Rolex - 2 SDs and a sub..

2 SDs and a sub..

Oct 15, 2020,01:01 AM

Had coffee with a friend who has both the 14060 and the 116600. I wanted to see how they look like on the wrist esp the sub.. and how they compare to the sd43.

The 116600 is quite nice. I had misgivings about the date placement wishing it was nearer the indices but it was ok in person. Even the ratio of thickness to the case diameter is ok. Some critics I’ve read tend to overhype pointing out how the 116600 sits tall vs the 43. It’s really nothing to be concerned about.

The 14060. Love the fit. Definitely on my list, if and when. It’s his first Rolex so that’s not leaving his watch box anytime soon.

My takeaway from the comparo.. Rolex is very careful with design proportion putting aside history and all that. The 43 was designed to be a 43. Same with the 40. The maxi dial on the SD4k works to fill the dial without the feeling of sparseness. The 43 dial would have felt big with the same size indices but the cyclops helps to pull it back in. I’d argue that the cyclops might look better on the sd43 than on the sub but would reserve further judgement since I haven’t done a side by side with a 16610.

Musings on a dreary Thursday afternoon

Echi

More posts: 1166001406016610Sea DwellerSubmarinerSubmariner Date

Comments: view entire thread

The dreaded cyclops 😩

By: myles721 : October 15th, 2020-03:24

Can someone explain why the variance in SD’s cyclops / no cyclops?

I'm probably in the minority who doesn't mind when an old house takes potshots at its own design history. I don't think Rolex put out anything official re cyclops on the SD. They just put it on the damn thing :-) (nt)

By: Echi : October 15th, 2020-05:09

As per Rolex, at the time the SD debuted, they didn’t have the technology to secure the cyclops for the 4000ft rating, it used to just pop off during the pressure tests, but today they found a way to secure it to the crystal,(guess better glue)... [nt]

By: ZSHSZ : October 15th, 2020-05:21

I read some story where divers noticed that the cyclops would pop out of their subs in certain depths..

By: Echi : October 15th, 2020-05:33

But I haven't read anywhere that that's the reason why Rolex decided to put it on the SD43. I can only guess it's more to do with aesthetics to correct a potential design flaw brought about by the use of the shared movement with the much smaller submarine...

I checked their website to have a look at the deepsea.. the probable reason why the date placement is not prominently off given the bigger size is probably due to that addition of an inner ring (ring lock system) in the dial..

By: Echi : October 15th, 2020-05:42

Take that out and the date window would be really far from the shore as it were. It's all conjecture on my part but design balance-wise, it makes a bit of sense.