Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Rolex · Sea-Dweller
Rolex Sea-Dweller 40 mm Meteorite 18k
Reference 71304OR.61
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Rolex
- Collection
- Sea-Dweller
- Model
- Rolex Sea-Dweller 40 mm Meteorite 18k
- Reference number
- 71304OR.61
- Year / era
- 1981 · 1980s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Time and date
- Movement
- In-house automatic chronograph
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 30 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 30 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 64E — In-house automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 45 jewels
- Complications
- Time and date
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1981 – 1986
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Rolex Sea-Dweller 40 mm Meteorite 18k sits within Rolex's Sea-Dweller line, introduced in 1981. It carries the house codes established since 1905 — 18k white gold case, meteorite dial and in-house automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Rolex
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1905
- Founder
- Hans Wilsdorf
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Submariner, Daytona, GMT-Master II, Datejust, Day-Date, Yacht-Master, Sky-Dweller, Explorer, Oyster Perpetual, Sea-Dweller, Air-King, 1908, Milgauss
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Composite and ceramic case materials
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house automatic chronograph · In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house manual-winding
- Notable watches
- Rolex Submariner 44 mm Skeletonised Platinum (1978) · Rolex Submariner 36 mm Ice 18k (1981) · Rolex Submariner 42 mm Meteorite Quartz (1982) · Rolex Submariner 38 mm Silvered 18k (1989)
Brand history
Rolex has spent more than 121 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Submariner, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Hans Wilsdorf established Rolex in 1905, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Rolex calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1905
Hans Wilsdorf founds Rolex in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Rolex to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Rolex enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Rolex continues to produce Submariner, Daytona, GMT-Master II and other icons in limited numbers.