Kym Hughes FGA, FGAA, Dip DT, Dip AppGemVal, GIA AJP, IMJVA
A remarkable Rolex Sea-Dweller, a master engraver and the evolving value of exceptional craftsmanship.
Every remarkable object has a story. Occasionally, it tells the story of a life.
In 2019, I wrote about one of the most memorable watches to cross my valuation bench: a Rolex Oyster Sea-Dweller Deepsea that had been transformed through more than 200 hours of traditional hand engraving.
Seven years later, the watch has returned for an updated valuation, providing an opportunity not only to revisit an extraordinary piece of craftsmanship, but also to consider how the replacement value of a bespoke commission can evolve over time.
A Retirement Gift with a Difference
The owner was a professional deep-sea diver who wanted to mark his retirement with something that reflected the career he had spent beneath the ocean’s surface.
His choice of watch was particularly appropriate: a Rolex Oyster Sea-Dweller Deepsea, a substantial professional dive watch designed for an environment that had been central to his working life.
But purchasing the Rolex was only the beginning.
Rather than leaving the watch in its original factory condition, he wanted it transformed into something completely personal—a piece that would tell the story of his connection with the sea.
For that, he commissioned Master Engraver Ray Hood FIPG.
Originally from London, Ray completed a traditional six-year apprenticeship at Garrard & Co., the former Crown Jewellers in London, before later emigrating to Australia and establishing London Engraver in Adelaide. His background in traditional hand engraving made him ideally suited to a commission that would require not only considerable artistic ability, but extraordinary precision.
It was the meeting of these two disciplines that originally inspired the title of this article: When Precision Meets Art.
Rolex brought the precision of professional watchmaking and timekeeping. Ray brought another kind of precision—the skill of the hand engraver, working with techniques developed over centuries.
220 Hours from Design to Completion
Approximately six hours were initially devoted to developing the design.
The engraving itself required a further 214 hours of hand work, carried out using traditional techniques and only an eyeglass for magnification.
The nautical theme extends across almost every visible surface of the watch. The bracelet, clasp, extension links, lugs, case edges and case back were all individually engraved. Historic sailing ships, diving helmets, shells, marine life and flowing scroll-work create a continuous visual narrative, culminating in a beautifully engraved seahorse on the case back.
This was far more complicated than simply engraving a pattern onto a flat piece of metal.
The Sea-Dweller presented Ray with different materials and surfaces requiring different approaches. The case back is Grade 5 titanium, while the remainder of the watch components being engraved are Rolex’s 904L steel.
Before work could begin, the watch was completely dismantled by Birkett Watches Australia so Ray could work on the individual components. Once the engraving was complete, the watch was professionally reassembled and pressure tested to ensure its water resistance remained intact.
Even the identification of the engraver required consideration.
Ray generally signs his work “London Engraver” and, at the time of the original article, often included the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths hallmark on high-end commissions. In this instance, however, he chose not to apply the IPG hallmark because he was unwilling to risk the pressure involved in hallmarking buckling a component of the Rolex.
It is a small detail, but one that illustrates the level of thought required when traditional craftsmanship is applied to a precision-engineered object.
The Original Valuation
When I valued the completed watch in 2019, the purpose was retail replacement for insurance.
At that time, the Rolex itself had a retail replacement value of AU$15,300.
The cost of the engraving, together with the specialist dismantling and reassembly of the watch, was AU$23,000.
The resulting retail replacement value was therefore:
AU$38,300.
From a valuation perspective, the provenance available with the commission was particularly important. The maker of the watch was known, the engraver was known, the circumstances of the commission were documented and the cost of reproducing the specialist work could be established.
There was, however, another consideration.
Rolex would no longer service the watch because of the external modifications.
That fact was relevant in 2019 and remains relevant today.
Modification and the Collector Market
For many serious watch collectors, originality is fundamental.
An untouched example retaining its original factory components and finish may be considerably more desirable than a watch that has subsequently been altered, irrespective of the quality of the modification.
That makes a watch such as this particularly interesting from a valuation perspective.
It would be incorrect simply to assume that because reproducing the engraving today would cost approximately AU$40,000, that amount has automatically been added to the watch's value in every market.
Equally, it would be incorrect automatically to conclude that because the watch has been modified, it must therefore be worth less.
The relevant question is: value to whom, in which market, and for what purpose?
The owner fully understands that his Sea-Dweller is no longer the type of watch sought by the collector whose priority is factory originality. He also understands the consequence of Rolex no longer being prepared to service it.
But that was never the purpose of the commission.
He wanted something unique that represented his life’s work. The resulting watch occupies a different space—one where the original Rolex, the identity and reputation of the engraver, the quality of the workmanship, the provenance of the commission and the personal nature of the design all become relevant.
For the valuer, recognising that distinction is critical.
Seven Years Later
In 2026, the Sea-Dweller returned to my valuation bench for the first update since I had originally documented the completed commission.
The owner told me that he now wears the watch only on special occasions. His reason for returning was straightforward: he wanted to make sure his insurance cover remained adequate.
He expected the value to have increased.
What surprised him was just how much.
The replacement value of the Rolex itself had risen from AU$15,300 in 2019 to AU$21,700 in 2026.
But the more interesting change was the engraving.
When I spoke with Ray while researching the updated valuation, he explained that this had been the first watch of this type he had engraved.
When he originally quoted the commission, he did not yet have the experience of completing a project of this scale and therefore could not fully appreciate how many hours would ultimately be involved.
Seven years and several similar commissions later, that has changed.
Ray now has a much clearer understanding of the time, concentration and technical complexity required to undertake work of this nature. His current fee therefore reflects not only changes in his hourly rate, but also the knowledge gained from actually completing these highly specialised commissions.
The current replacement cost of reproducing the engraving is approximately AU$40,000.
The updated retail replacement valuation therefore became:
Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea: AU$21,700
Bespoke hand engraving: AU$40,000
Retail Replacement Value: AU$61,700
The watch’s total replacement value has consequently increased from AU$38,300 in 2019 to AU$61,700 in 2026.
Valuing Craftsmanship
The change in value provides an interesting reminder about the way we approach bespoke craftsmanship in professional valuation.
It would have been very easy simply to take the original AU$23,000 engraving cost and apply an inflationary adjustment.
But would that actually represent the cost of replacing the work today?
In this case, no.
The person capable of reproducing the work is still available, which provides the valuer with an unusually useful source of current replacement evidence.
More importantly, Ray’s own understanding of what is involved in undertaking such a commission has evolved.
The increase from AU$23,000 to approximately AU$40,000 therefore does not simply represent seven years of inflation. It reflects the current cost of commissioning comparable workmanship from the artisan responsible for the original piece, based on his present knowledge of the time and skill required.
That distinction matters.
Professional valuers consider previous information. We do not simply inherit previous opinions.
An updated valuation requires us to reconsider the evidence as it exists at the effective date of the new valuation.
In this instance, that meant separately reconsidering the replacement cost of the underlying Rolex and the current cost of reproducing the bespoke engraving.
When Precision Meets Art — Again
Seeing the watch again after seven years was quite remarkable.
The Rolex Sea-Dweller is, by design, a substantial and purposeful tool watch. It is chunky, robust and unmistakably engineered for a serious job.
Yet Ray’s engraving changes its visual character.
The flowing marine designs somehow soften the watch without disguising what it is. The Sea-Dweller remains immediately recognisable, but the surface that once communicated almost entirely engineering and utility now also tells a story.
And perhaps that is what makes this commission so memorable.
There is the precision of the Rolex.
There is the precision of the engraver.
And there is the deeply personal reason the two were brought together in the first place.
While its monetary value has increased considerably since I first valued it in 2019, I suspect the true value of this remarkable watch to its owner has never been measured in dollars.
It remains what he intended it to be from the beginning—a lasting and wearable tribute to a lifetime spent beneath the sea.
About the Engraver
More examples of Ray Hood FIPG’s traditional hand engraving can be viewed on his Instagram gallery: