Leaderboard

Hi guys! Today I’ll be reviewing the Rolex Deep Sea Sea Dweller (DSSD) Ultimate. I want to preface this review by saying that this is my first review on this forum. I’m a relative newbie when it comes to reps, but I have been a lover of fine watches for many many years. Being new to this there may be things I fail to cover or simply do not know, so please don’t hesitate to ask me other questions. And I am always open to suggestions on how to make my reviews better and more valuable to others. Background: I am not a Rolex enthusiast. In fact, I don’t care for the looks of most models of Rolex watches. There are a very few of them that I like, but the DSSD is certainly one of them. I love the look of this watch. It’s hard to pick out exactly what it is that makes me like this model when I do not like most Rolex watches. The ceramic bezel, the caseback, the rehaut and the face are some of the things I like most about it. I have never seen the gen of this watch in person, so my only comparison to the real thing is through photos and YouTube videos. The Dealer: I purchased this watch from Andrew at Trusty Time. He has been outstanding to work with and I plan on leaving a thorough review of my experience with him on his section of this forum later today. Please check it out if you plan to purchase from him. Here is the link to the watch I purchased: http://www.yourtrust...roducts_id=6579 This is the detailed description of the watch copied from the website: ROLSD017 - Deep Sea Dweller SS Blk Asia 3135 Ult V The Ultimate Version of DeepSea ...Same Deep rehaut as Genuine. Crisp Engraving within Lugs, Excellent Pearl and Lume on Dial... Correct 10 on bezel.....Updated Bevelled Edge Date Window....Parts interchangeable (Except Dial and Movt) interchangeable with the Genuine. Made with a Genuine watch as Sample... MOVEMENT: Swiss Eta 2836-2 Movt CASE DIAMETER: 43mm THICKNESS: 17.5mm DIAL COLOR: Black Dial, White Dot Markers, Blue Lume on hour markers and needles and Bezel Pearl. CASE MATERIAL: Solid 316F Stainless Steel BRACELET: SS Oyster Brushed Bracelet with New Design Divers Extension FRONT GLASS: Dome Sapphire crystal BACK GLASS: Solid case back with Titanium Seal, 2 piece case back BEZEL: Full Ceramic Bezel With sandwich numeral insert (modded to Correct "10", bezel RLACC01001, maintaining the Ultimate V's Pearl). Unidirectional rotating Bezel. HACK MOVEMENT: Yes CLASP TYPE: Flip Lock DATE INDICATOR: At 3:00 position (set via crown, beveled edge date window) OTHER REMARKS: Close 6 and 9, one-piece screw down crown with o-ring with thick crown tube (same size as genuine). M Serial numbers and model numbers between lug and rehaut. Waterproof from factory to 5 atm...50m Ordering/Shipping: I ordered this watch (along with a Panerai reviewed elsewhere) on Jan 13th through Andrew’s website. I received a confirmation email immediately. I received QC photos on Jan 15th. The watch arrived on Jan 28th but it had spent a full 5 days in the possession of customs at JFK, so taking out that delay the order-to-receipt time was 10 days which I consider to be excellent processing time from China to the US. The watches came well packaged. Each had a rubber bezel/case guard, was wrapped in thin plastic sheet, then folded up in a lot of bubble wrap and placed inside a thick Styrofoam box. The Styrofoam box was shipped in a standard cardboard box. You could drop this package off a 10 story building and the watches would be fine. First Impression: Talking the watch out, I carefully cut away the plastic film and removed the rubber bezel guard. I was amazed at how nice this watch looked in my hand. The quality of the appearance, and the fit-and-finish of this watch was way better than website photos or QC pictures could represent. This is a beautiful watch. I find myself sitting there like an idiot just staring at it. The watch is heavy and has a very solid feel to it, which I like very much. The top of the case and bracelet are brushed while the sides are polished. This contrast gives it a nice, quality appearance. The ceramic bezel is gorgeous. It is very shiny and the numbers and hash marks are crisp and clean. The case back is awesome and is one of the reasons I bought this watch. I thought that maybe the titanium alloy back would look cheesy in person, but I was wrong. It looks very cool. The band also looks very good. All of the links swivel nice and freely without having a loose feel to them. The Solid End Links (SEL) fit nicely into the case. The clasp works well and is easy to operate and adjust, but this is the first place I noticed a slight lack in quality. More on that later. Here's some photos: Further Investigation: The Crown - The first rep I purchased had a serious issue with the crown and the stem not engaging the movement correctly, so I had to send it back. So the first thing I did was to pull the crown out and test it. The crown unscrewed from the case very smoothly, and had a very solid feel. The crown pulled out nicely and had a nice tactile “click” at each position. Manually winding the watch (in the first position) is smooth with a nice resistance to it. Setting the date (with the second position) was also very nice with each day clicking by with a little snap at each change. The hands also operate very smoothly and without any slop when adjusting the time (at the third position). The Rolex Crown emblem (I think there’s another name for this, but I can’t think of it) looks good on the tip of the crown, and the grooves around the side of the crown are crisp and nicely machined. The Bezel - I then checked the operation of the bezel. It turns nicely without the very stiff resistance I’ve felt on other bezels. Not too tight, but not too loose. The clicking sound as you turn the bezel is also nice. I know it sounds strange, but I’ve turned some bezels and the clicking sounds hollow and tinny which gives an impression of cheapness. This bezel does not have that. The ceramic on the bezel is a deep polished black with a very high-gloss shine to it. I was concerned about the numbers on the bezel looking sloppy on the edges where the white meets the black, but with the naked eye, they are razor sharp. I’ve noticed that some pictures that are blown up very close will show some very slight irregularities, but this cannot be seen with the naked eye. The pearl also looks well constructed. It is perfectly centered in the triangle at the top of the bezel. It is raised with a tiny steel tube and filled with the lume. The top of the lume is rounded and polished and despite its tiny size, looks well made. The grooves around the outside of the bezel are also very nice. I will admit that this is one area I can tell the different between the rep and the gen. The gen’s grooves seem to be more precisely machined with sharper edges. However, in person they are so small that I think it would be very difficult to tell the difference without a loupe. With a high-res photo comparison, this will be one of the parts in which you can see a difference. The Case Back – Like I’ve mentioned, this is one of the things I really like about this watch. The dark titanium alloy back is held to the case with a stainless steel ring. It has a unique look that I’ve not seen on any other watch. The ring has engravings along the edge with “ROLEX OYSTER DEEPSEA – SEA-DWELLER 12800 ft = 3900m” written on it. The engraving is relatively deep and black in color. I don’t know how accurate the font is to the gen but it is crisp and spaced evenly between the edges. The grooves around the bottom edge of the ring are sharp and look well machined. The Bracelet – Like I mentioned earlier, the bracelet is brushed on the top and bottom and polished along the edges. It has nice quality feel to it. There are small screws holding the removable links vice pins, which made sizing the bracelet very easy. I was very careful in removing the pins because I didn’t know what the quality would be like. But when they were out I took a good look at them and they appeared to be solid and well made. The bracelet on the wrist is very comfortable and did not pluck the hairs off my arm like so many other watches do. The Clasp – The clasp on the DSSD is very cool. It folds down on itself and secures with an authoritative snap. Then a smaller clasp folds over the edge of that one to hold everything secure. On mine, this second clasp has a slight defect as can be seen in the photo. The top right arm of the clasp is bent slightly outward and leaves a small gap from the edge of the larger clasp. I think that I could probably wrap it in cloth and tap it lightly back in place with a hammer, but right now it doesn’t bother me very much. I also don’t want to risk damaging it so that it doesn’t work. If anyone has had experience with anything like this before, I’d appreciate your advice! This clasp has a very cool “Glidelock” feature where you pull out the top of the clasp and pull the end of the bracelet in and out for fine adjustment by 1.8mm lengths. Pushing it back down engages teeth in the clasp that holds everything steady. It works very well. It is designed for divers to quickly adjust to the thickness of a wetsuit sleeve, but it also works extremely well to fine tune the precise fit of the bracelet. The very edges of this “glidelock” clasp are not machined very precisely and have a sloppy edge to it. This would be extremely hard for anyone who is not specifically looking for it to notice. The fold out parts of the clasp is probably the one area of this rep that I think could be improved. The build quality is fine, but the printing of the Rolex emblem looks very cheap. You can judge for yourself in the photos. This concerns me very little because the only way anyone would ever see them is if I removed the watch and handed it to someone to inspect. Even then, I’m not sure it’s bad enough to immediately draw attention to it. The Crystal – The crystal looks beautiful. It is not as “domed” as I had anticipated, but it is slightly domed when looking at it from the side. Visually, the crystal sits perfectly. However, if you run your finger around the edge of the crystal (where it meets the bezel) it is not seated exactly flush. I had heard that this was common with this rep, so I was looking for it. Had I not read about it, I may have never noticed. I think that this might be able to be fixed with a case press, but that’s just a guess. Anyone else who’d like to chime in on this, please do. I may try to fix it in the future but as it is now, no one would ever notice this in a million years. Before I received this watch there was some question of whether the rep or the gen had the small “Rolex Crown” etching on the crystal. Well I’m here to clear that up. They both do. It is very, very difficult to see with the naked eye, but if you hold a powerful flashlight at the right angle, it’s there. I managed to catch it in one of the photos. It’s hard to see, but when you can see it, it looks well done. The Face – The face of this watch is gorgeous. It’s very simple which I like. I’m no expert, but everything looks nicely aligned and positioned. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the fonts, but the quality is excellent. Everything is crisp and clear. The lume has a nice blue color when freshly charged, but is not very bright. There are really three levels of brightness on the lume of this watch. The brightest is the hour markers, then the hands, then the pearl. I charged the lume with an extremely powerful aviation flashlight (185 lumens) for 30 seconds. The hour markers were adequately bright and the hands were also adequate but noticeably dimmer than the hour marker. The pearl was barely lit at all. If you wanted to mod this watch, I would say the lume is the first place to start. However for me, it’s not that much of an issue. I will probably leave it as is for some time. The lume also dims down to nothing within about 30 mins. My attempt at the lume shot (I need to get better at these!) The Fit – I have exactly a 7” wrist. I’m not sure how that fits in to the world-wide average, but I feel my wrist is average to slightly below average. The watch looks very well proportioned on the wrist to me. Unlike some of the larger watches such as U-Boat and Panerai, I would imagine that just about anyone could wear this watch without it looking too big in diameter. I will say that the watch is fairly thick and if anything, the watch sits up high off your wrist. But it’s no show stopper. You’d have to be analyzing it to notice this fact. Conclusion: I spent $408USD on this watch. Considering the gen costs more than $10,000USD I’d say I hit a gold mine! I’ve heard that Rolex watches are among the most widely (and cheaply) repped watches around. Even people with gen watches are constantly asked if their watch is real. However, this watch screams quality. I think just about anyone who wasn’t a Rolex enthusiast or AD who took a close look at this watch would have to determine it was real. The watch is absolutely beautiful. The things about it that are not accurate are so minor that they almost don’t warrant notice. I am very happy with this purchase, and very happy with my experience so far with Andrew at Trusty Time (www.yourtrustytime.com). Again, if there’s anything in my review that wasn’t clear or if you have any additional questions I can answer, don’t hesitate to ask. I hope you've all found this review informative and helpful!

The case was sold to me as a modded DW case. But I don't see how it is possible to increase the diameter of the rehaut to fit a gen plexi. The new plexi is (supposedly) gen, and it did fit the rehaut of the case exactly, so they must have had the same ID as the stock plexi. Of course, the OD was different, so I had to shave the bezel down. The previous modder had put a smidgen of glue to secure the stock crystal in place. It is possible this took care of the amount of play between the new xtal and the rehaut. See also Lhooq's post here: https://rwg.cc/topic/123233-dw-7032-work-in-progress?page=3 I read somewhere that early DW cases had different dimensions than the later ones, but I cannot find that thread now. The other thing I did was freeze the bezel before installing it, that helped expand it a tiny bit

Man that's a tragedy. You gotta wonder who would send a Comex 1680 to an RSC, except for maybe an original Comex employee.

Congratulations on reaching a grand. We appreciate your contributions to the community. Keep them coming.

April 1, 1984..... Just kidding, wearing this instead. [emoji1303]

Nice gens guys!!!! I think I'll join you but in blue (and older model and beat up ;))

After seeing one in M2M I felt obliged to wear mine today.

Thanks guys! It seems I have the old-style DW case, so the crystal fit the rehaut perfectly. I just had to trim the bezel a bit. Even though I like the cyclops, if I can find a no-cyclops domed version may try that on my other watch. Photos, before and after:

To install a gen spec plexi to a stock DW midcase and bezel you have two issues As stated rehaut is too small in diameter so can be built up with metal tape to the outside Then the plexi OD is too large for the ID of the DW bezel so you have to trim the inside circumference of the bezel to open it up When yo do this you move the numbers closer to the inside edge! Alternatively install a gen spec bezel also from WSO or other seller in NYC Many gen owners did install a non cyclop plexi which is an easier straight fit mod Orchi did a thread on TRF or VRF Good luck Sent from my iPhone using Tipitapitalk

The most beautiful and incredibly accurate vintage watches I´ve seen them on here. Immense research and detail go into building them with the looks they had when they were factory-fresh and original. And it´s a real pleasure again and again to see them. This is nothing like what the RSCs are doing. From a contrarian point-of-view, the ones who started building Frankenstein-watches (although they are not called so) were the RSCs themselves. By always restoring any watch to a "factory-fresh" and "updated" look along the years, reshaping casesets and crownguards, replacing crowns, tritium-dials and hands, worn inserts etc. by what was available 20, 30 and 50 years later - not necessarily by the original pieces. Too many original vintage watches nowadays just look like any Submariner, Seadweller or GMT from the mid-nineties. The original, unrestored and unserviced ones are really rare - or are new builds that You could only find on here:) Crownguards and crown of a 1680 Comex sub after leaving the RSC (original condition on the left) http://doubleredseadweller.com/comex_1680.htm

Congratulations on the 1000 and hats off to you for your amazing builds and fine collection you have there. Can't wait to see your next project :-)

This is so true. In fact, even owners of gen Cobras own kit Cobras. Case in point- I was at a bachelor party for a friend when we were right out of college. We went to pick up a buddy of his whose dad is the lawyer for one of the richest billionaires here in MN. He was a famous corporate raider back in the '80s. Anyway, we were picking up the buddy at his dad's house and in his garage were 3 Shelby Cobras. One was an all original and fully restored gen, and the other 2 were kit Cobras. He said his dad would never just take the real one out for a spin, so he had his mechanic build him 2 kit Cobras that he could drive whenever he wanted and not have to worry about dings or miles. He said the kits were equally as much fun to drive as the real one was. This was coming from a car collector who showed his gen Cobra and also owned other cars, as well. [emoji2] Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Ssteel from Finland or Domi from Germany if you are located within EU. Domi isn't a member here but one of the best watchmaker one can think of Sent from my wooden drums via Tupperware

I print the date window portion all back as the dial is, no outline for the window at all. When fully dried it should be tight. I then cut the opening in an 'X', from corner across to opposing corner. That makes 4 little triangles. From the back of the dial, I then use a toothpick dipped in the Micro-Set to wet each triangle, one at a time, and draw it over the bevel and out the back, folding onto the back of the dial. The vinyl decals I use have a little, tiny bit of stretch to them. Using the toothpick I pull the triangle taught on the back of the dial. Then hold it there until it sticks. The decals take the shape of the bevel nicely. Some bit of trim might be needed, and I do that with the same wetted toothpick, smoothing the corners if necessary.

That big pilot is a stunner.

Hi everyone, I just went through tapping a Silix 6538 case to accept Athaya's 8mm Brevet crown. The cases needed to be drilled first and then needed to be tapped to accept the crown. Hope some of you find this useful Tools & Parts: - Silix 5510/6538 case - Rat tail file - Table Vise - Cordless Drill (>7.8volt) - Lubricant for metal cutting - Tap Wrench - 3.5mm Cobalt Drill Bit - M4x0.35mm Tap First step is to remove the existing tube (look how tiny that Silix tube looks!). I used a rat tail file to grip the inner tube. Once you've got a good grip, simply unscrew counter-clockwise. Voila! Next, you secure the case in the table vise. Lube the hole where the tube was and use the 3.5mm Cobalt drill bit with your cordless drill. I used my 7.8v first, but wasn't as effective so I used my 20v. Had to be patient but wasn't difficult at all. Drill all the way through. Be sure to clean off any burrs. You can use that same rat tail file from earlier. Now you need to put that M4 tap onto the tap wrench. Make sure you get the 0.35mm pitch! 0.7mm are more common, but they won't work! I've purchased mine from Merlintools on Ebay for $12 per. Get a couple while you're at it. I couldn't photograph since both my hands were occupied, but once the tap bites onto the case you do a 1 turn clock-wise and then 1/2 turn counter clock-wise. By going counter clock-wise you're removing the excess steel. Athaya tubes are pretty long so I went all the way through the case. Now you should be able to hand screw that new tube in most of the way. Towards the end I used that rat tail file again to tighten all the way down. NOTE: if you have a choice, use the triangular file. Cone shaped are very difficult to remove from the tube because it bites more area on the tube. And there we go BONUS: So we know 3.5mm Cobalt and an M4x0.35mm tap is needed for the 8mm Brevet Athaya crown and tube. For Rolex Explorer 1016s to accept the 6mm gen crown and tube, you'll need to drill out the case using 0.110" or #35 first and use the M3x0.35mm tap. If you aren't up for it, jmb is your go to TC 16610 to gen tube seems to have the same diameter so drilling doesn't seem necessary. It would use the same tap as the 1016, M3x0.35mm. See here: https://www.replica-watch.info/vb/sh...ll-this-myself Hope this was useful! Good luck!