Television presenter Richard Hammond spotted wearing a Rolex

Filming against a backdrop of Alpine peaks for Amazon's 'The Grand Tour', Richard Hammond was photographed wearing what appears to be the Rolex Sea-Dweller reference 126600 — a watch that, like Hammond himself, occupies a distinctive space between accessible and seriously capable. The setting, a sweeping mountain airfield in Switzerland, offered an appropriately dramatic stage for one of Rolex's most technically purposeful sport watches.

Introduced in 2017 to celebrate the Sea-Dweller's 50th anniversary, the ref. 126600 represented a significant generational leap. Rolex enlarged the case from 40mm to 43mm, introduced a black Cerachrom ceramic unidirectional bezel, and — controversially for purists — added the Cyclops date magnifier that the Sea-Dweller had pointedly omitted since 1967. The dial retains the clean, lume-heavy layout of professional dive watches: applied rectangular hour markers, Mercedes hands, and the distinctive red 'Sea-Dweller' text at six o'clock. Powering it is the calibre 3235, Rolex's in-house movement featuring the Chronergy escapement, 70-hour power reserve, and COSC-certified accuracy to ±2 seconds per day.

The 126600 carries genuine tool-watch credentials. Water resistance to 1,220 metres is achieved via a Triplock winding crown and reinforced case architecture. The helium escape valve — a Sea-Dweller signature since its saturation-diving origins — sits at nine o'clock. On the Oyster bracelet with Glidelock extension, it wears larger than a Submariner but never tips into the ostentatious territory of the 44mm Deepsea. Collectors regard it as the sweet spot of the dive watch line.

Richard Hammond's choice makes contextual sense. A presenter whose career narrative is built around mechanical objects pushed to their limits, Hammond gravitates toward watches with genuine provenance rather than pure status signalling. The Sea-Dweller is not the flashiest Rolex in the catalogue, but it is arguably the most coherently engineered sport reference the brand produces at this size.

In the current market, the ref. 126600 trades at a premium above retail on the secondary market, though it remains more accessible than the Daytona or certain Submariner variants. Retail is set at approximately $13,150 USD, while grey-market values have settled in the $14,500–$16,000 range depending on condition and papers — a relatively modest premium that reflects steady rather than speculative demand.