Reference:1665: Difference between revisions

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===Single Red Sea-Dweller (1967–c. 1969)===

[[File:Ref 1665 single-red.webp|thumb|right|320px|alt=Single Red Sea-Dweller (SRSD) — the rarest 1665 dial generation, fewer than a dozen confirmed surviving examples. Image via Phillips / Monochrome.|Single Red Sea-Dweller (SRSD) — the rarest 1665 dial generation, fewer than a dozen confirmed surviving examples. Image via Phillips / Monochrome.]]

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===Double Red Sea-Dweller, Mk I (Patent Pending)===

[[File:Ref 1665 patent-pending-caseback.webp|thumb|right|320px|alt=Patent Pending caseback — hand-engraved "OYSTER GAS ESCAPE VALVE / PATENT PENDING" in parentheses-style layout. Image via Monochrome.|Patent Pending caseback — hand-engraved "OYSTER GAS ESCAPE VALVE / PATENT PENDING" in parentheses-style layout. Image via Monochrome.]]

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===Great White, Mk 0 "Big White"===

[[File:Ref 1665 great-white.webp|thumb|right|320px|alt=Great White 1665 — single line of white print, depth rating on the second line, Mk 0 through Mk 4 typography evolution. Image via Monochrome.|Great White 1665 — single line of white print, depth rating on the second line, Mk 0 through Mk 4 typography evolution. Image via Monochrome.]]

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The fake-detection record matters here. The Christie's HK 2024 lot 2316 is the most-cited recent example of how the Patent Pending market draws fakes: Perezcope's October 2024 forensic post identified the watch as a previously-known Mk II that had been re-sold in 2013 with later parts and was now being re-presented as a Mk I Patent Pending. The inside-caseback last-three-digits stamp was absent — the canonical anti-fake check that Marcello Pisani's batch-mapping work makes possible.

~~==Where the 2026 market sits==~~

Standard Great White and late DRSD examples sit in a USD 35,000 to 80,000 band, with clean Mk II "chocolate" and Mk 2 "Rail Dial" Great Whites moving above USD 100,000. Patent Pending Mk I DRSDs trade in a USD 80,000 to 200,000 band depending on caseback engraving condition and dial colour. COMEX 1665 examples with documented provenance and full kit reach the mid- to high-six-figure range. Sultanate-of-Oman Khanjar lots set the modern ceiling — Phillips Geneva XIX in May 2024 hammered USD 644,430 on a Qaboos-crested example. Single Red Sea-Dwellers (twelve confirmed surviving examples) are effectively private-market only; the last public sale, Phillips GWA8 in November 2018, took the Robert Palmer Bradley example to CHF 708,500. Across 2024 and 2025 the 1665 market has tracked the broader vintage-Rolex correction without losing the headline lots — provenance carries, generic Mk IVs soften.

~~==What to check when buying one==~~

* '''Inside-caseback last-three-digits stamp.''' Present from the 2.117M batch onward on Patent Pending and later production. Absent on the early 1.7M Mk I and on Gold Khanjar examples. A claimed Patent Pending without the stamp on a serial that should carry one is the Christie's HK 2024 forensic pattern Perezcope used to expose a known fake.

* '''Cal 1575 movement matching to the period.''' Pre-1971 examples can carry cal 1570 transitionals (Koblick's #1602915 is one). Post-1971 production is cal 1575 universally. Confirm jewel count (25), absence of quickset, and the rotor-on-two-jewels architecture before any "service" history.

* '''Dial supplier consistency.''' Beyeler dials (DRSD Mk1, Mk3, Great White Mk0, Mk5 service replacements) and Stern dials (DRSD Mk2 chocolate, Great White Mk2 Rail Dial) and Lemrich dials (Great White Mk4) all leave reverse-side markers. Same-face print but wrong-back paint is the canonical service-replacement tell.

* '''"T SWISS T < 25" at six.''' A 1665 with Luminova or Super-LumiNova at the depth-rating chapter ring is a service swap. Every factory 1665 dial carries the tritium notation per the post-1971 Bern Convention spec.

* '''Caseback engraving generation matches the case serial band.''' The four caseback configurations (Patent Pending hand-cut, "ROLEX PATENT / OYSTER GAS ESCAPE VALVE" machine-engraved, post-1970 patent-number variations, late Great White refined typography) each map to a serial range. A mismatch is either a re-case or a frankenwatch.

* '''Crystal part 25-39 "Super Dome" Tropic 19.''' Late production transitions but the original Tropic 19 dome is part of the 1665 silhouette. A flat crystal on a 1665 is wrong.

* '''Bezel insert matched to the dial generation.''' Mk1 "Kissing 40" reads earliest, Mk2 "Long 5" follows, Mk3 is mid-to-late, the "Fat Font" graduated insert pairs with the Great White Mk 4. Submariner 5512 / 5513 / 1680 inserts cross-fit and routinely turn up on 1665 cases.

* '''Bracelet and clasp.''' 9315 with 380 end-links is earliest period correct, transitioning to 93150 with 580 end-links. 78360 from approximately 1976–77 onward. The clasp's two-letter date code dates the bracelet, not the watch head.

* '''COMEX caseback engraving depth and font.''' Genuine COMEX casebacks carry deep, square-edged engraving of the issue number on the exterior. Aftermarket COMEX-style engravings tend to be shallower with rounder edges.

==Sources==

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* [https://rolexpassionreport.com/23018/the-prototype-single-red-rolex-sea-dweller-of-ian-koblick/ Rolex Passion Report editorial, "Rolex Passion Report — The Prototype Single Red Rolex Sea-Dweller of Ian Koblick", Rolex Passion Report]

* [https://loupethis.com/auctions/rolex-comex-sea-dweller-1665 Loupe This editorial, "Loupe This — Rolex COMEX Sea-Dweller 1665 Issue 2168", Loupe This]

[[Category:Sea-Dweller]]

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 ===Single Red Sea-Dweller (1967–c. 1969)===
 [[File:Ref 1665 single-red.webp|thumb|right|320px|alt=Single Red Sea-Dweller (SRSD) — the rarest 1665 dial generation, fewer than a dozen confirmed surviving examples. Image via Phillips / Monochrome.|Single Red Sea-Dweller (SRSD) — the rarest 1665 dial generation, fewer than a dozen confirmed surviving examples. Image via Phillips / Monochrome.]]
@@ Line 131: / Line 130: @@
 ===Double Red Sea-Dweller, Mk I (Patent Pending)===
 [[File:Ref 1665 patent-pending-caseback.webp|thumb|right|320px|alt=Patent Pending caseback — hand-engraved "OYSTER GAS ESCAPE VALVE / PATENT PENDING" in parentheses-style layout. Image via Monochrome.|Patent Pending caseback — hand-engraved "OYSTER GAS ESCAPE VALVE / PATENT PENDING" in parentheses-style layout. Image via Monochrome.]]
@@ Line 170: / Line 168: @@
 ===Great White, Mk 0 "Big White"===
 [[File:Ref 1665 great-white.webp|thumb|right|320px|alt=Great White 1665 — single line of white print, depth rating on the second line, Mk 0 through Mk 4 typography evolution. Image via Monochrome.|Great White 1665 — single line of white print, depth rating on the second line, Mk 0 through Mk 4 typography evolution. Image via Monochrome.]]
@@ Line 332: / Line 329: @@
 The fake-detection record matters here. The Christie's HK 2024 lot 2316 is the most-cited recent example of how the Patent Pending market draws fakes: Perezcope's October 2024 forensic post identified the watch as a previously-known Mk II that had been re-sold in 2013 with later parts and was now being re-presented as a Mk I Patent Pending. The inside-caseback last-three-digits stamp was absent — the canonical anti-fake check that Marcello Pisani's batch-mapping work makes possible.
-==Where the 2026 market sits==
-Standard Great White and late DRSD examples sit in a USD 35,000 to 80,000 band, with clean Mk II "chocolate" and Mk 2 "Rail Dial" Great Whites moving above USD 100,000. Patent Pending Mk I DRSDs trade in a USD 80,000 to 200,000 band depending on caseback engraving condition and dial colour. COMEX 1665 examples with documented provenance and full kit reach the mid- to high-six-figure range. Sultanate-of-Oman Khanjar lots set the modern ceiling — Phillips Geneva XIX in May 2024 hammered USD 644,430 on a Qaboos-crested example. Single Red Sea-Dwellers (twelve confirmed surviving examples) are effectively private-market only; the last public sale, Phillips GWA8 in November 2018, took the Robert Palmer Bradley example to CHF 708,500. Across 2024 and 2025 the 1665 market has tracked the broader vintage-Rolex correction without losing the headline lots — provenance carries, generic Mk IVs soften.
-==What to check when buying one==
-* '''Inside-caseback last-three-digits stamp.''' Present from the 2.117M batch onward on Patent Pending and later production. Absent on the early 1.7M Mk I and on Gold Khanjar examples. A claimed Patent Pending without the stamp on a serial that should carry one is the Christie's HK 2024 forensic pattern Perezcope used to expose a known fake.
-* '''Cal 1575 movement matching to the period.''' Pre-1971 examples can carry cal 1570 transitionals (Koblick's #1602915 is one). Post-1971 production is cal 1575 universally. Confirm jewel count (25), absence of quickset, and the rotor-on-two-jewels architecture before any "service" history.
-* '''Dial supplier consistency.''' Beyeler dials (DRSD Mk1, Mk3, Great White Mk0, Mk5 service replacements) and Stern dials (DRSD Mk2 chocolate, Great White Mk2 Rail Dial) and Lemrich dials (Great White Mk4) all leave reverse-side markers. Same-face print but wrong-back paint is the canonical service-replacement tell.
-* '''"T SWISS T < 25" at six.''' A 1665 with Luminova or Super-LumiNova at the depth-rating chapter ring is a service swap. Every factory 1665 dial carries the tritium notation per the post-1971 Bern Convention spec.
-* '''Caseback engraving generation matches the case serial band.''' The four caseback configurations (Patent Pending hand-cut, "ROLEX PATENT / OYSTER GAS ESCAPE VALVE" machine-engraved, post-1970 patent-number variations, late Great White refined typography) each map to a serial range. A mismatch is either a re-case or a frankenwatch.
-* '''Crystal part 25-39 "Super Dome" Tropic 19.''' Late production transitions but the original Tropic 19 dome is part of the 1665 silhouette. A flat crystal on a 1665 is wrong.
-* '''Bezel insert matched to the dial generation.''' Mk1 "Kissing 40" reads earliest, Mk2 "Long 5" follows, Mk3 is mid-to-late, the "Fat Font" graduated insert pairs with the Great White Mk 4. Submariner 5512 / 5513 / 1680 inserts cross-fit and routinely turn up on 1665 cases.
-* '''Bracelet and clasp.''' 9315 with 380 end-links is earliest period correct, transitioning to 93150 with 580 end-links. 78360 from approximately 1976–77 onward. The clasp's two-letter date code dates the bracelet, not the watch head.
-* '''COMEX caseback engraving depth and font.''' Genuine COMEX casebacks carry deep, square-edged engraving of the issue number on the exterior. Aftermarket COMEX-style engravings tend to be shallower with rounder edges.
 ==Sources==
@@ Line 383: / Line 364: @@
 * [https://rolexpassionreport.com/23018/the-prototype-single-red-rolex-sea-dweller-of-ian-koblick/ Rolex Passion Report editorial, "Rolex Passion Report — The Prototype Single Red Rolex Sea-Dweller of Ian Koblick", Rolex Passion Report]
 * [https://loupethis.com/auctions/rolex-comex-sea-dweller-1665 Loupe This editorial, "Loupe This — Rolex COMEX Sea-Dweller 1665 Issue 2168", Loupe This]
 [[Category:Sea-Dweller]]