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Old 31 August 2012, 11:27 PM   #1
SPACE-DWELLER
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Icon4 Rolex Dial Printing Variations Revisited...

I believe it's known by now that the deepsea sea-dweller has received 2 changes to its dial since 2008:


Here is the "Mark I" dial:





And here's the Mark II dial:




As you can see, there are various differences to the predecessor dial:

Overall font is slightly "thinner".
  • The painted rolex coronet has changed style to look more like the coronet on other rolex dials.
  • The "e"s in "deepsea" now have a shorter middle line in the "e".
  • The "s" in "sea-dweller" has been changed from a "flat" s to a "round" one.
  • The "ft" font has been changed.
  • The "=" sign is not on italic anymore but runs as two parallel lines.
  • There is now a larger gap between the ft and metres depth rating, aka "gap dial" (seen on the newest sub 14060m's too, btw.)

Here is an overview of the details (with the 14060m - new and old models - included):



(all pics from r-l-x.de).


But there is also a third version that surfaced not too long ago:

The Mark III dial:




(credit: "purewhitedesign"; watchlounge.com)

The rolex coronet on the dial of the MK III dial is identical to the one seen on the MK II dial:


(credit: "purewhitedesign"; watchlounge.com)


Also notice the uneven space between the equal sign "=" like it has also been seen on the sub 14060m dial bottom right... Plus the "MK III" deepsea dial has more space before and after the "ft" and "m":

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Old 1 September 2012, 12:45 AM   #2
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Is it because Rolex uses different dial manufacturers? I guess the lowest bid wins?
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Old 1 September 2012, 01:40 AM   #3
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Interesting, do you have any other comparisons like this for other Rolex Models?
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Old 1 September 2012, 01:43 AM   #4
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Very interesting and thanks for posting this thread! Will take a look myself to see this.
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Old 1 September 2012, 01:46 AM   #5
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There is a big difference in the font from Mk.I to Mk.II.
I much prefer Mk.I it makes a big difference for me in the presentation of the dial.

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Old 1 September 2012, 02:15 AM   #6
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very interesting. thank you for posting.
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Old 1 September 2012, 02:31 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lol-x View Post
There is a big difference in the font from Mk.I to Mk.II.
I much prefer Mk.I it makes a big difference for me in the presentation of the dial.

X2
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Old 23 September 2012, 01:42 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Lol-x View Post
There is a big difference in the font from Mk.I to Mk.II.
I much prefer Mk.I it makes a big difference for me in the presentation of the dial.

I prefer Mk II.
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Old 1 September 2012, 02:15 AM   #9
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Also, any idea on the years/serials that these appeared? I know it's not an exact science but still worth a try. I will be looking at the one I have and let you know what serial and which mk dial.
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Old 1 September 2012, 02:18 AM   #10
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My preference is
MK I (by far)
MK III (My Sub LV C and most / all I've seen look similar).
MK II
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Old 1 September 2012, 02:42 AM   #11
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Quote:
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my preference is
mk i (by far)
mk iii (my sub lv c and most / all i've seen look similar).
Mk ii
+1
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Old 1 September 2012, 02:36 AM   #12
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The dial variations are very important to me. When looking for a 14060M I purposely looked for one without the uneven equals sign spacing because I knew it would drive me crazy.
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Old 1 September 2012, 02:51 AM   #13
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Dials are the same apart form some very minor font changes that has happened on most Rolex models through the history of the brand.But now mainly down to high magnification with loupes etc and watch forums. These very tiny divinations in fonts have been noticed by mainly the WIS type.I would doubt if most of the buying public in general would even notice these minor font changes.
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Old 1 September 2012, 02:53 AM   #14
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Again?!? Another dial variation hype?

It's probably because Rolex have charged its computer system and/or printing devices...
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Old 1 September 2012, 03:12 AM   #15
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Very interesting, thanks for sharing.
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Old 1 September 2012, 03:30 AM   #16
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Interesting........ thanks for sharing.
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Old 1 September 2012, 04:26 AM   #17
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Bo knows because he has owned 10 of each.
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Old 1 September 2012, 06:59 AM   #18
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Quote:
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Bo knows because he has owned 10 of each.
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Old 1 September 2012, 05:38 AM   #19
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Quote:
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Bo knows because he has owned 10 of each.
Only owned four DSSD's!


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
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Old 1 September 2012, 05:43 AM   #20
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Quote:
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Only owned four DSSD's!


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
And your fave is?

Most of the normal public do not even know what part is the dial .... And are probably happier?
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Old 1 September 2012, 05:40 AM   #21
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Great info, Bo

Mate, You certainly know Your Deep sea's. Thanks for showing.
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Old 1 September 2012, 05:56 AM   #22
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I'd tend to prefer the Mark II dial, although I find the fatter printing on the Mark I dial cool... I don't care much for the coronet style on the Mark I, though.

The Mark III is a joke IMHO... The unequal space before and after the equal sign in the depth designation would drive me nuts... Once noticed, I'd focus on it all the time... And forget all about what time it is!

The DSSD's I've owned were all Mark I's, btw... Maybe that's why I flipped them?


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Old 1 September 2012, 07:53 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER View Post
I'd tend to prefer the Mark II dial, although I find the fatter printing on the Mark I dial cool... I don't care much for the coronet style on the Mark I, though.

The Mark III is a joke IMHO... The unequal space before and after the equal sign in the depth designation would drive me nuts... Once noticed, I'd focus on it all the time... And forget all about what time it is!

The DSSD's I've owned were all Mark I's, btw... Maybe that's why I flipped them?


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
Funny how taste works ... I kinda like the uneven space ... it makes for two blocks of text ... most new subs are coming out like that it seems ... With my eyes, I can barely see the hands anyway ...

These are cool little details to catch (irrelevant as they might be).
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Old 1 September 2012, 08:48 AM   #24
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It will be interesting to see how much these little variations between marks are valued in 30 or 40 years...... If Red Subs or DRSD's are anything to go by...... Quite a bit
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Old 8 September 2012, 11:16 PM   #25
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quite interesting!! Thanks for sharing!!
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Old 8 September 2012, 11:17 PM   #26
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just look at the 16610LV dial variations... sweet jesus!
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Old 8 September 2012, 11:32 PM   #27
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I like the Mk II, but honestly, either is just fine.
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Old 8 September 2012, 11:51 PM   #28
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Interesting.
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Old 28 November 2012, 02:13 AM   #29
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Interesting.
x2
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Old 8 September 2012, 11:55 PM   #30
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Very interesting....thanks (I prefer the Mk II also)
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