Page Dimensions

Approx. 8" x 10 3/4" (20cm x 27cm)

Story and Details

Only three Rolex advertisements come to mind that show a beautiful, full-color image of an early Sea Dweller. I'm talking about the Ref. 1665 "Double Red" Sea Dweller. This is one of them. The other two are incredibly-hard to get. As you can imagine, the Sea Dweller wasn't advertised in mainstream magazines. With the initial target market being saturation divers, the heavily-engineered watch was promoted in journals and periodicals these professionals would subscribe to and read. Because those obscure publications are so hard to find, at this point, I'm more likely to find an actual Sea Dweller washed ashore than find one of those other ads, both mentioning COMEX in the headline. Of course COMEX is the French commercial diving company with a deep history of partnership with Rolex.

In this 1979 advertisement for the Sea Dweller, the basic technology of the timepiece is spelled out. Basically, the Sea Dweller is a watch designed to avoid what divers sometimes suffer from - decompression sickness - or "the bends." 

I have absolutely no desire to dive deep, but that fact wouldn't prevent me from wearing a Double Red Sea Dweller. Personally, I love the fascinating story behind its development and evolution. The history of the watch is reason enough to seek one out and wear it proudly.