The ultimate Rolex Diver? Rolex 126600 Sea-Dweller
Rolex Sea-Dweller 126600
The Sea-Dweller was released in 1967 in response to a very specific problem - Helium.
Launched in 1953 The Submariner at this point was already well into its existence and proving to be popular as a tool. But, as the 60s was an era where exploration of both the skies and seas really started to boom, it was also where the venerable Sub ran into difficulties when faced with saturation diving, so called because at great depths, the body becomes saturated with gas which needs to be dissipated slowly in a controlled manner in order to prevent a phenomenon known as decompression sickness.
This was where decompression chambers became necessary for divers safe transition from body crushing depths and dry land. They would sit in a controlled decompression chamber post deep dive until their bodies returned to normal.
Bob Barth was one such diver on board the US Navy’s SEALAB 1, which, in short, was lab/research station parked on the sea bed and used to test human response to artificial atmosphere, eg - pressurised air when exploring the depths of the sea or space, and test the viability of saturation diving for ocean exploration.
The gas inside SEALAB that the divers (or Aquanauts as they were known) were breathing was a mix of 95% helium and 5% oxygen. As their bodies became saturated with this gas, they could stay at depth indefinitely and live within the research station completing daily tasks, experiments, eating, drinking, sleeping etc.
Barth noticed during decompression an alarming ping and plink, which was the sound of the crystal popping off his Submariner due to the expulsion of helium which had built up within the watch whilst Bob was working in SEALAB.
His time in decompression wasn’t long enough for helium particles to dissipate properly, which left the pressure inside the watch way higher than that of the decomp chamber.
The end result of this was that his Submariner gave up at its weakest point, the crystal, which popped off in quite the dramatic fashion.
Think champagne cork and shaken bottle and you get the picture without the science.
Barth wrote an analysis of what had happened and suggested a helium valve. This analysis which was heavy on the technicalities was condensed by his diving pal T Walker Lloyd who sent to Rolex to wrap their heads around solution-wise.
The divers current DIY solution was to unscrew the crowns of their submariners during decompression to let the gas escape, but this wasn’t ideal or long term as forgetting to un-screw or re-screw presented issues that can be briefly described as “a pain in the backside”
In response, Rolex designed the helium release valve. A relatively simple spring loaded one way valve which activated to release the helium when the pressure within the watch became greater than the pressure outside.
Boom. Done. And the beast was born.
50 years later, Rolex released the reference 126600 to celibrate the anniversary of the Sea-Dweller, and it caused quite a stir.
It was no longer a 40mm watch, it’s sized had increased to 43mm, it had a single line of red text in homage to the early Dwellers, and in a first for the Sea-Dweller range - it had a cyclops.
Reactions to its addition were mixed, as we are not accustomed to such radical change from the brand but in fairness to Rolex, while a few collectors have taken against the latest Dweller’s cyclops because “tradition”, on a large watch, an unmagnified date would look out of proportion and a little lost in the ether, so I am firmly in the pro cyclops camp on this one.
Not to mention that a little magnification goes a long way if you don’t have 20/20 vision.
I’ve just taken it on holiday as my one watch solution and it has been not only great fun to get to know, but fitted in superbly with anything and everything I’ve got up to in the water. No surprises there at all.
The SD wears closer to a 42mm and is really well balanced on the wrist despite being 15.5mm tall, this is thanks to it’s 21mm lug width and wider bracelet which tackles the additional 3mm of the head admirably, and thanks to the glidelock feature on the clasp, its bracelet size can be adjusted on the move as your wrist swells and contracts with the different temperatures of the day.
The case and bracelet are made from 904L surgical steel which is known for its resistance to corrosion.
It’s definitely a chunky watch, but nowhere near that of its bigger brother the Deepsea, if I had to compare it, then I’d say it wears smaller than an AP Offshore and a little larger than a Sky-Dweller but not by a huge amount.
Those who follow the channel will know that this size is right up my street.
The dial is a lovely touch as it is a matte black which in certain lights can appear to be a dark dark chocolate almost tropical tone, I suspect this may be something to do with the red text working with matte black, but whatever it is, it works really well and provides excellent legibility when combined with the lashings of blue Chromalight on the maxi hands and markers.
These things were designed to be read at depth, and although I havent been to the bottom of any trenches while on my holidays, I could read it instantly when scuba diving which was a great way to mix work and play.
After all, the Sea-Dweller is a true tool watch built for the ocean so it seemed rude not to.
The Sea-Dweller runs on calibre 3235, the same as the Submariners so offers a 70 hour power reserve, and an accuracy of +2/-2, being a Rolex it ticks all of Wilsdorf’s three boxes for the brand - Automatic winding, accuracy, and water resistance, which naturally, the SD has in spades with a mighty 1,220 metres.
This isnt going to get to you to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, but you can go anywhere between the kitchen sink and the the tip of the oceans midnight zone with it on which I reckon is quite enough for us mere mortals.
The SD43 is an absolute sleeper hit in my opinion.
It’s an exceptionally capable watch, the matte dial with red text is an absolute smasher, particularly because red text on Rolex is such a huge part of their divers history. The Glidelock is a joy to use and the size is right up my alley.
That said, it’s size doesn’t work for everyone though which is a negative if you love the look but have smaller wrists, BUT the plus side to that is that because it has a more niche appeal, it isnt hugely inflated on the secondary market which is a winner if you have a taste for bigger watches.
In a nutshell 10/10 recommend.