Rolex Sea-Dweller Ref. 1665 Circa 1979 Walt-Grace-Vintage

The enduring allure of serious tool watches is simple: They directly connect us with a time when these little mechanical wonders were once a piece of kit that people actually relied on in the field. Once upon a time, having an accurate and truly reliable dive watch on-wrist could be the difference between life and death, and no brand has a more storied or important history when it comes to watches designed for the deep than Rolex.

A step beyond the venerable Submariner references (considered the most important and popular dive watch of all time) Rolex’s Sea-Dweller sought to remedy the unique problems saturation or mixed gas diving confronted traditional dive watches with. Aquanauts that explored the once impossible depths of saturation dives found their Submariners and other traditional dive watches were being ruined by the intrusion of tiny helium bubbles from the mixed-gas setups that allowed for them to descend so low. To solve this, Rolex equipped the Sea-Dweller’s case with a clever helium escape valve that released the gas as the pressure increased during descent. It’s an innovation that speaks to Rolex ingenuity and is perfect for the watch collector that both appreciates the technical side of horology and watch design, but wants to do so while enjoying the classic Rolex aesthetic.

This particular Sea-Dweller is a ref. 1665 that was made around 1979 and is known as a “Great White” variant as every line of the text on its dial is white, as opposed to having the line or two of red text that’s found on some Sea-Dwellers. This watch is in fantastic vintage condition; its case has been very lightly polished at some point, but it retains sharp, even lugs that have their original beveled edges intact. The dial of this watch is free from wear and is virtually flawless, and the original tritium lume has aged to a very pleasing yellow hue and is present on both the dial and handset. The watch also retains its original “fat font” bezel insert, which shows a remarkably even and highly desirable natural-looking fade. This watch is ideal for the collector that wants a solid, extremely honest example of a “Great White” that they can actually wear and enjoy