Seadweller 43 - A Review
On The Wrist
By redesigning the case giving more curvature to the lugs and shortening them it made the watch more wearable on a smaller wrist whilst still satisfying those of us with a 7.25” larger wrist. Previous variants including the discontinued 116600 were a little unbalanced at 40mm and 15mm thickness creating a little wobble similar to those suffered by The PAM 243 etc. Whilst 43mm might initially put some owners off it makes the most of its extra 3mm and does wear proportionally better than one would expect and has more comfort and balance whilst at the same time offering a clear difference from The Submariner or SD4K in that its appearance, size and weight.
Dial
That extra 3mm adds some life in the dial, it creates space between markers and makes checking the time both day and night easier, its luminance at night seems more enhanced and bright, but perhaps the most unique and adorable feature has to be Single Red ‘SEA-DWELLER’ written on the dial, its been 50+ years since the Sea-dweller landed and its so right to see this true 50th Anniversary model celebrate that with the much coveted Red Writing. Who ever made that decision in 1967 was a genius or extremely lucky and whoever made it in 2017 knew exactly what they were doing with this modern classic.
As with all things Rolex there can be some quirks and the True 50th Mk1 Dials on the initial 2017 release had just ‘Swiss Made’ marking before the Rolex Coronet was added between the words in 2018. Possibly intentional to mark out the first release in the anniversary year or possibly a dial manufacturer mistake / change but regardless it will be a future quirk as with APH, Spider Dials, Flat 4s et all.
The One Eyed Monster
So on to that Cyclops. !!! Oh how the internet roared when the cyclops was revealed as a feature. A cyclops on a Sea-dweller ! Surely not, its the only watch without one and you can’t have a cyclops on a SD because it will pop off at depth wont it!!! Well whilst Rolex are tight lipped about this they are also quietly confident so lets assume it delivers and lets also assume they felt that whilst the DNA was not pure the reality is that it does a really good job of magnifying the date and given most people will never descend to the depths of the ocean but will be glancing at it daily it was the right thing to do in perfecting this models fit, form, and function. I personally think its the right thing to have on there. (If it was not Id have the chisel out and lop it off)
Bracelet
Oyster - The best all rounder, strong, comfortable and easily adjustable with the Fliplock divers extension allowing for an extra 26mm, perfect for actual divers or the nervous screwdriver user. But the icing on the cake is the Glidelock system, which allows you to make 2mm adjustments up to 20mm, an absolute blessing in the heat or cold for on the fly comfort. All of this finished with the assurance of Rolex Oysterlock safety clasp offering all you need in security. (The eagle eyed may notice the absence of the divers extension link in the above picture, which is a feature on the watch that I have removed as I have no need for it and it enhances comfort further)
Movement
I wont pretend to ever fully understand a movement but think we can agree that the 3235 is an improvement over the previous fantastic 3135, new barrel, escapement, gear train, bridges, rotor, and winding mechanism adding 15% efficiency to the escapement which in turn gained half the new 70 hour power reserve. All round its more stable, has less friction, wear and power consumption and retains the blue parachrom hairspring to resist magnetic fields. Superlative as ever to 2-3 seconds either way and backed up with a confident 5 year warranty. It is never hard to reset and wind a watch and indeed its often a pleasure to have a fiddle but leaving it 3 days rather than 2 can be handy.
Conclusion
Another belter, it wont be everyone cup of tea and many will whine about the size and cyclops as easy targets but the reality of ownership is that it wears well even on a smaller wrist, it has balance, it is iconic and it has a cyclops which you can easily remove (just go deep diving and see what happens) or live with it as a feature that is so useful in the modern world and environment it will be used in. I have always loved a SD and this ones is no different, on release I was critical, an ill informed assessment based on history and looks but over time (as we most things Rolex) it has proved itself as an absolute belter. Red On!
And a perfect crown alignment! Lucky!!
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