First Rolex, first post

[atn_uk]

I have had my new Rolex for a few weeks now, bought as a late early-retirement present to myself. After waiting a long time on the waiting list, then all of a sudden getting a call saying the person ahead of me had asked to be removed from the list! Don't know how much longer I would have had to wait, so many thanks to this unknown gentleman.

atn seadweller1.jpg

atn seadweller2.jpg

As you can see, my Rolex is a Sea Dweller 50th Anniversary, which I chose as the watch I wanted after some considerable online research, but having never at that point seen in the flesh, and only seeing one afterwards one time.

As an aside to this post I have to say this is a very strange situation. What other major, or even relatively minor purchase would you make where it is almost impossible to actually see the item in question when buying from a main dealer for the company concerned? Why don't watch dealers have "demo" models? When we recently bought a new car we drove the exact car we would be buying, saw multiple other similar alternatives and at no time did the dealer say to us that the only way I could decide was to look at the brochure.

(I did try on other Rolexes just not the exact models I wanted, including I have lately come to realise is quite sought after, an Explorer II, and some gold ones which I hated but gave me a view).

Anyway, moans about supply can wait for another time.

So, I now have this amazing watch, and am finding it is all I ever thought it would be. Superb design, amazing heft and solidity, screams quality and perfection. I simply can't stop looking at it - and I am also super careful not to bang it, or even lay it on my desk while typing.

I have never really been a watch person, but just as I also was not a "car person" when I bought my Jaguar, now I have a Rolex I am all of a sudden a watch person. Probably not enough of one to buy another Rolex, but I have seen some lovely looking Tudors and even have a new appreciation for Seiko now I know a little more about what to look for.

My previous watch history is somewhat erratic - to the point that I can't actually recall much about them, other than I know I had a Timex Ironman for years, then a Tissot quartz I just fell in love with in an Italian dealers many years ago, which I wore exclusively until it failed, not enabling me to set the dials and most importantly (at the time) the alarm. Sending it off to Tissot resulted in a quote for more than I paid for the watch, so I related said beauty to the drawer. I then hastily bought a cheap Seiko Chronograph which I liked, but found out did not have any lume, so I could not read it at night. But then came iPhones so it didn't really matter.

Fast forward to retirement and I decided I really would like a Rolex (is there any other brand?) only to find that all steel the ones I liked were impossible to get to see, let alone to buy. I nearly bought from a non-main dealer but in the end could not bring myself to pay more than list for a watch that was going to cost me more than £8k at full list price, even if it meant a wait. Little did I realise how long a wait could be, (and the list price went up in between, too).

Just as I could not bring myself to pay over list, I could not and would not ever buy a gold watch, though the Platinum ones look nice.

I am wearing the watch all the time, indoors - can't quite bring myself to do the gardening or walk the dog wearing it yet - and will soon pluck up the courage to wear to the shops and the pub. Reactions to the watch have been very positive, though I do suspect a few friends and acquaintances think I am being a right poser. What was perhaps not surprising is finding the number of people I know who also have Rolexes, though it is interesting that I have never seen any of them before now.

It keeps great time, as I expected, though I was a bit surprised to see when timing it against the time is atomic clock webpage it seems to have lost only about 0.5 seconds over the last 36 hours. For a brand new automatic that seems beyond fantastic to me. In fact almost as good as my Timex, which I still have, after 25 years.

Now, to the not so good parts. I have to be honest and say while I love it beyond reasonable amounts, it is actually not perfect. I think it is too heavy, over 30% heavier than what I previously though of as quite large Seiko and nearly 40% more than my (admittedly titanium) Tissot. Yes, I know I tried it on before buying, but I may have been captivated a bit too much to notice.

And it does not sit quite right on my 7.6" wrist, having a tendency to slip away from me. Reading some other threads I now think this may be due to the existence of the diver's extension, so I think I will visit my local dealer to ask them to remove it and give me a bit more movement in the Glidelock thingy, which is currently right at the end of it's travels does not give me any flexibility for fine adjustment.

Hopefully this will sort the balance issue, and hopefully I'll then be able to live with the weight. It does make me wonder, in the meantime, whether I should have gone for the No-date Sub, which I understand would have had an even longer wait. And the dealer, nor other dealers I visited, didn't have one of those to view either. (What I now realise I should have done is visit a perhaps London based used watch dealership and sought out the watches they clearly had for sale at the higher prices I refused to pay. Just to see and try them. Doh!)

Oh, and my wife does not like the red writing. And I am not now sure about the Cyclops

Anyway, I have rambled on long enough, for a first post. I hope you like my pictures, and I look forward to reading and learning more about Rolexes on this delightful forum.

[jonny deacon]

congrats and welcome, you landed a dandy with the SD43

perhaps try to play with the links, sometimes we need more at one side or the other, depending on the watch and of course, your individual wrist shape

beyond that, wear it and enjoy it sir - kudos on an excellent choice

[yessir69]

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your story.

[schoolboy]

Congrats!

[WorldTyme]

Beautiful new SD! CONGRATULATIONS on your first Rolex. Happy early Retirement! Wear it in good health. FWIW, the Sea-Dweller is one of my all-time fave watches.

[JR16]

Congrats!
FWIW no watch is perfect! And having to wait these long waits for Rolex watches these days probably builds our expectations so much that human nature takes over and you start looking for those little things that are not “perfect”. As others have said you can try switching one link to the opposite side to see if it helps balance the watch.


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[GerardoG]

Congratulations and welcome to TRF!

[RichM]

Not sure where to start to Congratulate you. Great story! Thanks for sharing, and welcome to TRF.

[atn_uk]

Thanks for the welcome.

Thanks too for the thoughts re the links. I am not sure I want to do anything to them myself, they look far too small and clean for me to go wading in, and I don't think even my smallest screwdriver is small enough anyway, but I will certainly take it to my nearest dealer next chance I get. This won't be the one I bought it from, I assume they will not baulk at adjusting the links for me?

Must remember to take along the two links I already had removed.

[ZOOK]

Welcome to TRF. Thanks for sharing your story.

Regarding Demo watches. I think Rolex is too busy building the real thing to take time to build demos. And let's face it, the ADs would end up selling them to some desperate soul that just wants a Rolex watch and doesn't care that it's only right twice a day.

[Boaters]

Great choice and welcome to the forum!

[007_Omega]

Interesting that you just got the watch and it is actually an anniversary model as there is no crown between "Swiss Made" at the bottom.

Wear the watch Snug to avoid the watching sliding around. Even with the bigger bracelet and clasp, it still is a bit top heavy due to the thickness.

Honestly, as someone who has had experience with both the SD43 and the Sub "No-Date", I'm firmly in the Sub camp. Sub fuses with your wrist and is the epitome of comfortable. I never have to take the Sub off to give my wrist to give it a rest while the SD43 can get tiresome after awhile. There is no purpose of the SD43 over a Sub, unless you prefer the aesthetics, size, and/or uniqueness. I do not know a single person who has gone extreme deepsea saturation diving to use the helium escape valve and the Sub can handle most serious professional diving. I'm also not a fan of the cyclops on a diver. I can live with it on other models but on the Sub, SD, and Deepsea I just don't want it.

Wear the watch a bit more before you decide but don't worry too much about having chose the wrong watch. You can easily trade the SD43 for the Sub and have some nice cash coming your way. SD43 really is a great watch for people who want a big serious diver. The Sub is more an elegant approach to a sports diver, thin and 40mm but the lugs make it wear bigger. Rolex needed a watch that filled the gap between the Deepsea and the Sub. The Deepsea is a fun piece of engineering but the size is impractical and the specs don't have any practical use. The Sub is great but some people want a more modern sports diver size that pretty much every other company offered. SD43 gave people a watch that can do any diving a human can possibly endure, with the added size that doesn't go overboard and can be wearable as a daily. I'm a fan; it's just not for me.

Another suggestion, you may want to consider an Explorer II (black dial) as an alternative. 42mm but it is quite thin and and very comfortable. A unique choice, added GMT function, people will not instantly recognize it as a Rolex, and can be had for a great price. Still get a bigger watch for your wrist but it will not have the weight issue that the SD43 has.

[Carter69]

Congrats! Awesome. I'm new to Rolex and TRF too. And if I don't stop reading this stuff at work will soon be retired.....

[dreyep]

Congrats, and thanks for the very enjoyable & digressive account.

[Swashplate]

Fantastic! Congrats, just wear and enjoy!

[Zuger]

Double congratulations on your retirement and the new watch! Thank you for giving such a detailed personal account of the watch. It can definitely handle dog walking and pub schmoozing so wear it out and have fun with it.

[atn_uk]

Originally Posted by 007_Omega

Interesting that you just got the watch and it is actually an anniversary model as there is no crown between "Swiss Made" at the bottom.

Wear the watch Snug to avoid the watching sliding around. Even with the bigger bracelet and clasp, it still is a bit top heavy due to the thickness.

..
You can easily trade the SD43 for the Sub and have some nice cash coming your way.

Another suggestion, you may want to consider an Explorer II (black dial) as an alternative. 42mm but it is quite thin and and very comfortable. A unique choice, added GMT function, people will not instantly recognize it as a Rolex, and can be had for a great price. Still get a bigger watch for your wrist but it will not have the weight issue that the SD43 has.

Thanks for the comments.

I just made this exact point, re the crown at 6 o'clock, on another post. It does seem odd, as I thought the newer face had been out a while. With the demand so high, and the trickle through, it seems weird to get an older face. My guess is that as people suspect, Rolex are hoarding stock to drip feed out, rather than sending each one out as it comes off the line.

Either that or I got a return!!


I do wear it as tight as it will currently go, so I think i do for sure need another link out, or the diver extension. That will at the same time give me more play in the fine adjustment part of the bracelet. I have in fact lost a little weight in the last month, so it may be just that.

Trade for a sub, hmmm. Have not thought about that. I assume that would be difficult though, as I would be going on a new wait list. Unless you mean at a used dealer? Not sure that would be so easy, as I don't have the original warranty card yet, as the dealer kept that for a year. It seemed off but they assured me that is the new normal, and the friend of a friend who helped me get on the list confirmed this, as well as the multiple posts I have seen on this forum also confirming.


Same would apply to the Explorer, which I have in fact tried on. I did like it, and seem to recall it was indeed smaller than the SD. I tried the black, but prefer the white. I was not too sure about the orange hand and writing, but may revisit. That said, I think I am a one Rolex guy, and if it is not the SD it is almost certainly the Sub ND for me.

[sutats]

Huge congrats on the stunning watch and welcome to the forums! See how you feel about the watch after adjustment. If it still feels awkward then give the stainless steel Submariner a try, it will certainly be more comfortable. Enjoy what you have in the best of health.

[ilovethiscity]

What an amazing first watch to start with! I’m sure tons have mentioned already but the not sitting right could be to do with the divers extension, general consensus has been remove that and find it’ll sit perfectly. It’s on heavy watch to start with so you may find you prefer a sub or something similar but you’re in a wonderful position as that’s a hugely sought after piece you have there so don’t do anything rash until you’ve tried on some others. When you know you’ll know!!!

[JayG]

Congrats! Awesome Seadweller and nice story of your watch history, enjoy it.

[bonovox]

Congrats! Great choice.

[rmlovett1]

Lovely watch! Welcome and congratulations!

[nick c]

Congratulations and welcome.

[Bladeshot]

Welcome and congrats! I have a 7.5” wrist and that watch fit me very well without the extension and after removing all but one removable link on the 6:00 side. Wear it tight. It’s a bit heavy, but it is so beautiful. Magnificent piece.

I ended up going back to a 116610 Sub Date, but I am glad I took the chance to own an SD43 for a while. Re-size it and give it some time. you can always trade it for a Submariner or Explorer II, down the road, if you end up feeling like you need a thinner and lighter watch. Both those are more comfortable, to me.

Here are comparison pics with the SD43 you have and a Submariner 116610. Your watch is desirable and it is easy to trade with someone like a Trusted Seller on this forum, if need be.

[Urosfan]

Congrats

[Amochosto]

Congrats! I like the DD43 a lot, my brother has one and it’s a great watch I’d suggest keeping it, at least for a few months.

If you did want to move though the SD4K is a good option as well as the Sub mentioned above. It’s a little smaller than the SD43, has no red writing or cyclops but does have a date, and while it is the same diameter as the Sub, it sits taller and has a bit more heft than the Sub.

[ntoryes]

Congrats! Beautiful piece with amazing wrist presence.

[spurwar]

Congrats! When I got mine, it did take a few weeks to get used to the weight but after that, I really didn't notice it anymore. I would also recommend removing the diver's link and and playing around with the links - go shorter on the six o'clock side. Once I got the adjustment right, it fit like a glove (and my wrist is smaller than yours).

[Psmith]

Welcome and congrats

[Prestige_Swiss]

Congrats and welcome!!!