12 Yrs of Rolex Divers and why the SubC Won (after multiple Subs, SD, DSSD & SD43)

[00Seven]

Great post and yes, the SubC is hard to beat. Enjoy!

[Boaters]

Hell of a post very good I have owned a SubC for three years and love it. Reading this post reminds me of what I went through, always wanting something a little larger never seems to be the width always the height .. Great read!

[eonflux]

Congrats!!

Thanks for sharing your experience.
The SD43 looks great on your wrist.
A ceramic SD should have been 42 or 43 mm from the start, a perfect size for many.

[SS Oyster]

Great post - very enlightening, but I have to learn for myself. I'm moving from LVc to LNc to SD43 ... hope I don't go back, but if I have to, it will save me money at least.

[moby33]

Originally Posted by SS Oyster

Great post - very enlightening, but I have to learn for myself. I'm moving from LVc to LNc to SD43 ... hope I don't go back, but if I have to, it will save me money at least.

Hey Mark...your pic reminds me of mine...Ring knocker too...USNA ‘99, Sir. Go Navy, Beat Army!

I honestly never thought I would go back to the SubC when the SD43 debuted...but alas, I guess in my old(er) age I just prefer my daily watch to be under 15mm.

[sdh1980]

Great read! I'd agree, the Sub C really is the perfect watch

[ajas]

Great read and I am happy that you found the one.
Mine says hello

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[katiedaddy]

Originally Posted by ajas

Great read and I am happy that you found the one.
Mine says hello

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Ah, I dearly miss Miyajima island.


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[Ragnarok]

Originally Posted by katiedaddy

Ah, I dearly miss Miyajima island.


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Any encounters with the deers?

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[katiedaddy]

Originally Posted by Ragnarok

Any encounters with the deers?

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Absolutely! But there were not that many deers compared to Nara.





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[socalsub]

Great story! They both fit you really well but honestly I do think the SubC maybe looks better on you! Either way you can’t go wrong. Even though you seemed like a great owner for that SD43

[VicLeChic]

I'm used to wearing large divers like a PO2500C XL and a Breitling Seawolf. That's what I like. The Sub has felt too small and underwhelming on my average 17,5cm wrist, purely down to preference. The SD43 feels much better, probably my perfect size.

[Wools]

TRF is having some wonderful posts recently.

Normally a watch review is 1 paragraph of saying how difficult or easy it's been to acquire, combined with the watch being the best watch the owner has ever owned, despite wearing it for 24 hours! One of the reasons I've not made my 'Incoming' post as I don't feel a month is enough to gauge a feel on a watch. A multi year journey puts it into the shade though!

Great post and a fun to read insight on your journey. Thanks!

[moby33]

Originally Posted by Wools

TRF is having some wonderful posts recently.

Normally a watch review is 1 paragraph of saying how difficult or easy it's been to acquire, combined with the watch being the best watch the owner has ever owned, despite wearing it for 24 hours! One of the reasons I've not made my 'Incoming' post as I don't feel a month is enough to gauge a feel on a watch. A multi year journey puts it into the shade though!

Great post and a fun to read insight on your journey. Thanks!

[Jp28]

Originally Posted by Wools

TRF is having some wonderful posts recently.

Normally a watch review is 1 paragraph of saying how difficult or easy it's been to acquire, combined with the watch being the best watch the owner has ever owned, despite wearing it for 24 hours! One of the reasons I've not made my 'Incoming' post as I don't feel a month is enough to gauge a feel on a watch. A multi year journey puts it into the shade though!

Great post and a fun to read insight on your journey. Thanks!

Well said

[Beowulf]

I have a SubC and the comfort alone is a great reason to have it. The bracelet and Glidelock are just perfect. Sometimes I don't even feel it on my wrist at all.

Huge improvement compared to the previous non ceramic, non solid links, no Glidelock generation.

[Hatch62]

Can't beat the comfort of the Submariner. I have the sd43 as well and now it is a safe Queen LOL. The sd43 however is a beatiful watch which i wear for special occasions.

[SS Oyster]

Finally made my transition in the opposite direction. Time will tell, but excited with SD43 at first sight. Just got it this evening!




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[Mystro]

Originally Posted by SS Oyster

Finally made my transition in the opposite direction. Time will tell, but excited with SD43 at first sight. Just got it this evening!




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Me too. So far it feels as if the SD50th wears like a 42mm but looks like a 44mm to me. The watch face opens up more than the DSSD. It’s weight hardly more noticeable than the Sub. If I had a Sub and SD50th and rotated them every other day, I would notice the weight difference more. This could be another Rolex trick like a 40mm Sub that looks like a 42mm. Rolex is finally giving its customer size choices. :

[moby33]

Originally Posted by SS Oyster

Finally made my transition in the opposite direction. Time will tell, but excited with SD43 at first sight. Just got it this evening!




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Originally Posted by Mystro

Me too. So far it feels as if the SD50th wears like a 42mm but looks like a 44mm to me. The watch face opens up more than the DSSD. It’s weight hardly more noticeable than the Sub. If I had a Sub and SD50th and rotated them every other day, I would notice the weight difference more. This could be another Rolex trick like a 40mm Sub that looks like a 42mm. Rolex is finally giving its customer size choices. :

Hey guys...do me a favor and stop sending those pics...the SD43 is still the best looking diver Rolex makes IMO...painful to see those shots.

I wish you good luck and hope that "little voice of doubt" never creeps in as it did for me. Like I said...it was never "uncomfortable"...just simply more noticeable on my wrist than my SubC. At this point in my life, I've realized I'm not looking for a constant reminder.

As an example...I was throwing a football for a bunch of kids pre-game yesterday and after each 40+ yrd throw (yeah, I still got it...at least that's what the 8 yr olds thought...I know, easy crowd) I thought, "I love that I can chuck this ball w/ my watch on and it doesn't bother my wrist. I just don't think I could throw that hard w/ the SD43 and not feel it." I know, I know...pretty dumb when you consider we're talking about a dive watch participating in football activities, but you get my point about a "go anywhere, do anything watch".

At any rate, great shots of those amazing SD43's. Wear in good health!

[BakerView]

I think there are many many of us that have taken this journey (...an expensive journey). Hopefully this will help someone just starting down the path to the daily-wear-grail piece with saving a few bucks.

10 Rolex models, 4 panerai, 1 Omega, and 6 Breitling watches later.......it's the Subc. Never bought and replaced one, I just dodged it because everyone else had one. Like I've said before, there is a reason everyone has one in their collection. Just a damn good all around watch! And for me my daily companion.

[R!$]

Nice collection

[RXAPPP]

A fun write up - thanks for sharing.

My journey was similar Starting with a older style Seadweller onto an Omega P.O. XL, Deepsea a 114060 then another before finally settling on the 116600 SDC. 40mm, Thinner lugs, no cyclops and fully graduated bezel ticks every box for me. The No Daye 114060 runs a very close second but my big watch days are well behind me.

[moby33]

Originally Posted by RXAPPP

A fun write up - thanks for sharing.

My journey was similar Starting with a older style Seadweller onto an Omega P.O. XL, Deepsea a 114060 then another before finally settling on the 116600 SDC. 40mm, Thinner lugs, no cyclops and fully graduated bezel ticks every box for me. The No Daye 114060 runs a very close second but my big watch days are well behind me.

Fully graduated bezel is one of my favorite features of the SD & DSSD. I wish the Sub had it, but I understand offering slight changes to differentiate the models.

[oldman2005]

Good for you that you have found one watch to keep...For me it has more than 10+ years and I really like and keep all the watches I have.

[SS Oyster]

Not sure the sub can keep up with this SD43 lume?!?




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[JacksonStone]

Originally Posted by SS Oyster

Not sure the sub can keep up with this SD43 lume?!?

That hour hand is definitely beefed up, and the minute hand looks just a tad longer, but are the markers any larger? I would have thought the dial lume would be the same as the Sub, but I'm happy to be educated otherwise.

[moby33]

Originally Posted by JacksonStone

That hour hand is definitely beefed up, and the minute hand looks just a tad longer, but are the markers any larger? I would have thought the dial lume would be the same as the Sub, but I'm happy to be educated otherwise.

From my experience from comparing them side by side for a few weeks, there’s no doubt the SD43 hands are slightly larger (w/ slightly more lume obviously). The markers were not so easily determined to be a different size. It was very hard to tell and sometimes I couldn’t decide if it was just an optical illusion...sometimes I was convinced they were bigger, other times they looked identical. At any rate, both SD43 & SubC lume was easily viewed all throughout the night...the maxi dials make all the difference IMO. The lack of powerful lume on my pre ceramic / pre maxi Subs was the main deal killer for me years ago.

[JacksonStone]

Originally Posted by moby33

From my experience from comparing them side by side for a few weeks, there’s no doubt the SD43 hands are slightly larger (w/ slightly more lume obviously). The markers were not so easily determined to be a different size. It was very hard to tell and sometimes I couldn’t decide if it was just an optical illusion...sometimes I was convinced they were bigger, other times they looked identical. At any rate, both SD43 & SubC lume was easily viewed all throughout the night...the maxi dials make all the difference IMO. The lack of powerful lume on my pre ceramic / pre maxi Subs was the main deal killer for me years ago.

Input much appreciated.

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by SS Oyster

Not sure the sub can keep up with this SD43 lume?!?




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Agreed. I noticed lume is off the chart by Rolex lume standard.