Rolex Deepsea Sea Dweller D-Blue: In Hand Pics and Short Review/Take on the Watch and Prices

pics for this post were a bit rushed so aren't such great quality but it's a quick and dirty review anyway :)

So I posted the press release of this watch a couple of weeks back here LINK and deliveries have started. It's being snapped up right now as it's a new and 'hot' model from Rolex. 

What's the price like? In Singapore the list price is low 16k, I believe it's around S$16,200[tbc]. Some dealers here are pricing it close to list and some dealers here are asking for S$18k and there have been buyers for it at that price. For non-Singapore folks, please use a currency converter :) LINK

Comparing with the regular DSSD 116660 which is selling at around S$12k(or less) new, that's a S$4-6k difference. [Pre-owned the regular dssd are in the S$10k(plus minus) region]

For folks with short memories, I would like to remind you of the milgauss gv and how that was selling for high premiums(more than double list) for a period of time and then dropped like a rock to list after supply just kept on coming... but enough of price talk and to my thoughts on this watch...

D-Blue vs Regular DSSD... D-Blue's got more going for it

Depending on the angle and the light, the blue can be a lighter or darker shade... 

Going into the details on the differences of the regular and d-blue dial then... 

Dial Differences

• Crown size is different, see the size of the base oval on both. Regular has a broader base.
• The Deepsea word moved to the lower half of the dial looks to be better to my eyes. Not so squished on top. But overall, it's got a bit too much text going on. 
• The fonts are different from one dial to the other for each line of text. The spacing between the letters for 'Rolex' are different with a larger gap in the D-blue version.

What does it have going for it? 

• The blue to black and green do give a bit more 'personality' to the dial. Some may like this and some won't. For me it's better than the regular DSSD's dial.
• Better placing of Deepsea word and some of the fonts are better. 
• The good thing about the DSSD(and the No-date Sub) is they don't have the cyclops bubble. I really don't like the cyclops bubble... 

Cons

• Size & heft of it may not be for everyone's wrist/preference. 
• Bracelet should have been upsized with the case size increase of the DSSD impo. the taper of it to the clasp is just off. This view hasn't changed since the DSSD was first launched. 
• another criticism from the original dssd is calling it 'gas escape valve' vs helium escape valve. 

Overall thoughts then is that it is a interesting piece with it's gradient dial and preferred to the DSSD if you were looking between the 2 but the price difference may be hard to swallow(worst case it's $6k for a dial change). The new Seadweller 4000 is not mentioned so far but a notable thing about it is that it's a little bit pricey, selling at around S$11+/12k region or close to the regular DSSD price.

If you have not purchased any Submariner or Seadweller in the past but love their looks, my personal preference is for the (1) No Date Submariner 114060 or 14060M or (2) Seadweller 16660 amongst them all. If you like vintage, the 5513 and 1665 are considerations too. 

Hope you enjoyed the short-ish take on the DSSDs. Cheers, Raph.