Shop Used Rolex Sea-Dweller Watches

Shop our collection of certified authentic pre-owned Rolex Sea-Dweller watches. All of our watches have gone through rigorous testing for authentication, performance, condition, and accuracy. Read more

Show more

About Rolex Sea-Dweller Watches

The Rolex Sea-Dweller, while originally created in 1967, was not made publicly available until 1971. The reason for the four-year delay was because Rolex needed to secure the patent for the famed helium escape valve. This innovation is responsible for the watch’s ability to go to greater depths, achieving a water resistance of up to 500 meters in the early models.

The Sea-Dweller is a saturation dive watch, meaning that the watch is somewhat niche in its appeal to serious divers. While this specificity means that the watch doesn’t have as wide a market as others the brand has made, it has still gained popularity amongst that particular demographic. Because of Rolex’s reputation for stability, durability, and quality, the Sea-Dweller embodies the brand’s mission and reputation. The watch lives up to its goal: To go as deep as possible, and to survive any depth unscathed.

The Rolex Submariner was developed by Rolex before the Sea-Dweller, and Rolex never tried to market the Sea-Dweller as a corrected or improved Submariner. The brand wants to situate the timepiece as altogether more hardcore. While the Submariner suits most needs, the Sea-Dweller is called the “dweller” specifically because it doesn’t only last to impressive depths, but also because of its longevity. It can be used for multi-day dive excursions.

The Sea-Dwellers feature a date display positioned at 3 O’clock, which is vital for those divers completing a multi-day excursion. Rather than the typical cyclops layered over the date window, the Sea-Dweller placed a piece of thick, domed plexiglass. This material is able to withstand greater underwater pressure, and it has become a favorite feature of watch collectors today.

There are a few different versions of the dial, and their variations are classified between Mark 0 to Mark 7. The earlier configurations (Mark 1 and Mark 2) are much more valuable and rarely appear for sale. The original production of the watch featured red text. There are a few prototypes with only a single line of text (Single Red) and the others were made with a double line of text (Double Red).

In 1977, the brand produced a model with the text printed in white, appropriately called the “Great White.” One of the most coveted features is found on the Mark 2 of this variation, with the words aligned on two lines referred to as a “rail.” Aside from the white text, the Great White is quite similar to the Double Red Sea Dwellers. The water resistance remains the same, as do many fo the visual and technical characteristics.

A year later, in 1978, Rolex introduced the “Triple 6.” This is the first Sea-Dweller model to feature a sapphire crystal, making it the more modern of the models. It has greater water resistance thanks to the sapphire crystal and a larger case, reaching a depth of 1,220 meters. There are also visual deviations from the earlier models.

In 2008, the Sea-Dweller went even deeper with the Deepsea. In 2014, the D-Blue was unveiled to celebrate James Cameron's 2012 Mariana Trench expedition. Rolex continues to develop Sea-Dwellers, creating slight visual variations and incorporating visual upgrades. All models encapsulate what the Rolex-Sea Dweller has become known for: The desire to always go deeper.