204
Rolex
Ref. 1665
'Great White' Seadweller
A rare and attractive stainless steel wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, date, gas helium escape valve and bracelet
- Estimate
- HK$100,000 - 200,000
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- 1977
- Reference No
- 1665
- Movement No
- D951319
- Case No
- 5'216'950
- Model Name
- 'Great White' Seadweller
- Material
- Stainless steel
- Calibre
- Automatic, 1570, 26 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Stainless steel <em>Rolex Oyster</em> bracelet, 160 mm. maximum length, end link stamped 580
- Clasp/Buckle
- Stainless steel<em> Rolex</em> folding twinlock deployant clasp stamped <em>Rolex A </em>
- Dimensions
- 39 mm. diameter
- Signed
- <em>Case, dial and movement signed </em>
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
During the late 1970s, Rolex stopped production of the Double Red Seadweller and introduced a new design that featured four lines of white text. Collectors aptly named this new dial the 'Great White'.
This present watch is fitted with a MK I dial, with very charismatic aged lumes and hands. MK I dials differ from MK 0 dials as the 'Sea-Dweller' signature is the same length as the '2000ft=610m' line. In MK 0 dials, the 'Sea-Dweller' signature is longer than the '2000ft=610m' line. The number '6' on the present watch is also open, unlike the '6' on MK 0 dials which is closed. Launched in 1977, the 'Great White' was in production for 5 short years only, which increases the rarity of the present model.
This present watch is fitted with a MK I dial, with very charismatic aged lumes and hands. MK I dials differ from MK 0 dials as the 'Sea-Dweller' signature is the same length as the '2000ft=610m' line. In MK 0 dials, the 'Sea-Dweller' signature is longer than the '2000ft=610m' line. The number '6' on the present watch is also open, unlike the '6' on MK 0 dials which is closed. Launched in 1977, the 'Great White' was in production for 5 short years only, which increases the rarity of the present model.
Literature
Rolex
Swiss | 1905Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.
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