I love all the watches in our collection but every now and again we find something truly exceptional and this is just such a watch. It’s been consigned by a private collector.
The “Double Red Sea-Dweller” (DRSD), Reference 1665, was introduced by Rolex in 1967. Designed for deep-sea saturation diving in collaboration with COMEX and the US Navy, it earned its nickname from the two lines of red text on the dial: “Sea-Dweller” and “Submariner 2000”. It featured a built-in helium escape valve (HEV) and a depth rating of 2,000 feet (610 meters). It is one of the few genuine grail watches.
This example is in exceptional condition. The solid steel case is in near faultless condition with meaty lugs and very clear writing on the case back – I’d be happy to take the case back off for a serious buyer but we believe it hasn’t been opened since Rolex serviced it in 2015 – we will service it prior to delivery and a full set of pictures will be taken. The original and immaculate mark 4 dial is again in excellent condition and the lume plots have aged to a subtle mint colour. The ghosted bezel insert isn’t the original but is old and the pearl at the ’12’ has aged to the same colour as the lume plots – happy to do a wrist video if required. In terms of provenance we have:
- The original purchase receipt from Oman
- The original Rolex punched papers
- The original Rolex brochures and wallet with the serial number sticker
- Service record from Rolex in 1986 and 2015
- We also have a certificate of authenticity signed by World renowned Rolex expert James Dowling
We’ve had a number of 1665’s over the years and whilst all beautiful this is without the best we’ve had and the best we’ve ever seen.
