Yes, they’re doing it again. Are we surprised? Not at all.
In 1960, Rolex created the Deep Sea Special with the express purpose of joining Jacques Piccard and Lt. Don Walsh on their record-breaking descent to the bottom of Challenger Deep in their submersible, the Trieste. Unlike Mr. Piccard and Lt. Walsh, however, the Deep Sea Special would not be hitching a ride in the relative comfort of the Trieste’s pressurized interior; rather it was strapped securely to the outside. Needless to say, it survived the trip intact, and thus a legend was born. Now, 52 years later, the legend is set to be reborn, as Rolex heads back to the deepest point on earth, this time with Titanic director and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron and his new submersible, the Deepsea Challenger. More on that here.
Aptly named the Rolex Deepsea Challenge, this new, record-breaking dive watch has been designed to withstand the mind-numbingly insane pressures encountered seven miles beneath the waves. To this end, the Deepsea Challenge clocks in at an astonishing 28.5mm thick, which is a full 11mm thicker than Rolex’s already zaftig production dive watch, the Deepsea. Of course, given that the Deepsea Challenge is rated to 39.370ft, as opposed to the standard Deepsea’s paltry 12,800ft, we suppose that one can forgive the avoir du pois.
So, will the Sea-Dweller Deepsea Challenge ever reach production? It’s doubtful, but just in case, you’d better start saving now, because this sort of engineering never comes cheap. Oh, yeah, and it’s a Rolex.
More photos after the jump.
Learn More: Here | Or, at rolex.com
