resistant, watches were around before the Oyster's introduction in 1926 but Wilsdorf's creation was truly spectacular and usable. In 1953 came the Submariner, a truly professional dive watch from Rolex. The natural progression of that mission to create active, waterproof watches under the crown logo is the Sea-Dweller.
As explained by Ben Clymer, "the Rolex Sea-Dweller is the best expression of Rolex as a brand. From its very beginning, the model showed a preoccupation on Rolex's part with extensive over-engineering, and performance above all else." Officially introduced in 1967, the ref. 1665 Sea-Dweller was the result of years of development and experimentation with the help of the U.S. Navy's "Man-in-the-Sea" Project called SEALAB. This first Sea-Dweller was water-resistant to 610 meters, roughly double that of a Submariner at the time, and featured two lines of red text on the dial. The "Double Red Sea-Dweller" was born.
Since the Double Red, the model family has grown, especially in modern iterations, while sticking to a basic formula of deep water resistance and slightly-larger-than-standard-for-Rolex case diameters. From 2009 to 2014, there was no Sea-Dweller in the catalog. That was until the 44mm Sea-Dweller Deep-Sea, a purely modern take on a professional tool diver with a ridiculous 3900-meter depth rating. Then there was the gradient blue, black dial of the "D-Blue" or "James Cameron." While these 44mm Sea-Dwellers found a market, collectors continued to clamor for a serious diver in a more traditional 40mm size. That craving was satisfied with the Sea-Dweller 4000 or reference 116600 which debuted at Baselworld in 2014.
For the 50th anniversary of the Sea-Dweller in 2017, Rolex announced the reference 126600. The updated case was larger in size at 43mm but reshaped and recontoured to fit more comfortably and the "Sea-Dweller" dial text was finally, after decades, executed in red text – a nod to the Double Red, of course.
The Sea-Dweller is, put simply, the most serious watch from Rolex. When asked directly about his Sea-Dweller, serious golfer and all-around dead-serious human, Tiger Woods replied "It's the heaviest one they make." We can assure you it's not that heavy, it's just serious on the wrist. Tiger also sleeps with his on so, the Sea-Dweller is confirmed as not too heavy to sleep with.
This particular Sea-Dweller is a reference 126600 and in overall clean and excellent pre-owned condition. The 43mm stainless steel case and bracelet present in clean condition with a few blemishes on the bracelet clasp. There is a small blemish on the end of the two o'clock lug and some light wear around the black bezel insert. Overall, it appears the watch was worn very lightly. During our quality control check, any necessary adjustments are made to ensure the watch is functioning as intended.
In 1905, a watchmaker named Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up shop as Wilsdorf and Davis in London. In 1908, this company would officially register the name Rolex, and by 1915, they had relocated the brand to Switzerland, where the headquarters remain to this day. Rolex has notched countless firsts in watchmaking, such as the chronometer-certified wristwatch and the first cased wristwatch with water resistance up to 100 meters. The brand also became a ubiquitous force in our culture on the wrist of countless celebrities and as the official timekeeper of numerous sporting events.
