Rolex last night unveiled a new version of its Deepsea model to celebrate the brand’s involvement in film director James Cameron’s voyage to the bottom of the oceans.
The distinctive model, with two-tone dial and bezel, has been launched to coincide with the release of Cameron’s National Geographic documentary Deepsea Challenge 3D that charts his record-breaking solo dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on earth, in the Deepsea Challenge submersible.
The two-tone D-blue dial graduates from deep blue to pitch black to reflect the colour of the ocean at varying depths while the Deepsea lettering takes its colour from that of the one-man submersible when viewed underwater.
The new-generation 44mm Deepsea is waterproof to 3,900 metres (12,800ft). The Oyster case is reinforced with the patented Ringlock System while the watch also features a Helium Escape Valve. Each Deepsea sold undergoes pressure testing to 3,900m, with an additional safety margin of 25%, in a hyperbaric chamber.
Hour markers, hands and a bezel-mounted capsule at the zero marker feature Rolex’s Chromalight luminescent material, which glows blue and, according to Rolex, will glow twice as long as other traditional luminescent materials between exposure to light.
The watch was revealed at the US premiere of the documentary in the Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in the presence of James Cameron, who spent three hours on the ocean floor, taking samples that identified 68 new species.
The 2012 expedition was supported by National Geographic and Rolex and mirrored the 1960 Mariana Trench dive by Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard in the bathyscaphe Trieste. Both expeditions were supported by Rolex, with watches being attached to the hull of both vessels, returning to the surface from 11 kilometres (7 miles) below in perfect working order.
