2009 Sea Dweller Deep Sea

[PONY]

Welcome to the unveiling of the new SDDS.

The concept of a deep sea diver became a reality in 1961 with the formation of "COMEX" by Henri G. Delauze. It was the first industrial deep sea diving company created for off shore oil companies. Delauze developed underwater breathing gear for the divers working at depths greater than 500 meters.
To monitor the time spent at these depths, Rene-Paul Jeanneret created the "TOOL" watch in 1950. He also assisted Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of ROLEX in 1908, with the sports watch. Delauze, Jeanneret & Wilsdorf combined their talents and created a deep sea watch. In 1966 the Sea Dweller arrived.
Today, COMEX divers are required to wear the Sea Dweller or Submariner while performing maintenance on offshore oil platforms around the world.

I purchased the SDDS a month ago. I have been wearing it everyday since then. I have no complaints. My 6 1/4" wrist is not to small to keep it upright & tight. It does feel a bit heavy at 222g, but it is not uncomfortable to wear
all day/night. I kinda like that extra weight feeling, it reminds me it's on my wrist. The Submariner doesn't feel as if I am wearing a watch, it's that light.

The specifications can be found on the Rolex website. I have attached some of the photos I took yesterday, not leaving anything to your imagination.

Rolex is 1 of only 3 in house watch manufactures. In the R&D of the SDDS
the only item not made by Rolex is the steel used to make the watch. NASA, unknowingly helped Rolex select the steel to be used. It is known as 904L.
It is the hardest material available to date. In the making of the 43mm case, Rolex had to build a 250 ton press which could only stamp 2 cases at a time. 904L is so hard that the 250 ton press had to be re-calibrated after every other pressing. 904L adds to the overall weight of a finished SDDS watch.

The bottom line is this. It's new and desirable. There is going to be a limited number available. There have already been 2 price increases. It was made for a specific task so keep that in mind when you discuss how "heavy" it is.
It has a number of improvements which only enhances its value. You'll have to get use to those who ask " Is that the new Rolex ?" Comments such as
" Wow, can I touch it. That is awesome dude ". Yes, that was from a man who sat down next to me at the counter.

The only unfortunate part of this purchase will be that the only deep sea diving this watch will ever see, will be at the bottom of my swimming pool.

[chazha]

thanks for the pics.. awesome watch!!

[Supervisor]

Thanks! Great post!

[toph]

great stuff!!

[Alan111]

wow its frikkin huge

[Mrdi]

Good intro Pony.
Welcome.

[Greenring]

Beautiful power weights Thanks for posting the comparison pics. I like.

[kudosguy]

Great watch! - thank's for the post.

[Dr.B]

Great, that's one hell of a watch.....

[vrian]

very beautiful indeed. i didn't expect it to be so large...

[JJ Irani]

Thanks for the pics, Pony and welcome to TRF. You really have a nice collection of dive watches!!

[DeepSeaWatches]

Great pics, love that lume shot!

[Connoisseur]

Nice review and pics. I finally found a SDDS while on a Caribbean cruise last week. I looked for it at Little Switzerland and Art of Time in St. Maarten but they didn't sell Rolex. Goldfinger's didn't have the SDDS. I read about A.H. Riise, a reputable Rolex retailer, in St. Thomas, USVI in my WatchTIME magazine. Lucky for me, we were stopping in St. Thomas on Thursday so my first order of business while there was to find this store! Lucky for me, they had one and I did not hesitate to buy it! Funny because an older gentleman was there at the same time looking for the SDDS while I was trying it on. He asked about it and I told him it was on my wrist. He wasn't getting mine! This is my first Rolex and the watch is AWESOME.

[PONY]

TO: Alansrour, Chazna, Connoisseur, Deep Sea Watches, Dr. B, Greenring, JJ Irani, Kudosguy, Mrdi, Supervisor, Toph, Vrian.
This was my first post on a forum. Based on your kind comments, I am grateful that each of you took the time to reply. However, there's a better post, Deep Sea Mini Review by Eltonbalch posted on 16 November 08'. If you haven't already, give that a look. The photos are excellent as is the review. Thank you all.
PONY

[Psmith]

Interesting pics... the DSSD looks like the "mothership" parked next to the Sub Date...


Cheers

[Flaxmoore]

Beauty of a watch. What's the face diameter? My everyday Citizen is big, and that looks like it would dwarf it!

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Flaxmoore

Beauty of a watch. What's the face diameter? My everyday Citizen is big, and that looks like it would dwarf it!

The DSSD diameter is 43 mm and the thickness is a whopping 18 mm.

JJ

[DSJ]

Great first post, Pony, and a nice addition to your Rolex Diving Watch collection! Welcome.

You might also enjoy the little write-up by our own Larry/Tools in our "reference library" section:
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=37035

Click on that link to be sent there.

[jas55]

It's one hell of a watch!

[Flaxmoore]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

The DSSD diameter is 43 mm and the thickness is a whopping 18 mm.

JJ

Wow. 9 wider and 9 thicker. Definitely one to try on first!

[noble1]

What is a GOOD purchase price for a DSSD?

[moby33]

Originally Posted by noble1

What is a GOOD purchase price for a DSSD?

I would say any price that you're comfortable with. Not trying to sound flippant, but that question is always subjective to each individual buyer, interest level and financial position. All that said, I wouldn't think of paying list price for any watch in this market and would hope to get at least 10% off for the DSSD in today's market. Good luck.

[PONY]

I paid 10K for mine, and that was a deal. You go to any AD and the price will be the same at all of them. ROLEX is VERY STRICT about how the AD sell their watches. That is one of the reasons why they increase in value over the years. The SDDS has already had two price increases in the last three months.
The trend will continue as we enter 2009. So...... if you are contemplating on purchasing this newest model, do it soon, cause it will only cost you more if you wait.

A side note. I went to the mall with my wife and walked into a Ben Bridge AD jewelry store looking to buy a bracelet. While leaning on the glass case, one of the employees asked me if I was wearing the new "SD". I said that it was. He said no one in the company had even seen one, until now.

He called the other sales people over to show them. They literally tried to pry the watch off my wrist. I was a bit taken by their actions. They said they only wanted to clean it for me even though it wasn't dirty.

One of the salesmen said the rumor going around was that the watch as too big, too heavy and uncomfortable to wear. In the spirit of the holidays, I let him put the SDDS on.

" Oh my god this is awesome. It feels great and it isn't that big on my wrist. Do you want to sell it? " "No", I said, "I like looking at it too much. I've only had it a couple of weeks. Yea and I love the way it feels too".

By now, curious on lookers were gathering around behind me. I took the watch from the salesman, put it in my front pants pocket, grabbed the wife and said my good byes to the sales staff at the store. I heard someone yell, "If you want to sell it, you know where to come". Odd, that should be the other way around. But, that's just one example of the attraction this watch is getting. You have to see it in person to really appreciate the newest transformation. I feel very fortunate to possess this work of art.

SO.........................again the best deal is to acquire one, when ever and where ever you can. Its that good.

[BasicWatch]

You know... that 4th photo (with the fish and watch in the fish bowl) reminds me of my dad's fish tank... he has this huge aquarium that he made some kind of see-through cases for and filled them with like $100 bills, a Rolex, and some other stuff, then dropped them in his tank. Only thing is his tank has like 2 big sharks and 4 huge eels in it... I guess he's tempting any thieves to try and get it, but I'd imagine they'd break the bulletproof glass and just screw his carpet, lol.

[fujisan]

Hi

I just joined the forum today. I walked into an Authorised Rolex Dealer today and asked about the new Sea-Dweller DeepSea. They did not have one in the shop but told me the price would be almost $10,000 US equivalent.

I am in Australia. Is this a normal price? Could anyone kindly advise me please?

[moby33]

Originally Posted by fujisan

Hi

I just joined the forum today. I walked into an Authorised Rolex Dealer today and asked about the new Sea-Dweller DeepSea. They did not have one in the shop but told me the price would be almost $10,000 US equivalent.

I am in Australia. Is this a normal price? Could anyone kindly advise me please?

Price is too high IMO. In this market, I would never pay over list...and the DSSD list is a little under $9300US. These guys are hoping beyond hope that some potential DSSD owner will come in and get fed up with looking for the watch and purchase...with a little research (and help from people on this forum), I honestly believe you'll be able to find one for significantly less.

Heck...there is one for sale on this forum for under $8K US (I would have jumped on that price if it was available when I purchased...just too good not to buy IMO)...if you 100% must buy from an AD I would keep looking...but if price is your #1 concern, buy one from a respected member of this forum...you'll save a bunch of cash and the watch is going to be identical to one bought at an AD (trust me...your wrist won't know the difference...but your bank account sure will). Good luck.

[meloncap78]

Cherish that beauty. I can't wait to get my hands on one. Great pics and bit of history as well.

[Got Rolex?]

Great score and nice pics.

[BZA]

Anyone else reminded of a lobster when looking at 8th pic down!? Or is it just me...!

[timackerman]

It is a good looking watch, and I love the lume. But I think that I will stick with my Submariner