Rolex - The New York Watch Auction: SIX New York Saturday, June 11, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1972
    Reference No: 1665
    Case No: 3’519’029
    Model Name: Sea-Dweller “Double Red”
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1575, 26 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped 93150, end links stamped 501B
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped 93150, end links stamped 501B
    Dimensions: 39mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, clasp signed by maker, dial signed by retailer.
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex International Service Guarantee dated 8 July 2016, along with the Rolex service invoice dated Geneva 8 July 2016.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Launched in 1967, Rolex’s Sea-Dweller joined the brand’s impressive collection of tool watches including the Milgauss, Daytona, Submariner, and GMT-Master. The Sea-Dweller was a civilianized version of a professional dive watch, which established a new standard in performance and technology, with an incredible depth rating of 2000 feet (610 meters), and the first ever helium escape valve (HEV).

    After compression dives at such depths, where divers would breathe a mixture of pressurized hydrogen, helium, and oxygen, tiny helium atoms would penetrate normal dive watches and pop their crystals out during decompression. Rolex solved this problem by inventing the helium escape valve, which allowed the trapped helium to escape. Between 1971 and 1977, Rolex printed the words “SEA-DWELLER” and “Submariner 2000” in red on two lines on the model’s dials, resulting in the watch being dubbed the “Double Red” years later by aficionados.

    The present Rolex Sea-Dweller, bearing the serial number 3’519’029, is fitted with a remarkable Mark III dial, and even more incredibly marked with a prominent “Tiffany & Co” retailer signature above the five lines of text with the Sea-Dweller nomenclature found at 6 o’clock. Double signed wristwatches with both the maker’s name and the retailer on the dial are a highly prized rarity in the market with collectors paying a premium for these timepieces. One of very few retailers ever permitted to stamp their name on a Rolex dial, Tiffany & Co. has proudly emblazoned their name on a variety of Rolex models until the 1980s, ranging from the GMT-Master, Cosmograph Daytona, and Sea-Dweller.

    This Double Red Sea-Dweller is in outstanding condition with a sharp, well-preserved case, and stunning dial with the luminous hour markers and hands beautifully aged to a light yellowish hue. Acquired by the consignor at auction in 2004 and cherished in his collection until now, this is a rare opportunity to own one of these treasured “Double Red” Sea-Dweller models, and all the rarer due to the Tiffany & Co. signature.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    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.

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Ref. 1665
An extremely rare and highly attractive stainless steel diver’s wristwatch with helium escape valve, Mk III dial, bracelet, and service guarantee with invoice, retailed by Tiffany & Co.

1972
39mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, clasp signed by maker, dial signed by retailer.

Estimate
$70,000 - 140,000 
CHF67,200-134,000
€65,300-131,000
HK$549,000-1,100,000
S$95,900-192,000

Sold for $94,500

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros

Head of Watches, Americas

+1 (212) 940-1293

WatchesNY@Phillips.com

 

Isabella Proia

Head of Sale, New York

+1 (212) 940 1285

iproia@phillips.com

The New York Watch Auction: SIX

New York Auction 11-12 June 2022