The Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 has been making waves. The Sea-Dweller derives its name from its impressive diving depth capacity and saturation divers who venture under highly pressurized environments underwater for weeks at a time. However, you don’t have to be an extreme diver or a Submarine Captain to enjoy the Sea-Dweller or its big brother, the Deepsea which supports an even greater diving depth.
The Rolex Sea-Dweller and Deepsea are extreme tool watches. They are built with strength and durability and are larger in size than the incredibly popular Rolex Submariner. Many watch owners have been gravitating to the larger size timepieces due to the feel of a larger timepiece against the wrist and also because the larger timepieces have greater visibility.
The large hour markers and hands are filled with blue luminescent paint that is white during the daytime and bright blue at night. And these timepieces are ready for action. If you are athletic or often find yourself in the pool or ocean, there is no need to take these timepieces off. They can come with you and join in the fun.
Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000
The Rolex Sea-Dweller made impressive progress by increasing its supportable waterproofness depth from 1000 feet to 4000 feet. Rolex worked with extreme divers and developed the helium escape valve system. This rather unnoticeable circular ring is flat against the left side of the case – opposite the winding crown.
This escape valve allows helium to escape out of the timepiece during decompression stops, therefore reducing the pressure within the watch case. This protects the timepiece from damage since pressure can cause the crystal to pop off of the case. Not only could that damage the timepiece, but it could be dangerous for a diver that depends on the Sea-Dweller as a tool to help calculate dive times and decompression stops.
The Sea-Dweller watch comes with a variety of staunch features that make this watch a foolproof companion for divers. The new Sea-Dweller measures out to a 43mm diameter Oystersteel case which is both strong and large enough to provide excellent visibility during dives.
The Sea-Dweller has a monobloc middle case and a screw-down case back are part of the exceptional Rolex Ringlock system which provides waterproofness at the case level. The winding crown itself has a triple lock waterproofness system inside of it to keep water out and makes sure that the Rolex is in perfect working condition during and after the dive.
The sapphire crystal glass on the DeepSea is thicker and more robust than what appears on the Sea-Dweller and Submariner. In fact, it is a 5.5 mm thick scratch-resistant sapphire crystal which is domed for strength and visibility. The Deepsea case is also larger – at a 44 mm size.
Running on a self-winding perpetual mechanical movement, the Rolex Sea-Dweller Watch features a new in-house calibre 3235 which has an enhanced power reserve of 70 hours. This new caliber is based on years of development in order to create a more efficient automatic movement.
The Sea-Dweller also has an instantaneous date with rapid settings and stop-seconds for precise timing. It has a Paramagnetic blue Parchrom hairspring oscillator and high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers for reliability even during rough use. This is very important because diving involves carrying extremely heavy equipment and timepieces can easily get banged around. The Sea-Dweller is built to withstand significant shocks and still provide excellent time.
The unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated scratch-resistant bezel with cerachrom insert in ceramic allows the diver to calculate dive times with great accuracy.
The Rolex Sea-Dweller features a watch strap that is of the Oyster collection watch band with three-piece solid links made of the same durable 904L steel as the case. The Sea-Dweller Watch Strap has an impressive Rolex glide lock extension system that extends to 26mm, thus with this watch band divers have the option of wearing their watch outside of their dive suits.
The Rolex Sea-Dweller comes with an Oystersteel with a black dial option, Oystersteel, and yellow gold “Rolesor” version. The Deep-Sea version also comes in two flavors – the black dial option and the graduated blue to black dial option. Both of the Deep Sea options are made from pure Oystersteel. The Deep-Sea lists for $14,150 but is going for over 25k. The Rolesor Sea-Dweller lists for 17k and the Oystersteel version lists for just under 13k, but today they sell for about 6-10k more than the Rolex MSRP price.
Rubber B has an extensive amount of vulcanized rubber bands for the Rolex Sea-Dweller timepieces. All of the Rubber B bands are made with pure rubber in their manufacturing facility in Switzerland. These bands feature the Rubber B signature “T” design. These bands meet FDA and BVGG specifications as non-toxic, non-marking, and allergy free. No coating, blends, or bonding are used in the construction of these beautiful bracelets.
Rubber B has developed 3 types of bands which are custom fitted for each model of Sea-Dweller and Deep-Sea. The first is the Glidelock Series. The Glidelock series supports the Rolex original deployant clasp that came with the Oyster band. The Rubber B Glidelock band is made from carbon fiber for strength and is designed with strength infusion technology to provide support against the friction, weight, and frequent micro-adjustments made on the Rolex Glidelock clasp.
The carbon fiber molecules are fused within the vulcanized rubber during the molding process, resulting in a substantial increase in vertical and lateral stress resistance. This means that even though the Rubber B bands are strong enough to support the Rolex Glidelock without being weakened by daily use, they maintained a supple, flexible comfort around the wearer’s wrist.
The second band style is the TANG clasp option. There is no question that the Tang clasp is one of the most popular clasp options for watch owners around the world. It is easy to adjust, comfortable and is found on probably 90% of non-metal watch bands. Rubber B has made its Tang clasp with 916L steel which is about as close to the 917L steel that Rolex uses in its Oystersteel as you can get.
The Tang and Glidelock bands also use the “Blocked Integration” design which creates a tight motionless fit to the Rolex case. Blocked Integration leaves no gaps between the case and the band itself. Before blocked integration, only the original steel bands from Rolex created a gap-free connection to the case itself. Rubber B designed each band to custom fit the specific dimensions and curve of the Sea-Dweller or Deep-Sea Case.
The Rubber Cuff Series of watch bands is a unique design that took years to develop. Rubber B wanted to introduce textures such as Kevlar fabric into their lineup of vulcanized rubber bands so owners could get the style and feel that they wanted, without giving up the water resistance and strength of rubber. Rubber B’s Rubber Cuff Series looks and feels like real Kevlar® and twill, but is made with 100% rubber and is stitched together with HYDROTURF® Marine Thread. For more information visit our Rolex Sea-Dweller page here.
