No, I don't own all the divers above- from this picture, the ones that I have owned or still own, were Tudor Pelagos, Rolex Submariner Hulk, and Rolex Sea-Dweller Ceramic.
(NB : My Pelagos referred to the 1st generation i.e. 2-liner black dial, in which an ETA 2824-2 movement was utilised.)
Having owned a no. of diver watches from various brands utilising Swiss or Japan mechanicals, I could easily pick the ones that was truly a pleasure to own in my collection. One watch that really stood out and was up there in my diver throne, was the Tudor Pelagos.
The price was reasonable at MRSP : RM15k; it came with an innovative spring-loaded titanium buckle matched with a comfortable bracelet AND a rubber strap (no need to pay extra for Rubber B); and the bezel had a unique stopper at 12 o'clock such that if you were to push the bezel for a full round, you could sense the pressure change at that spot and therefore stop right at 12 o'clock, even with a blindfold on. I have amazed many onlookers with this neat trick- not many people including the owners, knew of this feature in the Pelagos.
I flipped the Pelagos last year at RM10k, and was to top-up the proceeds for a 2nd generation Pelagos, in blue no less. However, when I tried on the blue Pelagos (MRSP : RM16k) at the AD, I found the dial too cluttered with the 5-lines; a common complaint amongst its collectors. I decided that it would be a bit of chore staring at such a cluttered dial and moved on.
The reigning throne was thereafter taken by the Rolex Submariner Classic black dial (MRSP : RM30k), which was a nice diver watch that could be worn anywhere. However, I can't helped but noticed that in every function or meeting that I attended, there were sure to be a couple of others spotting the Submariner (in various guises- date or non-date, ceramic or non-ceramic). It was a very common watch with every Tom, Dick and Harry sporting the same watch.
Lo and behold, a reader offered a trade for my Submariner Classic with his Submariner Hulk (MRSP : RM33k). I pretty fancied the Hulk for my initial purchase if not for the higher premium and waiting list in KL. So I flipped the Submariner and the Hulk became my daily wear. I especially liked the green sun-burst dial; and it helped that green was a favourite colour of mine and there were less people sporting the Hulk in my business circles. Note that I mentioned "less", as every now and then, I found myself shaking hands with yet another wearer whom had a Hulk on his wrist.
The Submariner was pretty much a great go-to watch; in that you could pair it with a tuxedo, casual wear, or t-shirt and jeans; and it would still looked at ease. I viewed the Hulk as pretty much a keeper in that I won't be flipping it off; but at the same time, I was hankering for a black-dial Rolex sports watch that would looked more formal.
A chance to acquire the Explorer II (MRSP : RM31k) came about and I pulled the trigger. However, the novelty soon wore off and I realised that I still preferred a uni-directional rotational bezel, which was useful for many a daily chore. I may be flipping off this Explorer 2 in due course.
I thought back about the diver watches that I had and realised that my fave ones were the Pelagos 2-liner and the Submariner Ceramic Date. I liked the Pelagos' symmetrical dial minus the cyclops on the Submariner Date; but I preferred the heft of the Submariner Date to the light titanium feel of the Pelagos. At the same time, I liked the raised sapphire crystal that I had with my (flipped) Tudor Black Bay Burgundy. I also liked the Mil-Sub's matte dial, graduated bezel and vintage thinner lugs (the lugs on the Submariner's maxi-case looked as though they were on steroids, yet the bracelet remained at 20mm instead of 22mm, which could be a better match to the widen lugs).
I suddenly realised that there was ONE watch that would satisfy all my above preferences. I figured that I could flipped off most of my watches (sans the Hulk) to raise monies towards this piece, and I would be happy with this watch as a daily go-to wear. I was of course, referring to my latest acquisition in the...
Rolex Sea-Dweller Ceramic.
The Sea-Dweller was the bigger brother of Submariner, and its higher MRSP : RM40k ensured that most customers turned to the better-priced Submariner to scratch their Rolex diver itch. Therefore, this watch was rather rare in the wild and I dare said that I have not spotted a Sea-Dweller Ceramic on my associates' wrists thus far.
I know that this could well be my watch for life; and after acquiring this beautiful piece in all it's glory, I am now a happy man indeed.
Hi Datuk, that is a very nice piece and wear it in good health. You always seemed to get the best watches at even better prices. I am in the queue for the SD4k at Rolex AD since 2015, you must have queued up even earlier than me. Can you share if you received any discount on the SD4k?
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