Manufacturer: Rolex Year: 1977 Reference No: 1665 Movement No: D366615 Case No: 5298218 Model Name: Sea-Dweller "Great White MK 0" Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1570, 26 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Rolex Oyster bracelet, stamped 93150, end-links stamped 585 Clasp/Buckle: Rolex folding deployant clasp, stamped 93150 Dimensions: 39mm. Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
Catalogue Essay
In 1977 around the 5.2 million serial number, production of Rolex's Double Red Sea Dweller ceased. Around the same time, a new generation of reference 1665 was launched, no longer featuring the red lettering on the dial and fitted with differently inscribed casebacks. Thanks to its purity on the dial, lacking any bright colors, collectors refer to this model as the “Great White”.
During the next four years, different "Great White" dial variants were produced by Rolex and scholarship today divides them into five typologies ranging from Mark 0 to Mark 4, the rarest by far being the Mark 0.
The Mark 0 Sea Dweller dial is considered a transitional dial and is easily identifiable thanks to two features, notably the Sea Dweller model name being longer than the 2000ft=610m line underneath as well as the number 6 being closed. These dials were made by Lemrich & Cie.
The present example is overall lovely condition, and stands out by its homogeneously aged luminous material on the hour markers, hands, and little pearl on the bezel. It even retains some of the original black enamel that filled the caseback's engravings.
What may appear across the room to be a standard Rolex diver's watch, is in fact when viewed up-close as one of the rarest treasures in the field of collectible vintage Sea-Dwellers.
Founded 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.