vandal.tbh Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) 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! Edited January 29, 2012 by vandal.tbh 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovecraft Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 It's pristine imo! It looks really great! I've done business with Andrew as well, and I couldn't be happier with my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandal.tbh Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Oh, something I forgot to add. I ordered this watch with the optional Swiss ETA 2836-2 movement vice the Asian clone 3135. I did this based on a few recommendations. It runs at the standard 28,800 BPH and works wonderfully so far. I'm sure that the 3135 clone would have worked great as well, but I went with the ETA based on what others said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adeodatus Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 THE best DSSD review here. Thank you, vandal. I'm far from being a Rolex aficionado and can't believe I'm saying it, but I really want a Rollie. DSSD is definitely on my list now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougar1 Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Great review and excellent photography Vandal, enjoy the watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Super review and beautiful watch, congrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikellem Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Great review, thanks for taking the time! MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utheman Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Awesome review! Nice covering of all the bases. Quality photos. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 It's good to see some fresh enthusiasm about this model. Great job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valerian Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Great work! The pics are outstanding! Val. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamcky2k Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 ive been umming and arring about getting one of these for a good few months now...this new review of yours has'nt helped me to stop wanting one! arghhh! im hardly a rolex fan but like you say theres something about these deepseas that makes me want one... well done on a great write up with cool pics vandal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Fantastic review, and beautiful photography, thanks for taking the time to put it together for us Reading this almost makes me forget everything I dislike about the DSSD and want to get one, but having tried on a gen, I know that it is simply not the watch for me But different strokes for different folks, and I'm glad you're so pleased with yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanView Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Nice write up and excellent photos! Yes the DSSD is a really nice watch. I wear mine often and really enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmtlover Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thnx for the review. Welcome fellow DSSD owner ;-) You can press in the crystal if you like. I have a BK DSSD and he has done that on this version, then it aligns nicely with the bezel insert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandal.tbh Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thnx for the review. Welcome fellow DSSD owner ;-) You can press in the crystal if you like. I have a BK DSSD and he has done that on this version, then it aligns nicely with the bezel insert. Sweet, that's what I thought. I was going to buy a bezel/case press and give it a try. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaifender Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 This is awesome! Great shots. A comparison to the previous model before it might have caught me a bit more up to date.. but I can't complain.. that was an excellent post. One thing... Are you sure the caseback is Titanium.. The first 6 versions of this watch never had a titanium back like the gen.. simply painted grey to look like titanium.. can you or anyone else, chime in and let me know if the version you have has a titanium back? cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 fantastic review. one suggestion re: the watch sitting high on the wrist -- try putting the DSSD on a nato -- i've found it helps secure the watch and feel a lot less top heavy. thanks again for a great review deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillincontrol Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Deltatahoe were did you buy yours. thanks,LZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandal.tbh Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 This is awesome! Great shots. A comparison to the previous model before it might have caught me a bit more up to date.. but I can't complain.. that was an excellent post. One thing... Are you sure the caseback is Titanium.. The first 6 versions of this watch never had a titanium back like the gen.. simply painted grey to look like titanium.. can you or anyone else, chime in and let me know if the version you have has a titanium back? cheers! Well, I am just going by what the listing on the website said, but it looks like titanium to me. If its painted, I would be shocked. I was thinking about taking the back off to look at the movement so maybe I'll be able to tell if I do that. I'll let you know.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpc_1989 Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Excellent review mate! And some very arty pictures. Shame about the clasp letting it down a little but this is a lovely watch. What's next on your list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandal.tbh Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Excellent review mate! And some very arty pictures. Shame about the clasp letting it down a little but this is a lovely watch. What's next on your list? Thanks! I've actually got a 42mm PO that is on it's way back to Andrew for a crown/stem issue out of the box. I'm looking forward to reviewing that when it gets back. The next purchase (probably after the PO gets back) is going to be the Tag Aquaracer 500M. I love the looks of it and almost bought the gen a few months back. It's very well reviewed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddalondon Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Now that's a review!! Thanks Vandal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyE Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Hello! No! You did not find a goldmine. You found a criminal network. If you can not afford a REAL ORIGINAL ROLEX, buy a TIMEX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeSentier Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Hello! No! You did not find a goldmine. You found a criminal network. If you can not afford a REAL ORIGINAL ROLEX, buy a TIMEX. What's the exact name of the weed you smoked? Take a little less, that could help... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Hello! If you can not afford a REAL ORIGINAL ROLEX, buy a TIMEX. Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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