Rolex Great White Tiffany & Co. Sea-Dweller Reference 1665

This Rolex “Great White” Sea-Dweller reference 1665 is an incredibly special watch with a Tiffany & Co. signed dial. The watch comes from the original owner who purchased it while he was an undergraduate economics student at Princeton University. He decided to travel into New York City on fateful day in 1979 and purchased the watch. It has been a faithful companion to him for all these years, but the original owner had some unexpected expenses come up and he decided to give us the opportunity to sell it.

It features the “Great White” Sea-Dweller dial with beautiful yellow lume. It is a “Maxi” Sea-Dweller dial and was among the last examples of the legendary reference 1665 made. These examples with 6 million serial numbers have the extremely large hour markers that give them the “Maxi” moniker. I find them to be the most beautiful Great White Sea-Dweller dials. The reference 1665 models with all-white text are known as “Great White” models and the early examples are known as “Double Red” Sea-Dwellers with two red lines of text and the earliest, essentially prototype and not-for-sale, Sea-Dwellers are known as “Single Red” Sea-Dwellers with a single line of red text.

The hour markers match the hands, which have developed patina on the surfaces and are very attractive. The seconds hand was relumed as the lume had fallen out of it. The case has been polished. It dates to 1979 with a 6.22M serial. The bezel insert was replaced during a Rolex service and we have placed a period correct Mark 3 Fuzzy 40 insert on the watch to complete the look.

The lug-to-lug length is 47mm and it measures 40mm in diameter excluding the crown. It is paired on an Oyster bracelet with VE date code dating to circa 1980 and is original to the watch. The inside clasp has the serial engraved from during a Rolex service.

The watch does not come box and papers. It was serviced by Rolex this month and comes with a RSC Rolex Service Center card with QR code. The original owner stated he only had it serviced one other time. The watch recently passed a water resistance test of 5 bar. It features a TrueDome D39 crystal.

I have to say this is the most beautiful Sea-Dweller dials ever seen, even without the Tiffany & Co. signature.

PRICE: $45,000 (Item SBUXYT4063)