SD43 vs SD4K

[Chalet]

Have this an airing today. Love it’s simplicity.

[David_D]

just check Chrono 24 and ebay for the number for sale under 10k.

I mentioned elsewhere that I was looking on eBay the other day and there were 3 UK based brand new unworn SD43s that had been listed in less than 24 hours.

The question is whether anyone is buying one (or the other "must have" models) to actually wear and enjoy. Obviously, the more that are listed in the secondary market, the less they are likely to fetch. (It's not always easy to see what these eBay listings ultimately achieve. I suspect some listers take their cue from WF prices and leave the listing up for a while before edging the price down if it doesn't shift.)

[paskinner]

You will not have to wait 4 years.....

All of those will thin it out within the next year. I was called a dreamer that grey prices were going to fall to retail, it's not far off now. No one really wants to pay a premium for this.

We all get predictions wrong, and it's embarrassing to dig-up the past, but I quote this to show how even experts can make innocent mistakes. Nothing personal but prices since August last year...when this was written...have not moved to retail, or anything near it. The lowest price on Chrono 24 as I write today is £10,400, with dealers asking between 10.5k and 12k.
I found a buyer for my 43mm on SC this week for the asking price of £9.7k, and could have sold it several times over. That's a £1000 over retail, similar to what I paid to get it, which seemed pretty good in the overheated market. Things are a bit crazy.
If you believe prices will fall, just wait; like the guys 15 months ago. Who are still waiting .

[Hood]

We all get predictions wrong, and it's embarrassing to dig-up the past, but I quote this to show how even experts can make innocent mistakes. Nothing personal but prices since August last year...when this was written...have not moved to retail, or anything near it. The lowest prices on Chrono 24 today is £10,400, with dealers asking between 10.5k and 12k.
I found a buyer for my 43mm on SC this week for the asking price of £9.7k, and could have sold it several times over.
If you believe prices will fall, just wait; like the guys 15 months ago. Who are still waiting .

[B][/B
I don't think Kash is sitting waiting for one to come down in price.
Maybe he just doesn't rate it.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

There isn’t that much of a premium on this model though is there? Almost makes it the bargain of the range in my mind when you consider the percentage of uplift from retail.

I’m liquidating all my collection but my SD43 will stay alongside my DJ36 that I can’t sell anyways.

[mjc1216]

We all get predictions wrong, and it's embarrassing to dig-up the past, but I quote this to show how even experts can make innocent mistakes. Nothing personal but prices since August last year...when this was written...have not moved to retail, or anything near it. The lowest price on Chrono 24 as I write today is £10,400, with dealers asking between 10.5k and 12k.
I found a buyer for my 43mm on SC this week for the asking price of £9.7k, and could have sold it several times over. That's a £1000 over retail, similar to what I paid to get it, which seemed pretty good in the overheated market. Things are a bit crazy.
If you believe prices will fall, just wait; like the guys 15 months ago. Who are still waiting .

I don't know how you have searched on Chrono 24 but for the last week there have been 5 on sale under £10000 and even if you contact watchfinder or other dealers they are offering only around £9100 as they tend to know which way the market is going with these watches.

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/search/in...ue&sortorder=0

I am glad you sold yours BUT i think these will drop under £9500 in the next few months and close to RRP.

Too many now for sale,dealers don't want to pay a premium for them and the warranty cards being held will force the price down.

[njr911]

I don't know how you have searched on Chrono 24 but for the last week there have been 5 on sale under £10000 and even if you contact watchfinder or other dealers they are offering only around £9100 as they tend to know which way the market is going with these watches.

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/search/in...ue&sortorder=0

I am glad you sold yours BUT i think these will drop under £9500 in the next few months and close to RRP.

Too many now for sale,dealers don't want to pay a premium for them and the warranty cards being held will force the price down.

Non of those are UK watches though, you will get a big bill when those arrive through customs negating any saving from UK sellers.

[mjc1216]

Three are from Italy so no customs charges

[relaxer7]

Until you can buy these in a reasonable timescale or god forbid, walk out of a shop with one the market will continue to go one way I reckon.

[David_D]

Non of those are UK watches though, you will get a big bill when those arrive through customs negating any saving from UK sellers.

For what it’s worth, 3 of those are in Italy so presume no tax/duty issues - until next March, at least!

EDIT: didn’t spot mjc1216 made the same point!

[BIG G]

Yes the SD43 seems to be available in around 3 months in the UK.

[paskinner]

Yes the SD43 seems to be available in around 3 months in the UK.

Really? The local AD says they have had three in the last year . I sold mine so I have no dog in this fight, but I am struck by the endless attempts to talk the 43mm down.
You can find, quoted in this thread, claims a full year ago that it was a flop, wouldn't hold value and so on, and on. None of this has proved true.
Has anyone seen a 43mm available in a Rolex store ?Has anyone seen a used one at retail? Thought not.....

[David_D]

Yes the SD43 seems to be available in around 3 months in the UK.

Where’s that story come from? Not sure you can even get a 114060 in 3 months. If the SD43 was that easy to come by, I’m sure we’d have heard from multiple sources.

[njr911]

Where’s that story come from? Not sure you can even get a 114060 in 3 months. If the SD43 was that easy to come by, I’m sure we’d have heard from multiple sources.

I waited 15 months.

[Vanguard]

Its a new watch and thats how I want to receive it. I want to peel them off myself. Its supposed to be brand new. Unstickered in my eyes it isnt.

When you buy a new car they don't leave the transport wraps on, would you want those left on too?

[Seadweller75]

Yes the SD43 seems to be available in around 3 months in the UK.

Would love to know from where.. I found it easier getting the JC Deepsea than the SD43 (fortunately I have both).

[33JS]

I am struck by the endless attempts to talk the 43mm down.

Me too!

It's a fabulous piece that fills the gap between the SD4k and the SDDS.

[AMS87]

If you want a watch, save up, buy one, enjoy it. In the long term, £500 of value means nothing.

If you have a good enough relationship with your AD, great, you may have to wait but you'll get one RRP and if they trust you, they wont keep warranty cards etc. As far as I'm aware, this is not a Rolex policy.

If you can't get one from your AD, buy the best one you can find for the lowest price you can negotiate in the used market.

If you want to worry about second hand values because you're concerned about a few hundred quid then you're talking yourself out of buying the cheapest one on the market right now......

[MartynJC (UK)]

I’m in middle of process of selling my SD4K to buy a SD43. If I had endless cash I would keeep both - but I can’t. Both are great

[Chalet]

Been wearing my SD43 today. It’s a cyclops removal away from being brilliant.

For the dive watches, I prefer my SD4K and 126660 Deep Blue because of this.

[paskinner]

I’m in middle of process of selling my SD4K to buy a SD43. If I had endless cash I would keeep both - but I can’t. Both are great

I suspect it won't take very long on the wrist to persuade you of the superiority of the 43mm; it's a slightly strange watch because , in theory, it's just a marketing exercise. But it feels convincing and 'right', to me anyway.
I see it as perhaps the best dive watch on the market . Hopefully, at some point, i'l get another. I've already had two, but other plans meant they had to go. Double glazing got in the way.

[hot66]

The sd43 is the favourite in my collection :)


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[MartynJC (UK)]

Been wearing my SD43 today. It’s a cyclops removal away from being brilliant.

For the dive watches, I prefer my SD4K and 126660 Deep Blue because of this.

I wonder if anyone has been brave enough to get the chisel out as done with some submariners? Or is the cyclops somehow integrated to the crystal on the SD43 - or was the reason for the non-cyclops on the original SDs now no-longer an issue? Hey - I still feel like a newbie sometimes!

martyn.

[Yeti]

I suspect it won't take very long on the wrist to persuade you of the superiority of the 43mm; it's a slightly strange watch because , in theory, it's just a marketing exercise. But it feels convincing and 'right', to me anyway.
I see it as perhaps the best dive watch on the market . Hopefully, at some point, i'l get another. I've already had two, but other plans meant they had to go. Double glazing got in the way.

What makes you think the 43mm is superior? Ive had both and in my opinion the sd4000 is the nicer watch. But then I prefer a 40mm case size over larger case sizes.

[paskinner]

What makes you think the 43mm is superior? Ive had both and in my opinion the sd4000 is the nicer watch. But then I prefer a 40mm case size over larger case sizes.

It's all personal opinion, as always. In that sense the debate can never be settled. But most people I know who have owned both end up preferring the 43. Including me. And that's after a fair bit of wearing both. The proportions on the 43mm seem better balanced. The cyclops is actually useful, and the dial seems more visually interesting. It also has the new movement with the 70-hour power reserve.
But it's not a small watch , so if you prefer smaller watches......

[Yeti]

It's all personal opinion, as always. In that sense the debate can never be settled. But most people I know who have owned both end up preferring the 43. Including me. And that's after a fair bit of wearing both. The proportions on the 43mm seem better balanced. The cyclops is actually useful, and the dial seems more visually interesting. It also has the new movement with the 70-hour power reserve.
But it's not a small watch , so if you prefer smaller watches......

For me the only plus is the newer movement which I guess is quite a big factor. I prefer a more traditional 40mm case size with my Rolex. I also like the fact the sd4000 was only made for a few years as opposed to the 43mm which is a current model which may be made for quite some time.

[proby24]

The latest SD could have been a great watch. Then Rolex made it 43mm and added a cyclops to appease the nouveau riche.

[Mick P]

To be fair, although I don't think I would ever buy a watch over 40mm, the SD43 is a glorious looking model and the cyclops makes sense for a diving watch.

[Vanguard]

To be fair, although I don't think I would ever buy a watch over 40mm, the SD43 is a glorious looking model and the cyclops makes sense for a diving watch.

Why do you think Divers need to know the date underwater out of interest?

[Mick P]

Why do you think Divers need to know the date underwater out of interest?

For the same reason that they need to know the date on dry land and you can't take a mobile phone down in the deep sea.

You could reasonably argue that no one really needs a date on a watch but it is a nice little luxury.

I have very good eyesight and I do a fair amount of scuba diving and usually wear a Sub Date or a GMT11 and even with a cyclops, it is not easy reading a date under water. I would hate to try and read the date on a SD4k or similar without a cyclops.

[Vanguard]

For the same reason that they need to know the date on dry land. You can't take a mobile phone down in the deep sea.

You could reasonably argue that no one really needs a date on a watch but it is a nice little luxury.

I have very good eyesight and I do a fair amount of scuba diving and usually wear a Sub Date or a GMT11 and even with a cyclops, it is not easy reading a date under water. I would hate to try and read the date on a SD4k or similar without a cyclops.

Why do you think that Divers need to know the date underwater though, you stated a cyclops is especially useful for divers, there is lots of data I like to Monitor when underwater but the date isn't one of them

[Mick P]

Why do you think that Divers need to know the date underwater though, you stated a cyclops is especially useful for divers, there is lots of data I like to Monitor when underwater but the date isn't one of them

That's fair enough but being underwater makes reading small numbers difficult. A cyclop just makes it easier and we all like an easy life.

I doubt if hardly any Seadweller or Sub goes deeper than the deep end of a swimming pool.

I am in Spain wearing a GMT that has two time zones (Spain and the UK). Do I really need a pilots watch to realise that 3.00pm in Spain is the same time as 2.00pm in the UK ? Few of us really need a watch, let alone a specialist one, so there's no right answer.

[MartynJC (UK)]

I’m in middle of process of selling my SD4K to buy a SD43. If I had endless cash I would keeep both - but I can’t. Both are great

Well it has arrived - and very happy too!



Martyn

[Boots]

Why do you think that Divers need to know the date underwater though, you stated a cyclops is especially useful for divers, there is lots of data I like to Monitor when underwater but the date isn't one of them

A date is extraordinarily valuable in a SAT chamber when you're there for weeks. If you are a research biologist who does a lot of work at sea, having the date on your wrist is extremely valuable when filling out reports. Rolex has never made a sea-dweller w/o a date because it's important to have it. I crack up whenever I see "I don't need to know the date underwater" because you totally don't get it. The watch is designed for underwater professionals; the cyclops is now there to makes the date easier to read. It's really not that complicated.

[paskinner]

But surely, 'underwater professionals' use dive computers, not high-street watches. No current Rolex is really aimed at 'professional' users.
I mean, why would any working diver use a 9K Rolex? You can get tougher, more precise, watches for around £100.
The SD43 is perhaps my favourite Rolex 'sports' watch; but let's be realistic. It's not aimed at professional divers any more than the GMT is aimed at professional pilots or the Daytona, racing drivers.
Those days are long gone. Mechanical watches aren't 'tools', they're toys, and we like toys.

[watchstudent]

Well it has arrived - and very happy too!



Martyn

Looks bloody lovely. If i had a bigger wrist then i would be after one i think.

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[shalako]

Well it has arrived - and very happy too!



Martyn

Glad it’s finally arrived, look forward to the review on that one Martyn.....,..

[mjc1216]

Well it has arrived - and very happy too!



Martyn

Not surprised...i think this could be my one watch solution.

As previously stated i won't pay above RRP for this watch and if £8700 is an insane amount for a watch i think this one is worth it.

I have tried it on many times and as the sub is too small for me this is just right.It dosen't sit too high and feels balanced on the wrist.

Like everyone else i have been told this may be a limited run which is keeping the price high on the resale market but one day i will be lucky and find this watch at the price i am willing to pay.

Enjoy a future classic.

[paskinner]

Don't believe the hype about 'limited runs' and 'anniversary year' and all that silliness. I've had two 43s and they are , I think, a fabulous watch. They don't need artificially boosting with dodgy claims. Well worth buying, even at over retail, if you don't want to wait.
I only sold to fund something else; at some point I hope the local AD will get me another one. Goodness knows, I've spent enough with them.
We'l see. All a lottery really.

[mjc1216]

I don't believe the hype about the "limited run" even though most Rolex dealers are spouting this every time i go in.

I am hoping the opposite as this will bring the price down on the resale market and make obtaining one at RRP via my dealer easier.