Every week, we uncover a new object of desire from the vast and magical world of brands. This week, the spotlight lands on Rolex’s new Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge.
If you’ve thought rubber straps and the chunky faces of sports watches defend against distress better than their polished and professional-looking counterparts, it’s time you reconsider that opinion. Below, we examine Rolex’s new addition to its robust repertoire of waterproof timepieces — the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge.
In 2012, James Cameron’s legendary dive into the Mariana Trench, Challenger Deep (the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth), was accompanied by an experimental version of the Deepsea Challenge and worn on the manipulator arm of James Cameron’s submersible. Equipped now with a particularly lightweight grade 5 titanium alloy — the RLX titanium — and remade with several ergonomic edits, the Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge is fit for wear on both the wrists of professional divers and the everyday, risk-taking man.
This feat is not out of the blue for Rolex since its position in the watch industry is unparalleled for its timepieces’ waterproofness, especially since the hermetic Oyster case was unveiled to the world in 1926. Subsequently, the Submariner of 1953 guaranteed deep-sea diving professionals a watch that was waterproof up to 100 metres and, years later, to 300 metres. The development of more advanced systems like the Triplock crown and Ringlock system have allowed the crown jewel Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge to have a waterproofness of an awe-inducing 11,000 meters.
To test the waterproofness of each Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge, Rolex specially developed an ultra-high-pressure tank capable of reproducing a test pressure equivalent to that exerted by water at a depth of 13,750 metres in partnership with Comex (Compagnie Maritime d’Expertises).
That’s on top of an offer of all of Rolex’s diver watch speciality features, which includes things like a helium escape valve, which allows surplus gas to escape from the watch during a diver’s decompression phase in a hyperbaric chamber, and the Chromalight display, whose long-lasting luminescence provides exceptional legibility. To further cater to the diver’s needs, the bracelet extension systems – Rolex Glidelock and the Fliplock extension link – also allow the watch to be worn over a diving suit up to 7 mm thick.
At the heart of the Oyster Perpetual Oyster case is calibre 3230, a movement entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex. This self-winding movement contains several patented components, such as the antimagnetic Chronergy escapement, the Parachrom hairspring, and Paraflex shock absorbers. Thanks to its barrel architecture and the escapement’s superior efficiency, calibre 3230 offers a power reserve of approximately 70 hours.
In the looks department, the Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge has a particularly visible grain in its satin finish and the polished edges of its lugs. It also carries an ode to its predecessors; the case back is engraved with the words “Mariana Trench” and the dates “23-01-1960”, and “26-03-2012” as a tribute to two historic dives that took the experimental Rolex watches into the Mariana Trench. Oceanographer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh completed the feat aboard the Trieste, in 1960 and James Cameron’s solo descent in the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER in 2012. Both expeditions took experimental Rolex watches with them.
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