Rolex engineered the Seadweller for one purpose and one purpose only: to reach the deepest depths of the ocean. Designed closely with the famed French deep-sea dive company, COMEX, the 1665 emerged as a larger, more capable evolution of the Submariner, equipped with a Helium Escape Valve to safely vent trapped gases during decompression. This breakthrough allowed it to endure pressures the Submariner could not.

Following the inaugural Double Red Sea-Dweller, the “Great White” arrived in 1977 as its successor. The example offered here is a coveted Mk2 “Rail Dial,” produced by the renowned dial maker, Stern, for only a brief two-year run — the same dials fitted to the 600m COMEX Sea-Dwellers. Distinguished by its telltale alignment of the two “C”s in “Chronometer” and “Certified,” the Mk2 remains one of the most desirable iterations among serious collectors.

This 1665 Rail Dial is a true time capsule. Emerging from an important collection, it appears to have lain untouched and forgotten about for nearly 50 years, as evidenced by its unpolished 5.72m serial case retaining all original factory lines in impeccable condition. The flawless dial and matching hands display a soft, attractive buttermilk hue, while the original pearl has aged to a deep amber from decades of darkness. Even the black ink on the caseback—usually the first detail to fade—remains intact. Its date-matched 93150/580 bracelet is equally superb, with a clasp that still opens and closes as firmly as the day it left the factory.

Without question, this is the finest Sea-Dweller Rail Dial we’ve encountered. It’s extraordinary to see a tool watch purchased for use yet forgotten long enough to remain in such pristine preservation. True time-capsule examples like this are exceedingly rare today and only becoming more impossible to find.

(Item: INVDBV_71)