Triple Six · Reference 16660 · Gloss Dial Variant
Gloss Dial
16660 Sea-Dweller
Overview
Gloss Dial 16660 Sea-Dweller
Around the 8.5 million serial mark — more or less — Rolex changed the dial on the 16660 from Matt to Gloss. The result was a noticeably different character: brighter, more formal, and carrying a number of typographic changes that distinguish it cleanly from the Matt Dial predecessors.
Reference
16660
Dial Type
Gloss (high-gloss lacquer finish)
Transition Point
~8.5 million serial
Marker Material
Tritium, now surrounded by white gold
Generations
Two — Gen 1 (crazed) and Gen 2 (corrected)
Transition to 16600
Gen 2 ran into early “L” serial numbers, at which point the 16660 became the 16600
Ref 16660
From ~8.5M
Markers Tritium + White Gold
2 Generations
First Generation Gloss Dial
The markers, although still Tritium, were now surrounded by white gold and the dial was given a high-gloss finish. Several typographic changes accompanied the new dial surface:
- The hyphen was removed between the words “Sea” and “Dweller” — later to return on the second generation.
- Upon close inspection, the font used had a serif, unlike the sans-serif of the Matt Dial.
- The “F” in the depth rating was much longer than in previous dials.
- The Crown was much shorter than on the Matt Dial variants.
Gen 1 Gloss Dial — Dial Detail
The Crazing Problem
The first version of these dials had manufacturing issues. After a short time the dials began to develop surface cracks, known as “Crazing” or “Spidering.”
Crazing — Known Causes
Crazing can occur for a number of reasons: if the surface was not prepared properly; if the top coat of paint was encouraged to dry too quickly; if the base coat was not allowed to dry completely; etc.
Gen 1 Gloss Dial — Crazing / Spidering
Photos — Clayton Liotta
Whatever the reason, Rolex — who to this day will not openly admit to any error — quickly remedied the problem with a new set of Gloss Dials. At the time, were you to bring your “crazed” dial Sea-Dweller into Rolex, they would have swapped it out for a new “crazing-free” version at no cost.
Collector Note
A limited number of these crazed dials remain in circulation today. The debate still goes on as to whether these dials are beautiful and collectable, or just garbage — you be the judge.
Second Generation Gloss Dial
The second generation Gloss Dials solved the crazing problem and introduced further changes, bringing the typography closer in line with the Matt Dial Mark 2:
- The hyphen between “Sea” and “Dweller” returned.
- The font was changed and was now much closer to that of the Mark 2 Matt Dial.
- The Crown grew a bit taller compared to the Gen 1 Gloss Dial.
Gen 2 Gloss Dial — Corrected Version
Photos — Clayton Liotta
This series of dial ran into the very early “L” series serial numbers, at which time the 16660 became the 16600.
Patina Note
These second generation Gloss Dials have had a tendency to turn from Glossy to Matt over the years — and are actually quite striking today.
Generation 1 vs. Generation 2 — At a Glance
Generation 1
Generation 2
No hyphen between “Sea” and “Dweller”
Hyphen restored between “Sea-Dweller”
Serif font on dial text
Font closer to Matt Dial Mk2
Very short Crown
Taller Crown
Longer “F” in depth rating
Revised depth rating typography
Prone to crazing / spidering
Crazing problem corrected
Swap offered free by Rolex at the time
Ran into early “L” serials → became 16600