Love the 50th anniversary SD, and love the channel! Honest watch videos without the fluff and hype. Keep up the good work and congratulations on 1000 subscribers!
We have about the same wrist size. Beautiful watch and great review. My two tone version center links scratch easily so I have not worn it much lately during this lockdown.
Hi Chris. So my amazing wife managed to get me an SD43 for Christmas. We picked it up yesterday to have it size and ready to go for the 25th. I've watched this video of yours multiple times as I just love it...had to watch it again this morning. Happy to be an offical member of the club in a couple of weeks. Big fan of your work.
Spot-on review, and I couldn't agree more. The 126600 is the perfect modern sports watch in my opinion. Although I have and appreciate the 116600 that many people claim to prefer, I like every single thing about the new version just a bit more. The subtle splash of red on the dial is lovely, the fit is spot-on - at least on my large, flat, lean wrist - and the cyclops simply completes the watch by giving it that bit of asymmetry and visual appeal that keeps things from looking too sterile. The unmagnified date on the previous versions has never looked right to me and compromises function; this model fixes that design flaw while upgrading the rest of the package. Its absence was my #1 gripe about the earlier SDs. The sub-43-mm Sea-Dwellers and Submariners will certainly fit more people, but I can't recommend the SD43 highly enough for those who have the wrist for it.
Great video, 12 minutes pretty much says everything. i am really thinking about a new sea dweller. the weight doesn't bother me. can't be any heavier than my day date with the solid links. all my Rolex's have the cyclops. except the no date models. my oyster 126000 is a great fitting watch. since it won't be a full time watch. it is thick, however, it is a perfect summer watch with short sleeve. my DD is a winter watch for me, because it hides under my flannel shirt. my only concern. at 5' 5" and 148 lbs. will it be to big? Chris is extremely honest with his videos. the best watch on your wrist is one that runs. any comments?
Great review and thanks for sharing the actual AD price. Did you pay tax? What would be awesome if Rolex creates a Vantablack dial. It’s the blackest of black dial.
When the SD43 sea dweller came out in 2017 there wasn’t a crown at the 6 o’clock position between Swiss and made. That is considered by most enthusiast the true 50th anniversary.
I’m the proud new owner of a Sea Dweller! Bought it for my son and he’ll get it when he’s old enough. I actually made a video about it too if anyone’s interested!
Another large wristed, 126600 owning Chicagoan here. Agree with everything you had to say. Did you get it from a local AD or off the gray market (like I had to do)?
I purchased this exact same watch 2022 model simply because I wanted a Submariner. However everyone and his brother has a Submariner and I wanted to be a little bit different! I don’t like gold colouring on a sport model watch. My previous watch is a Rolex date 1999 model that I wore for over 15 years. The thing to note with these watches is that you should have them serviced approx every 5 years whether you wear them or not because the lubricants within the watch will dry out causing the movement to run slower. Another $500 dollar cost so now I am shelling out $1000 bucks every 5 years as long as I keep them both. I have a couple of Seiko divers and a bunch of other dress watches in my collection but I only wear the Sea Dweller every day going forward until my body no longer powers it to run. I don’t believe in purchasing things like this to sit in a drawer and only be used for weddings, funerals and church on Sundays. That is a waste in my opinion. This is a sports watch that you must wear every day regardless!! My older Rolex is covered in scratches and each one tells a story of my life!! Having owned it for over 15 years it still is worth about $1500 more than what I paid for it used! Pretty good investment considering that I wore it every single day!!! One thing I never hear reviewers talking about is how well it actually keeps time!! How many seconds per day it loses or gains!! I think that’s because most of them are afraid to wear them because they will scratch them up!! They buy them to not wear them!! Waste of money! Invest in mutual funds if you want to make money! Not watches!!
Can either of you please shake it near your ear and tell me if you hear the rotor moving. I have 8 Rolex’s and it’s the only one that does it. Also it’s from an AD but wanted to know if you had that issue.
David Levy I hear some movement in mine. I know some of the movement has ball bearings to minimize repairs. That may account for the difference in sound in the movement. I haven’t sent mine in yet but will this week.
Thanks for sharing. Is the police looking for you? A lot of sirènes :-) i own 2 submariners (vintage + 2008). If i remember well i touched the bezel twice in the last 25 years to see if it still works. It is funny to hear that this is so nice sound and stable unless you are a diver of course. I like this model but only because of the red line. Comparing with the submariner in my opinion you pay for options that you’ll never use like the helium, gas escape valve etc. For me you pay more quality for the price with the submariner. My 2 cents
I own exactly this watch and an Omega SMP 300, latest model. The clasp of the Rolex is beautiful made, but in my opinion, the glide lock is not as practical an easy to adjust as the one from Omega. The later can be adjusted while still having the watch on the wrist in 3sec. all in all, the SD43 is stunning, the sub is too small for me.
@jose76p3 - Don't worry about that noise.. I got my watch around the same time too and the noise went away with a few weeks of regular wearing. Ever heard of the term "Squeaky clean"? Since the watch / bracelet is brand new it's common for the metal to make that noise but will eventually go away. Enjoy the timepiece. In my opinion it is probably the best diver ever made which is actually wearable on a daily basis even if you have medium sized wrist (6.5 inch or larger).
Posting my second comment one year later. Still a cool watch, got mine in May 2017 but I never felt like wearing it in spite of loving it 🖤❤️. I wear everything else, just not this one, maybe because it's still fully stickered and now worth 20k. Maybe because I'm bored of black divers. A mix of both, I don't know. Has it become an investment piece, subcontiously? I fully intended to wear it when I bought it. I only wear the TT Bluesy and YM these days, as far as Rolex watches are concerned. They're far more fun, that's how I feel at the moment. I've been suffering from black diver fatigue for years 🤣. Not going to sell the SD43 though. I might get cured and start wearing it one day (when I turn 50, to celebrate?) or pass it down to my son.
Just Coming from the SD 43mm: Bought it and sold after 1 month of owning, and just got the New 41mm ceramic Submariner. I Have a 7.5” wrist, so size was never a problem with me. I realized that as much as I loved the look of the red letters and the tone of black on the SD, it’s main problem for me was that the “43mm” size, is far from a good implementation: The dial size is practially the same as the Sub, only with a bigger bezel. This was a big mistake from Rolex, since the SD has to show the same information inside and then some more, making it look congested and cluttered, and at the same time also disproportionately on. Why not make the dial and bezel bigger in a symmetrical way from the beginning? They could have respected the 43mm size all in all proportions, and still keep room for the next 1mm needed to differentiate it from the upper brother, the Deep Sea. Yes, In terms of design an proportions, definitely the Sub 41mm has the edge. Hope Rolex can redesign and fix this issues and help the SD43 to look better.
