The Rolex Sea-Dweller 126600 represents the brand’s most direct connection to their past and to their roots in pushing the boundaries of tools for professionals. The Sea-Dweller takes the goal set forth with the Submariner, and takes it a step further, or an atmosphere deeper, if you will. The Sea-Dweller was developed with the help of Sea Lab divers and was the first watch to introduce a helium escape valve for use by saturation divers. These days, divers use more sophisticated dive computers, but at the onset of commercial and recreational diving in the early ‘50s was a different world, and required tools like the Sea-Dweller. The reference 126600 is important for a couple reasons. First, that red line of text at the bottom of the dial, a nod to the famous, and famously rare, single-red Sea-Dweller ref 1665 (rare as in less than 15 are known to exist). Second, the 126600 adds, for the first time, a magnifying “cyclops” to the crystal of a Sea-Dweller. The hard core diving chops are still there, with a depth rating of 4,000ft/1,220m courtesy the 43mm steel case, replete with the Rolex built caliber 3235, and automatic chronometer grade movement. The Rolex Sea-Dweller 126600 retails for $11,350 and sells pre-owned for a bit north of that.
Style: Diver
Release date: 2017
