Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 1974 Reference No: 1665 Movement No: D935102 Case No: 4'073'801 Model Name: Double Red Seadweller Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Automatic, 1570, 26 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, 210 mm. maximum length Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex twinlock folding deployant clasp Dimensions: 39 mm. diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed Literature: For another example of a double red Seadweller, please see 100 Superlative Rolex Watches by John Goldberger, page 190.
Catalogue Essay
This MK IV double red Seadweller is an attractive watch. The lumes have aged to a nice warm orange and the case is still crisp. Overall this watch is a nice and original example.
Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.
One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.