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 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 4000 Mens Watch 16600-BSO By: Rolex Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 4 More Information built like a DSRV  On: 2008-06-05Ok, so this is my second one, first is at the bottom of a very large drink, lost after blowing an air hose gasket and emergency ascent, the choice was I could always buy another... but it was difficult!! We did go back and look for it, and if anyone did find it they didnt own up to it. :( These watches will take absolutely any abuse possible under any dive conditions from fanatically double knifing your way up a sea wall against the down current to whacking against gear and stone and steel and...pretty much anything made by man or gods... underwater or above for that matter. Hey "better than I need" always does fine with me! To me reason for the lack of date magnification is pretty simple, if you need to know what day it is on any dive, you are already dead, or severely narcd. Even when Ive been narcd I have never, ever, wanted to check my watch to see what day it is. I wear this watch diving as a sort of "Ill bet not just my life but my trusted dive buddy too" back up for if both our fancy DCs go fubar.... which HAS happened - as will darn near anything if you dive too much. The one thing that WONT happen is for this watch to be a part of any problem. If you are healthy enough to dive you probably are healthy enough to walk, especially for that brewski, so winding the thing is handled easily by repeated trips to the cooler, fridge, or bar. Or if you dont drink... you get the picture... no bats to wonder about. A watch that will change your view of watches On: 2008-03-07A sweet diving watch that I would personally never wear diving. My dive computer tells time fine and costs a lot less. But you CAN dive in this watch and some guys do. These are classic, tough, gorgeous watches that often make a big impact on people who get them. A Sea Dweller is much more than the sum of its parts, but to start with, here is my view of the parts. -- it is very solid but at 40mm across is not too heavy -- unlike some beefy Omegas we could name -- the oyster case was pioneered by Rolex. This one is built like a tank and is milled from a solid block of ridiculously expensive 904L stainless steel. -- the sapphire crystal is the thickest I have ever seen on a watch. You will not break it with anything short of a hammer. Note that there is no cyclops magnifier for reading the date like you find on most Rolexes. -- the dial is a work of art and one of the most copied in history. You can read it without your glasses and it glows fiercely at night. -- great bezel and useful even above water. Positive click, one direction only, so that bumping the bezel while diving makes you think you have LESS air than you really do, not more. -- the bracelet is over-engineered and is not a hair-grabber. The exception is the clasp, which has an extension to make it easy to fit over a wet suit. (it really is made for diving). Unfortunately this extension is a bit of tin that has no place on an otherwise magnificent watch. (The newer model 16600s may have fixed this, not sure). -- You can wear it anywhere with anything from a business suit to a wet suit and it looks great. Rolex has changed this watch very little in 30+ years -- for good reason. It is a watch that conveys a sense of adventure -- and a sense of humor. That would be the unobtrusive "helium escape valve" at 9 oclock. This valve makes sure that the next time you are ascending in your a Deep Submergence Vehicle from 4000 feet, the compressed helium that has snuck into your watch has a way to get out without damaging the works or blowing the crystal off. I know I sleep a lot better with THAT problem out of the way! (Note that all divers for COMEX, the prestigious French deep sea research and operations company wear Sea Dwellers. These guys work in very fancy submersibles and breathe helium at depths far beyond the reach of free divers. The record for Scuba is about 1,000 feet, so the watch will withstand any open water diving just fine even if many of us would rather beat up something that costs a bit less while diving.) The only downside to the watch is, of course, the price. You can easily save $1k on the auction site that dare not speak its name and if you bottom feed a little you cans save more. I grabbed one there with the stickers still on it for $3k. Or search Grovana for a quality Swiss divers watch modeled after the Sea Dweller for about 10% of the price. You can also get high quality Swiss Rolex replicas for about $900 but the karma is compromised and you cannot dive in them. Some of these are amazingly good copies however and only your jeweler will know for sure... Sea-dweller owners can be a bit fanatic about this watch -- we are a rowdy sub-species of Rolex owners. I had a dozen nicely restored vintage watches. I sold three of them to buy a Sea Dweller and would sell most of the others before I let this one go. All others can't compare On: 2008-02-29The best dive watch that a serious watch lover or scuba diver can own. Solid, clean looking and classy. Ive used mine on deep dives with no problems whatsoever other than a corroded spring pin from always forgetting to rinse it well with fresh water after diving. oops. What first drew me to this watch is that it doesnt have that ugly magnifying glass window over the date like other Rolex watches have. It keeps the lines of the watch clean. If you are ever looking for the pinnacle of diver watches, youve found it in the sea-dweller. Rolex Seadweller On: 2008-01-05This is an amazing watch. I have had it for over 3 years now, wearing it everyday, and it still looks new. It is built like a tank, thicker and heavier than the submariner. It is a very versatile watch with classic Rolex elements. I put it on and dont worry what the environment has in store - I know this watch will handle it. |