This Sea-Dweller ref.1665 wasn’t owned by Steve McQueen and neither did James Bond wear it during one of his missions. According to the seller of this 180,000 USD Sea-Dweller from 1967,?Ǭ† it is:

“The first version of the Double Red Sea Dweller was produced in 1967. It is said that approximately 50 to 100 early versions were sent to dealers for promotional use. The existence of the Double Red Sea Dweller starts with the helium valve, it had been developed and the patent had been applied, but Rolex had not yet received final approval. Therefore, these watches were engraved on the case back with the words Patent Pending.”

This watch comes without box and papers, which makes me wonder what the price would be if these were still with the watch. Now, I can really understand why there is so much love for a vintage Rolex Double Red Sea-Dweller and even can see why people are willing to spend more than a car on one, but 180K seems a bit over the top to me. However, the seller needs only one guy who wants a Double Red without box, papers, a lacking tritium pearl in the lunette and with nicely round polished lugs at any given price. The good thing is that it comes with a one year warranty and FREE shipping.

Click here to see the listing on eBay. Picture courtesy of the seller and thanks to Jiff from the Dutch Rolex Forum for notifying 🙂