Tried the SDDS today at a local AD

[Subexplorer]

Hi! Just wanted to share my experience of today at a local AD:

I took advantage of this sunny Sunday here in Baires, to pay a little visit to a local AD at a mall, which I know is open on Sundays too.
My main objective was to see if any Submariner no date (14060m) was available, specially a non COSC (inscription free dial!) version.

Not many customers at the AD, and I saw that the lady automatically gave a quick look at my wrist when I entered the shop.
She smiled and gave a warm welcome to me, may be due to my wearing of a shiny SS white dial Daytona.
I got the experience that what you wear on your wrist is a bit important to watch store attendants. Just a personal impression.

I asked about the Sub no date, and the lady told me no one was in stock, and fairly difficult to get them, as Rolex was not importing them, and she guessed that it was no longer in production (which of course I know, it´s not the case, and also know that Rolex Argentina has several in stock, but of the COSC variant)

Anyway, the lady was very nice, and invited me to take a seat, and showed me a Sub date, and then she told me that as it was evident I was a Rolex enthusiast, judging for my Daytona, she was going to show me the latest Divers watch from Rolex. She also asked me if I knew the new SDDS model.
I answered that only by pictures and magazine and Internet reports, but never "in person".

Well, there it was: a shining brand new SDDS, in my hands, which the lady graciously invited me to try in my wrist, in place of my Cosmograph.
This I did very pleased.
After some trying, close observation and chatting with this nice lady, I left the store with the promise of thinking a little more about its purchase, and also telling her that the new Rolex watch was very nice indeed.

Now, I must confess that this watch produced some mixed emotions on me:
(of course, what follows is a very personal point of view)

First feeling: this is not a watch I personally would like to use daily.
I find it very heavy, and big.
I mean, the problem is not its diameter, but its height. I feel I would keep banging it everywhere. My God! it really stands out of my wrist!

I also guess I wouldn´t use it for scuba diving either, being the standard Sub
(date or no date) a more reasonable size in my opinion.
Depth rating of regular Submariners, being more than adecuate for a sport diver, and also for a saturation diver pro.

Before any of the nice forum members who also happen to be owners of a SDDS start throwing me some heavy objects, I wish to tell the other second feeling:

I liked this watch very much!.
It´s a superb piece of machinery, shows the great workmanship, finish and detail that we can expect from a Rolex product.
I was greatly impressed with it, and got very enthusiastic with the perspective of buying it in a near future.
I love well made machinery, and this watch is beautifully made indeed.

I would buy it just for the pleasure of owning it, fondling it, taking looks of its high quality in all angles. Isn´t that the name of the game anyway?

May be it won´t be my daily use watch, and it´s also possible that I´d be actually using it in very few occasions, just for the pleasure of it, having other more "logical" watches in my collection.

It surely kept "clicking" in my mind all the afternoon, after my visit to this AD, and I think that this will be my future purchase during the second half of this year, and inspired me to write these lines to share my thought with all my nice fellow members at TRF.
Kind regards, Abel

[Whiskey]

I saw your post and thought I'd chime in.

Funny enough, I saw/tried the SDDS for the very first time yesterday.

It is very big, and heavy.

How did it fit on your wrists? Do you have large wrists?

I couldn't really try the watch on as the bracelet was too big. I'd have to have at least one link taken off and maybe, the diver-extension also.

Do you have big wrists or did the AD remove a link before you tried it on?

Please explain.

[Subexplorer]

Hi Whiskey!!
Thanks for reading my long post, and your comments.
Nice coincidence indeed you just tired a similar watch yesterday!

Regarding my wrists, I don´t know how to classify mine. Just normal I guess, but I include two pictures, wearing a Date Sub and a Panny Pam 111, which I like very much,
but I think is very big, and the biggest I would like to use.
You can have an idea of my wrist size by the pictures, I hope.





Now, regarding the "try": as friendly and nice the lady attendant was, I wouldn´t dare ask her to remove all the tags brand new Rolex come with, much less asking to remove any link. I thought it would be reasonable for her to refuse such a thing, unless I comitted to buy it on the spot.
Anyway, I put the watch on my left wrist (after removing my Daytona of course) and took the bracelet with my other hand closing the links the best as possible, because the clasp wouldn´t close well with the tags on. This gave me a pretty good idea of how the watch would look strapped on my wrist, also having experience of many years wearing different Rolex models.

May be this type of trial would´nt satisfy you, but it worked for me to have an idea.

I´d like to know your own thoughts on this very fine, exceptional, but obviously Big watch.

Thanks again, and kind regards, Abel

[Whiskey]

As I own an SD4000, I was wearing it yesterday when I went over to the AD to check the SDDS out.

This was good so that I could make a good comparison between the two "brother" watches.

I noticed that the bracelet on the SDDS tapers towards the clasp. By taper, I mean the bracelet links get narrower/skinny. As such, the over-all width of the bracelet links is smaller than the SD4000. My only concern with this is over time, will the top-heaviness of the SDDS watch-case cause more stress on the smaller bracelet, thus causing premature bracelet-stretch? As you know, the SDDS has the glide-lock clasp which would make the bracelet very expensive to replace. I'm not keen on having to replace the bracelet or spring-bars in 10 years because of bracelet-stress.

Other than this, I thought the watch looks great! I liked the heavy-weight of the watch, and the domed crystal is an improvement on my SD4000 as it is not prone to chipping as on the SD4000, the crystal is raised above the bezel.

The ceramic-bezel also looks great. It's nice and shiney and the numbers being carved into the bezel, is a nice touch also.

The glidelock-clasp will make for easy adjustments on the bracelet and the folding blades are stronger than the old ones on the SD4000 and Sub. I believe that the folding blades and clasp (aside from the glidelock) was borrowed from the Daytona models. The only downside of the clasp is that it is smooth, so it will be prone to scratches and they'll be more noticable than on the old clasp-style of the SD or Subs.

The rotating bezel is extremely smooth as you yourself could tell between it and your Sub. I only hope that the ball-bearings used in the bezel-mechnism can endure rough usage. There's already a TRF member here who posted that the uni-directional bezel on his SDDS can now move both ways!!!! He had to submit it to Rolex and they will have to fix it. I hope this is only a quality control issue with the watch and is not a foresight or developmental issue with the mechnism. That would be very bad.

I am in the market for the SDDS and would like to get one.

[Subexplorer]

Whiskey: Thanks for your comments.

Let me add to my previous posting, what I forgot to say, about that just the Glidelock clasp alone is a marvelous piece of engineering, and a wonderful example of the making of a rather complex and utilitarian piece, which is only a part of a wristwatch. This alone would make me enthusiastic about the purchase of this watch.

Regarding your preventions about the strength of those links, I must confess that I didn´t pay due attention to this most important detail you have observed.
Anyway, I feel that everything in this big watch is over dimensioned, and super tough, and that it wont be a problem for the bracelet to stand the stress of normal use.

Oyster bracelets are prone to some strech over the years, as my experience tells me after more than 40 years of using this brand. Anyway, nothing that can´t be fixed at a reasonable cost if necessary at all. Hope its the same with the new SDDS.

I completely agree with your findings during your trial. I liked very much the looks of its crystal and its smooth blending with the bezel, as well as the ceramic bezel itself. Both are a nice design details indeed!

I have already read the report of the TRF member, regarding his problem with the bezel. I hope he could have this fixed, and just an accident, and not a design problem. As a matter of fact, problems usually arise in new models, and are fixed in following production series, as the makers "debug" the model with users experiences and claims. That´s the price we pay with our desire for being among the "first kid in the block" in having some novel things, being it cars or watches, or just anything brand new in design.

I could also compare the SDDS with the brand new Sub date that the lady offered me in lieu of the non date I was looking for.
I was really impressed with the size of the new model, side by side with the traditional Sub, with which I´m well aquainted, as I own Subs since 1966, and a Sub is my most used (favorite) watch (you´ve seen it in my previous picture).

All in all, I am too very exited about the idea of buying this watch, but not inmediately, as my budget is needed for other things by the moment, having bought two Rolex in the last 4 month, a Daytona and an Explorer. And both are keepers! I´m very happy with them.

Hope you find your SDDS very soon, and enjoy your new watch very much and in good health.
Regards, Abel

[yannis]

Thanks for sharing with us Abel!! I really like the DSSD but it is too big for my wrists....not its width but the height.....i guess i could get used to it!

[benjaminchia]

This was exactly how i ended up getting my 116660... i have always read about it until one day i walked in local ADs and this same exact mixed feeling started to take place.Next thing I knew was I started to lose sleep over it. One day afternoon after a meeting I just went straight to the AD and took it with me, like I was possessed by some evil spirit.

I must admit I am feeling very guilty for my 16610... But 116660 is so much more superior in everyway.

[Subexplorer]

Yannis777: Thanks for your comments. I agee: it´s the height what makes this watch look enormous. Reagrding its width, it looks more or less like my Panny on my wrist.

Benjaminchia:
I guess it will happen to me, same like you. I´ve been considering its purchase all Sunday afternoon, and re reading all TRF members reports on the SDDS!
May be one of those days I´ll take the plunge!
Thanks for sharing!
Kind regards, Abel

[BZA]

Hey guys, good luck with getting your DSSDs - you won't look back once you have one!

Don't worry about the size/ thickness, a few days with it on and suddenly it's the norm - in fact you may find yourself re-evaluating certain parts of your collection - I did!

[coddger]

At 222 grams, the SDDS is thick and heavy...But I'd like to quote Abel and also say, "I was greatly impressed with it, and got very enthusiastic with the perspective of buying it in a near future.I love well made machinery, and this watch is beautifully made indeed."

[dotcomakazee]

The domed sapphire crystal, the cerachrome bezel, and the upgraded Glide-lock bracelet make this watch one of a kind for me.

[Subexplorer]

BZA, Coddger and Dotcomakaze:
Thanks for your comments!!
Regards, Abel