Discovering the new Rolex Deepsea Challenge (even James Cameron is involved)

There is a new timepiece from Rolex. It is called the Deepsea Challenge and it is a watch with an important story that deserves to be told.

We decided to do so with the article by the editor of Top Yacht Design (which every year contains the Sea Time special, dedicated to the world of watches and the sea) Matthew Zaccagnino.

Welcome Rolex Deepsea Challenge

Deepsea Challenge: no one expected it. His arrival took everyone by surprise. And as in the best traditions he left his mark. From the deep sea recently emerged the Deepsea Challenge timepiece destined to leave an indelible mark on the diver world. To understand the reason for this we need to reread the history of this watch marked by three specific dates.

Origins in 1960

It all began on January 23, 1960, the day the bathyscaphe Trieste, with Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh at the controls, reached a depth of 10,916 meters in the Pacific Ocean. Marking the time of that extraordinary feat was the Deep Sea Special experimental watch that Rolex provided for that mission. An achievement that is the result of a long journey of research that began in 1953, the year the Geneva-based company developed the first in a series of prototypes designed to withstand the great depths. The first Deep Sea Special was tested off the Pontine Islands.

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Attached to an outer arm of the bathyscaphe Trieste, the watch passed the test of enduring up to 3,150 meters below the sea surface unscathed. A few years later, in 1956, again off Ponza, the Deep Sea Special touched up the record by reaching 3,700 meters and then made a quantum leap in 1960 when the watch accompanied Picard and Walsh to a depth of 7,300 meters. It is a prelude to the feat accomplished by the timepiece on that late January day more than 60 years ago. After eight hours of diving, Jacques Piccard wrote a telegram to Rolex, “Happy to report that your watch works as well at 11,000 meters depth as on the surface.” The die is cast.

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Deepsea Challenge, Rolex’s record-breaking

Rolex got there where no other watchmaker had gone before. A story destined to repeat itself. And more exactly on March 26, 2012 when American filmmaker and explorer James Cameron descended alone at the controls of the Deep Sea Challenger to 10,908 meters. In fact Cameron entirely alone was not.

Accompanying him on that mission, which saw him spend seven hours underwater, three of them at the bottom of the depths to shoot and collect samples, was another experimental watch provided by Rolex that perfectly withstood the colossal pressure, just like the 1960 specimen. “The Rolex Deepsea Challenge was a reliable companion throughout the dive; it was visible on the articulated arm and functioned accurately at over 10,908 meters on the Challenger Deep. It is an incredible example of horological expertise and cutting-edge engineering, on a par with the Deepsea Challenger submarine,” these were the warm words spoken by the American director in the aftermath of the milestone achievement.

Deepsea Challenge now on sale

Today, 10 years after that moment, the Geneva-based house is once again back to make people talk about itself and its connection to the deep by offering the Deepsea Challenge to watch enthusiasts. And it is no coincidence that accompanying the new timepiece’s entry onto the scene was James Cameron himself. On the case back of the watch, in fact, are engraved the dates “23-01-1960” and “26-03-2012” accompanied by the inscription Mariana Trench-a way this pays tribute to the two companies whose input was of paramount importance in putting this novelty together.

In fact come to think of it, one could add a third date namely November 1, 2022 the day the Deepsea Challenge made its official debut on the scene. The fact that it took two lustra to finalize this version speaks volumes about the research work done by Rolex committed to devising a watch whose main objective was to be worn on the wrist and not strapped to an outer arm of a submarine. Many new features worth noting. Starting with the material used for the case and bracelet.

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Deepsea Challenge Rolex’s first time with titanium

The use of RLX titanium marks a first in the brand’s history. But as in the best Rolex traditions, this is not just any titanium. We have already touched on it at other times and with other collections such as, for example, with Oystersteel, Everose gold or Cerachrom ceramic all of which are special alloy materials developed and fine-tuned by the Geneva-based house.

Today Rolex’s table of elements also includes RLX titanium. Experimented for the first time to conceive a unique Yacht-Master 42 that the crowned house put on Sir Ben Ainslie’s wrist. In addition to extreme lightness, this particular alloy offers advantages in terms of resistance to corrosion and deformation. No small matter since the Deepsea Challenge carries a 50mm diameter case and is 30 percent lighter in weight than the version descended with Cameron in the Challenger Deep.

Another important new feature is the introduction of thinner glass to protect the dial. The watch then features all those innovations developed by Rolex over the years. Beginning with the Ringlock system, which is a patented case architecture that enables the case to withstand colossal pressures; the helium escape valve that serves to vent, during decompression phases in the hyperbaric chamber, excess internal pressure that can compromise the integrity of the watch; the Triplock crown with three water-resistant zones; and the Chromalight display that features a luminescent substance for optimal and long-lasting legibility. The mechanical heart of the Rolex Deepsea Challenge is the caliber 3230, which boasts numerous patents and features several notable innovations such as the Chronergy escapement and Parachrom balance spring insensitive to magnetic fields, and the Paraflex shock-absorbing device.

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A concentrated high-tech applied to traditional watchmaking, resulting in the caliber 3230’s outstanding accuracy, attested to -2 /+2 seconds per day with a recessed movement, according to the high criteria redefined in 2015 by Rolex for Superlative Chronometer certification. And last but not least, water resistance. The Rolex Deepsea Challenge, which costs 26,100 euros, is tested to descend to 11,000 meters below the sea surface.

Matthew Zaccagnino

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