Sea-Dweller 16600 Dial Marks

[gensiulia]

Hi all!
I would like to share with you a little work done with my friend Pierre ESE 2A, concerning the dial marks of rolex 16600.
Start by saying that the first type of dial is very very similar to the last WG surround dial for 16660, although Beyeler made it, while on the 16600 is manufactured by Rolex itself.
Is also plausible that the service tritium dial for 16660 is the first MK for 16600.
The 16600 replaces the triple 6 at the end of the “numeric” serial case, so we can say that the 16600 comes with R serial.
This is the first series of dial for 16600, we can call it MK1

MK1 (case from R to late U-A)




We can find this dial until the A serial, when the tritium is replaced by Luminova. So we have the same dial but labeled differently at 6, SWISS instead of Swiss - T<25. With the advent of the new luminescence also change the hands, as you can easily see in the picture.

MK2 (case A)




This particular dial is short-lived and will be replaced after just over one year. His successor, MK3, is a Superluminova dial, so the luminescent substance changes again and we can see the new writing at 6 SWISS MADE…

MK3 (case from P to the end of production)




…overlapped, for my personal experience, with this other type of dial, that we can call MK4.

MK4 (case from K to the end of production)




we can see clear differences on the coronet, on the depth and the rest of the font in general. I talk about overlapping because we can surely find this dial (MK4) random on K, Z, M cases.
Then there is another dial, with the same characteristics of the MK4 (short FT) but solo SWISS at 6 o'clock (you can note also the absence of 29 and 31 indices), there is no certainty yet, but we think this is a service dial for the MK2.

Service dial



We should also talk about special dial for delivered/assigned/commemorative 16600 SD, as the “Polipetto” for Italian Police Sommozzatori, showed recently by eparisini, and of course, about 16600 Comex, but for the moment, we stop here.
These are personal conclusion, feel you free to extend the topic with your valutations.
Thanks to my pal ESE 2A
Thank you too for the attention.

[ESE 2A]

It was a pleasure to work with you, realy

Ciao Chris

[Rickster]

Nice write up. Thanks!

[padi56]

You can call the dials what you like,but over the past 50 odd years there have been tiny divinations in most all Rolex watches its still a 16600 no matter the dial fonts used.And the change over from Tritium to Luminover was from around 1998 till 2000 with just Swiss on dial possibly longer.And there have been instances with dials around 1998 that although marked Tritium in fact they were Luminover, nothing is written in stone with Rolex.

[marcello pisani]

Originally Posted by padi56

You can call them what you like, over the past 50 odd years there have been tiny divinations in most all Rolex watches its still a 16600 no matter the dial fonts used.And the change over from Tritium to Luminover was from around 1998 till 2000 with just Swiss on dial possibly longer.

excuse me but I cannot share this idea with you : would you like to come back at the end of the 90s ..a time in which there was just a very small and fragmented knowledge ???
when it was all a real " casino" ( italian term that means " whorehouse" ) with fakers proposing and selling ( either on the net and in shops ) tons of fake PN. Comex, Milsubs ..
even double red 1665 with reprinted dials and cosmographs with fake Valjoux movements ???
what you call "tiny divinations" is in fact something else : I just can call it < progress >
every new detail got by collectors it's a powerful weapon against fakers .. no matter if related to an " humble" watch or to the "single red 1665 ".

[padi56]

Originally Posted by marcello pisani

excuse me but I cannot share this idea with you : would you like to come back at the end of the 90s ..a time in which there was just a very small and fragmented knowledge ???
when it was all a real " casino" ( italian term that means " whorehouse" ) with fakers proposing and selling ( either on the net and in shops ) tons of fake PN. Comex, Milsubs ..
even double red 1665 with reprinted dials and cosmographs with fake Valjoux movements ???
what you call "tiny divinations" is in fact something else : I just can call it < progress >
every new detail got by collectors it's a powerful weapon against fakers .. no matter if related to an " humble" watch or to the "single red 1665 ".

But we are talking about a very common watch that was introduced first in 1988 and apart from some very minor font changes and lume change.Has in general remained unchanged till it was discontinued, so who in there right mind would want to fake a 16600 SD.Except for the normal routine replica market,which anyone with the slightest bit of Rolex knowledge could easily spot.
.

[gensiulia]

Originally Posted by padi56

You can call the dials what you like,but over the past 50 odd years there have been tiny divinations in most all Rolex watches its still a 16600 no matter the dial fonts used.And the change over from Tritium to Luminover was from around 1998 till 2000 with just Swiss on dial possibly longer.And there have been instances with dials around 1998 that although marked Tritium in fact they were Luminover, nothing is written in stone with Rolex.

Thanks for your participation.

[Travelller]

Originally Posted by chris*

I would like to share with you a little work done with my friend Pierre ESE 2A...

I'm probably risking my TRF standing reviving this thread, but I for one appreciate the comparison, Chris, so thanks to you and Pierre for making the effort

[ESE 2A]

Originally Posted by Travelller

I'm probably risking my TRF standing reviving this thread, but I for one appreciate the comparison, Chris, so thanks to you and Pierre for making the effort

But it's our pleasure, thanks!

Ciao ;)

[Clay]

The exchange of ideas...I love it!!!

[gensiulia]

np, u're welcome.

[David cote]

Very cool info, now 2018!!!!

[olpercy2]

Thanks for this ! And very nice pictures. Been searching for this info everywhere for 6 months with no luck. Time flies, now 2024 !
Grazie mille !

[TuRo]

I think this is great !

Time is a teacher.

12 yrs ago we didn't think too much about the pieces of the late 80s/90s early noughties eg at the time semi-contemporaneous 14060/16610/16600/16600/14270/16550/16570/16710.

These are being faked routinely as dials can command from £2k upwards and whole fake watches circa £10k like a fake 1989 16570 I appraised last week - saving my pal £6.5k !!!

These pieces are now 30-35 yrs old and are, for a whole new cohort 'their era' collectables, and so to speak their 'new' 5513/16800/1016/1655/1675/16750/16760 etc.

So pls, 5 digit gurus, keep these new guides coming to enlighten and protect others just like Beaumont, Delgado, Springer, Haywood, Orchi, Philippe, etc etc did two decades ago ...

[Dom9]

Well said Paul!