Advice on the Sea Dweller 4000

[Jeffrey L.]

Howdy

Back in '81 I wanted a Rolex so I walked into a jewelers in Albuquerque NM and purchased, for a mind boggling amount of money, at the time, a watch that cost me well over $900. I didn't know anything about Rolex but the guy behind the counter said he'd give me a good deal on this one in the corner. It was an Explorer II 1655 (1978) and it looked durable and nice, so I bought it. From that day on it became a part of my wrist. Wasn't until the last 10 years or so that I found that that particular model was actually worth more than I bought if for. That discovery was a breath of fresh air.

But what I'm now interested in is the Sea-Dweller 4000. I saw a few that were black and I kind'a liked that look, although, SS could also be the direction I could go.

My question(s) are, what makes the "4000" different from past models? What is "ceramic" on this watch and why? How many models of Sea Dwellers are there and is the "4000" the only recent model?

Any info and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Jeffrey L.

[MonBK]

Welcome

[Psmith]

Welcome Jeffrey

The current SD has a ceramic ('Cerachrom') bezel insert, so it is not actually a ceramic watch as such.
Please take a look in the reference section www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=343896 as this has a lot of good info about the SD and many other models.

[Urosfan]

Welcome

[Jeffrey L.]

Thanks all for your hospitality.

I really like the Deep Sea Dweller. Just wondering if it's submersion depth is inside or outside the sub? If so, why in either case...what's the point? Also, would it be correct to assume this is the most durable of all the Rolex watches, i.e. able to take the most abuse anywhere on the planet?

[Hairdude1]

Welcome!

[Rogdogg]

Welcome to TRF. The rolex reference library is where you need to be heading.
Clive, up above, gave you some good data and link.

So do you still have your ExpII 1655?

[joli160]

Welcome Jeffrey, you can't go wrong with the SD4000

[Psmith]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey L.

Thanks all for your hospitality.

I really like the Deep Sea Dweller. Just wondering if it's submersion depth is inside or outside the sub? If so, why in either case...what's the point? Also, would it be correct to assume this is the most durable of all the Rolex watches, i.e. able to take the most abuse anywhere on the planet?

The depth rating is for the watch immersed in water. As you say, it's a bit pointless, but then the Deep Sea is really an engineering showcase for Rolex. You could argue that a Submariner (300m water-resistance) is equally pointless(!)
All/most steel sport watches will be pretty durable. Some would argue that the Exp II (216570) is likely the most durable as it does not have a rotating bezel i.e. something that could malfunction.

Originally Posted by Rogdogg

Welcome to TRF. The rolex reference library is where you need to be heading.
Clive, up above, gave you some good data and link.

So do you still have your ExpII 1655?

Thanks!

[HL65]

Welcome!

[Jeffrey L.]

Originally Posted by Rogdogg

Welcome to TRF. The rolex reference library is where you need to be heading.
Clive, up above, gave you some good data and link.

So do you still have your ExpII 1655?

Yes, I still have the 1655, but I'm giving some serious thought of "trading" it for the "Deep Sea". The last few days I've noticed that both the "4000" and the "Deep Sea" are exquisite watches, but I seem to like the 44mm size case over the 40mm and I didn't realize there was that subtle (in my limited experience) difference, when I first saw them. Just a preference.

It would be great to be able to have both watches (1655 & 116660) but I don't think it's financially feasible at this moment in time. I'm truly amazed at how many watches many of you have in your "collections".

Thanks again everyone for the constructive feedback.

Jeffrey L.

[Alfredo.]

Welcome to TRF!

[strafer_kid]

The SD4000 is a very nice watch indeed. You will probably find that it wears a bit bigger though than your 1655 Explorer which as you will now gathered, is most sought after as a collectors item. You would be crazy to get rid of it - hold it and wait a while longer for the SD4000. Good luck!

[sea-dweller]

Welcome!