Sea Dweller 16660

[stormer]

My first post, my apologies if I am asking any questions that have already been answered. (kindly post a link to the forum answer).

History: My Father gave me a Sea Dweller 16660 for graduation in 1986. Who buys their 18 year old kid a Rolex?? Now that I am the same age as my father was at that time, I think my father was doing quite well to be able to give that to his kid!

It stopped working a few years ago and that is when I learned you have to have it serviced every 7-10 years. I brought it into a Rolex dealer and they quoted me $600 back in 2007. I couldn't afford it at the time so I put it in the box in my safe and there it has sat.

I recently inquired of it's worth at a few local "We buy Rolex" dealers. When I sent in the pics they were interested and said it currently retails between $3-7k. I have an appointment to see the person on Monday.

It has some scratches on the bezel and band, none on the crystal. Doing a little research it is considered a 'Triple 6'.

After looking at other forum post here it looks like it may cost me around $700-1200 to get it serviced.

If I had it serviced and in top working condition and buffed out, would I get a good ROI to have it serviced first or just deduct it from the selling price?

I honestly don't know. I'm sorry for my ignorance. Looking for any wisdom/thoughts/counsel you may provide.

If you are wondering why I would sell this, it's because the last of my kids have left home and my wife are liquidating and will be moving into a new life style which requires $ and limited on storage.

I've attached a few pictures.

Thank you very much!!

James

[jsft98]

Hi James,

The Triple six is a great watch that exists in broadly 2 dial variations : earlier matte and later glossy dials. Yours is a glossy type of dial with white gold rim around the indices.
Price wise, the range for glossy dials are between 5k to 8k depending on the condition and accessories (box, papers, goodies etc...)

If I were you, I'll not polish or buff the case. It is better to keep it in original condition, especially if it was never polished in the past.

Getting it serviced is recommended, especially if the watch has stopped working in the past (the oil in the movement might be dry, and/or some parts worn off). I guess that this will be something that any potential seller will be worried about and might be the ground to further haggle on the price.

All of the above put aside, and given that this watch was gifted to your by your father, you may want to consider passing this family heirloom to your children, if they have any interest in watches?

[stormer]

jsft98, thank you for your response! Do you have any idea what these retailed for back in 1986? Thanks for the note on being polished/buffed. I wore this watch for 20 years and didn't even know what I had. (My Dad never said, "look son, be smart about this...") I think of some of the places I've worn this and wonder if angels worked overtime protecting me. haha