I could not help but notice the winding crown on the new All-Titanium 50MM DEEPSEA CHALLENGE features a unique detail that has never been seen before on a Rolex!?!! Usually, three dots under the Rolex logo on the winding crown designates a Triplock as seen below on a Rolex Submariner winding crown.
Notice on the TITANIUM DEEPSEA CHALLENGE winding crown (pictured above and below), under the Rolex Coronet Crown Logo there is a longer straight line between the two dots!?!! My understanding is that this is Rolex's new designation for Titanium models with a Triplock winding crown...
I haven't seen the all-new Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE in person yet, but just like you I am really curious as to what it would look like on the wrist, so I thought I would share some great photo with you from around the web. Let's start with this first set from Pedro Pastor Rodríguez @repeticiondeminutos, which really puts things in perspective. (BTW: I kept thinking Pedro looked familiar, and I just figured it out! He looks a lot like Jared Kushner? ;-)
Next up we have see some photos from an excellent story from Hodinkee.com on this new Beast!
I'll Never Be Your Beast of Burden
Every watch needs it's own song, and this is the one that comes to my mind, when I think about this watch...
Hi Everybody! I am so excited to announce I've started an all-new YouTube Show, named The JAKEeSHOW. My first Rolex episode covers Rolex's introduction of the all new, all-TITANIUM 50MM SEA-DWELLER which I discuss in detail with Karissa from @WatchAndWoman.
The JAKEeSHOW show has been many years in the making, and will cover all kinds of fascinating topics including Rolex, Tesla, Apple, and great timeless design...I also plan to do a Rolex MasterClass, which will be amazing, so definitely stay tuned...You can learn much, more more about Rolex's new Titanium model in the excellent story below this one from our Captain Danny...Below we see Karrisa from @WatchAndWoman rocking some serious Rolex Hotness..
"Explorer, this is Cab Three, starting our descent along the umbilical.
- Roger that, Cab Three. Good luck.
- Luck is not a factor.”
—The Abyss (1989)
"Luck is not a factor" is probably something Jean-Frédéric Dufour, CEO of Rolex, could say on the immense success his company has had under his tenure. After Omega released the Planet Ocean Ultra Deep in March, and Apple in September introduced us to the Apple Watch Ultra, it's now Rolex's turn to give us their most extreme watch ever offered to the public. It enlisted the help of filmmaker extraordinaire James Cameron.
Rolex released today a new Deepsea Challenge in all-titanium, touting the highest depth rating ever on a watch available for sale. At less than two months from the holiday season, this surprise drop feels very much like a Steve Jobs’s “One more thing.”
Every year when I click through Rolex's website on release day, and perfect renderings of their nouveautées fill my screen, I have to admit, my pulse quickens a bit. As I click on each picture, I am probably making the same wide-eyed face as Mr. Cameron did on March 26, 2012, when he piloted a submersible alone to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest-known place on this planet. I am discovering something new — the birth of the next-level Rolex watch.
It's highly unusual for Rolex to make a second release event the same year; I can't find any such example in the past decade. So this is something very special. Or it's something we might see done more often in our digital world.
But today's drop can handle the pressure on its own. What we are seeing here is pure Rolex: the narrative is about ocean, dive, adventure, milestones and an Oscar-winning film director turned record-breaking oceanic explorer. He is presenting a watch with the highest depth rating ever to be available to the public: 11,000m (36,090ft). Straight from the headquarters of the most reputable brand in the world.
Water resistance has defined Rolex for almost a century. And, except for the Cellini, the word “Oyster” is now printed on all its dials, indicating your watch has a bezel, case back and crown that are hermetically screwed down against the middle case. Then we heard words like “Twinlock” and “Triplock” crowns, and the “Ringlock” system, innovations to protect further the inside of your watch.
The Rolex Deepsea Challenge unveiled today pays tribute to two historic dives into the Mariana Trench: that of oceanographer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh aboard the Trieste in 1960; and James Cameron’s solo descent in DEEPSEA CHALLENGER in 2012. Both expeditions took experimental Rolex watches with them.
The new Deepsea Challenge is engraved with the words “Mariana Trench” as well as the dates “23-01-1960” and “26-03-2012” on the case back. This is the most a Rolex design has ever paid tribute to its history. Sure, we’ve had “Air-King” in the old-style font or “Sea-Dweller” written in red letters, shy nods to the past. But never had Rolex engraved the case back with a historical reference. It is joining Omega in reminding the world of a watch’s professional accomplishments.
Omega released a watch earlier this year based on an Omega watch that went down to the Mariana Trench with Victor Vescovo in 2019. But the model available for sale to the public does not have nearly the resistance to make a trip down the deepest point on Earth, missing about 5,000m of water resistance. This is why the new version of the Rolex Deepsea Challenge is such a game changer. As Jake phrased it to me, it's the return of the King of the Deepsea.
But while the Deepsea Challenge attached to the manipulator arm of Mr. Cameron’s submersible in 2012 was rated to an eye-popping 12,000m, I noticed the rating of the 2022 model had been reduced by 1,000m, to 11,000m. I asked Rolex the reason for the change. “The depth of 11,000 meters was chosen to be consistent with that of the Mariana Trench,” Rolex told me. “This choice also made it possible to ensure that the watch would have a reasonable size and guarantee its comfort to wear.”
Rolex was able to reduce size and thickness to make it more wearable. The new Rolex Deepsea has a size of 50mm, a reduction of 1.4mm from its 2012 experimental version.
While Rolex never publishes watch thickness on its website or brochures I was able to get the data straight from Geneva: The thickness of the Deepsea Challenge was reduced from 28.5mm to 23.3mm, or 18%, when compared to the 2012 experimental version.
Rolex also reminded me that the Deepsea Challenge was tested to an additional safety margin of 25%, meaning that it is subjected to a water pressure equivalent to 13,750m. (To test the waterproofness of each Deepsea Challenge, Rolex called an old friend, COMEX, and developed together the ultra-high-pressure tank.)
But the most glaring difference between the old and new version is the absence of a date window on the dial. This is the first watch from the Sea-Dweller family without a date complication. Rolex is using the 3230 calibre with the standard precision of –2/+2 seconds per day. I applaud the symmetry of the dial and more-professional look of the new watch, something I had argued for in September.
Before I get to the most important part of this release — the alloy used to make the case — I want to quickly mention a design detail in the lugs I have not seen since the five-digit references: chamfers. Chamfers are the polished edges of a lug, and they have been absent in Rolex modern cases.
Rolex said because this Deepsea in titanium has a particularly visible grain in the satin finish on the case, it made the decision to chamfer and polish the top edges of the lugs to highlight the lugs’ curved profile. The Deepsea Challenge is now the only watch in the Professional line to have chamfers. Will we see more of them in future Rolex models?
The 2022 Deepsea Challenge is the first Rolex available to the public made in titanium, making the watch 30% lighter than the experimental model of 2012. Rolex admitted the experimental watch posed a wearability problem due to its weight, as it was made from 904L. Both case and bracelet of the new Deepsea Challenge are made in grade 5 titanium.
The 2022 Deepsea Challenge reference number is 126067, with the “7” indicating RLX titanium. The last digit of a six-digit reference always indicates the case material, and until today, we were missing a number. Rolex had left the “7” space blank.
0 – Stainless Steel
1 – Everose Rolesor (Stainless Steel and Everose Gold)
2 – Rolesium (Stainless steel and Platinum)
3 – Yellow Rolesor (Stainless Steel and 18k Yellow gold)
4 – White Rolesor (Stainless Steel and 18k White gold)
5 – Everose
6 – Platinum
7 – RLX Titanium
8 – 18k Yellow gold
9 – 18k White gold
A year ago I spotted competitive sailor Sir Ben Ainslie wearing a titanium Yacht-Master prototype and contacted Rolex and Sir Ainslie about it. But I was disappointed to see no titanium Rolex announced in the following Watches & Wonders. Today’s drop from Rolex was so important and held so many firsts the Maison did not want to dilute it with other releases. Watches & Wonders 2022 was about the air — the Air-King and the GMT-Master II with the crown on the left.
Mr. Cameron is a month away from releasing the long-awaited sequel to “Avatar,” which heavily features underwater scenes. “Avatar: The Way of Water” is due in theaters Dec. 16, 2022, 13 years after the first installment.
Why did he take him so long? Mr. Cameron told The New York Times he was "blowing off the movie for a few years while indulging his passion for deep-sea exploration." That's when he went down to the Mariana Trench, in 2012. Sigourney Weaver, one of the main characters in "Avatar," said she and the rest of the cast were concerned for his safety though maybe for selfish reasons.
“We kept thinking, ‘I hope he survives to make a new movie,’” she told the Times.
If Mr. Cameron is nominated for an Oscar, we'll see him again in March at the 95th Academy Awards in a familiar pose: A trophy in one hand, a Rolex on the wrist.
Rolex told me the 2022 all-titanium Deepsea Challenge will be available for sale at launch and carry a price tag of $26,000.
WATCHES & WONDERS CREATE NEW FOUNDATION; ROLEX CEO TO BE CHAIRMAN
ROLEX, RICHEMONT AND PATEK PHILIPPE CREATE 'WATCHES & WONDERS GENEVA FOUNDATION'
ROLEX TAKES A SEAT AT THE TOP
By DANNY CRIVELLO
This is such big news I had to borrow HODINKEE's Breaking News header again!
In a press release this morning Watches and Wonders said it is creating its own foundation.
Jean-Frédéric Dufour
The largest watch event of the year will be managed by a foundation board with Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour serving as Chairman. Emmanuel Perrin, the head of Specialist Watchmakers at Richemont, will be Vice-Chairman.
ANNOUNCEMENT // We are thrilled to announce that Watches and Wonders creates its own Foundation. #Rolex, #Richemont and #PatekPhilippe have decided to create the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation (WWGF).
It also announced this morning 11 more brands will be joining Watches & Wonders Geneva in 2023, bringing the total to 49. It set the date to the week of March 27 to April 2nd, 2023, and said the first five days will be exclusively reserved to the media and pros while April 1st and 2nd will be open to the public.
Matthieu Humair, current CEO of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), will become the CEO of the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation.
Rolex CEO being chairman of the new non-profit foundation is excellent news. Watches & Wonders is the biggest watch show in the world since the demise of Baselworld. Mr. Dufour has said Rolex's mission is the "perpetual pursuit of excellence."
The new foundation, WWGF, announced their mission is “to promote watchmaking excellence throughout the world by organizing in-person or digital watch and jewelry exhibitions, in Geneva and beyond.”
Elite monohull events on the beautiful Costa Smeralda
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, hosts two celebrated regattas renowned for their sailing excellence and camaraderie. The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is the flagship annual competition for Maxi monohulls. These powerful yachts are crewed by the world’s best skippers and highly skilled athletes in a week-long series of races.
In 2022, the 32nd edition attracted a fleet of 50, competing in six categories. The winners were: Highland Fling XI in Maxi, Vesper in Mini Maxi 1, Svea in J Class, Shamanna in Supermaxi, Capricorno in Mini Maxi 2 and H20 in Mini Maxi 3/4. This beautiful Mediterranean setting is also home to the biennial Rolex Swan Cup, featuring monohulls from the Finnish boatyard Nautor’s Swan that are cherished for their elegant design, technical innovation and speed. At this year’s 21st edition, the eight class winners were: Freya in Maxi, Flow in Mini Maxi, Crilia in Grand Prix, Mascalzone Latino in Sparkman & Stephens, G-Spot in ClubSwan 36, Nadir in ClubSwan 42, Blue Sky in Swan 45, and Balthasar in ClubSwan 50. Rolex has been a long-time partner of the YCCS and these two premier regattas as part of its wide-ranging support for yachting dating back more than 60 years.
Rolex has always associated with activities driven by passion, excellence, precision and team spirit. The Swiss watchmaker naturally gravitated towards the elite world of yachting six decades ago and the brand’s enduring partnership now encompasses the most prestigious clubs, races and regattas, as well as towering figures in the sport, including ground-breaking round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester and the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, Sir Ben Ainslie. Today, Rolex is Title Sponsor of 15 major international events – from leading offshore races such as the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, to grand prix competition at the Rolex TP52 World Championship and spectacular gatherings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup. It also supports the exciting SailGP global championship in which national teams race identical supercharged F50 catamarans on some of the world’s most famous harbours. Rolex’s partnerships with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Ocean Racing Club, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Yacht Club Italiano, New York Yacht Club and Royal Yacht Squadron, among others, are the foundation of its enduring relationship with this dynamic sport.
Chiara Ferragni is a major blogger and voice in Italian fashion. She is also and businesswoman, who used to be a Guess model and spokesperson. Chiara is pictured below wearing a Rolex Submariner.
In April of 2019, a former Naval officer and rich investor from Texas, Victor L. Vescovo (above), piloted a submersible into the Challenger Deep, the deepest point known on Earth.
Don Walsh and James Cameron posing with the Rolex that went to the Challenger Deep on their respective dive.
But Mr. Vescovo declared his dive the deepest ever by a human, 52 more feet than Mr. Cameron's. Global headlines followed. The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged the achievement. The record depth was given “10,925 m (35,843 ft), with a standard deviation of 4.1 m.”
CEO of Omega Raynald Aeschlimann with Victor Vescovo.
And Omega, which had strapped a watch to Mr. Vescovo’s submersible, now claimed to have built the timepiece that has gone the deepest, taking the record away from Rolex.
Today, Omega launched new timepieces for 2022 - based on the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional. The one they gifted me has been to the bottom of Challenger Deep (outside the sub) ten times now. So happy the design is now available to others. https://t.co/tVS9AAEvBR
Hearing about Mr. Vescovo's new record, James Cameron called The New York Times from New Zealand, where he was filming an “Avatar” sequel. He asked to be interviewed. According to the Times, the initial email from Mr. Cameron read, “Request to Speak.”
Mr. Cameron told the Times the Challenger Deep is “flat and featureless.”
“[Mr. Vescovo's] gauge may read differently from mine, but he can’t say he’s gone deeper.”
Mr. Cameron says it's like an Everest climber claiming to have gone higher than another mountaineer even though both reached the same summit.
In 2009, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution sent down a robot to explore the Challenger Deep. The leader of the robot team, Andy Bowen, would later confirm Mr. Cameron's assertion: “It was like being on the Bonneville Salt Flats,” Mr. Bowen said.
"I put my hand up when I saw it becoming a matter of public fact without discussion in the media or science community," Mr. Cameron told Newsweek in Sept. 2019. "But what Mr Vescovo's group reported and what I witnessed in 2012, are two different things. He says he found a deeper hole in the bottom of the ocean. I say it's flat down there, impossible to dive deeper."
So for Mr. Cameron the question is not who went the deepest but who measured it more accurately.
To give an idea of just how deep this region of the seafloor is, if Mount Everest were picked up and placed in the Challenger Deep, the summit of the world’s highest mountain would still sit more than 2 km (1.3 mi) beneath the ocean surface. When Mr. Vescovo made his expedition, he was just the fourth man to do so. Fewer people had gone to the Challenger Deep than to the Moon.
In my research for this story, I found a May 2019 interview with Newsweek in which Mr. Vescovo mentions the flatness of the Challenger Deep: "The bottom was a flat, beige basin of sorts with a very thick layer of silt," Mr. Voscovo said. "There were some small, translucent animals that gently undulate to move about—but there was definitely life at the very bottom of the ocean, it was not dead by any means."
Working out precise ocean depths is never easy. The Challenger Deep is too deep for any kind of GPS signal to be received. Depth readings are calculated from special sensors that measure factors such as water pressure, salinity and temperature.
But to convert pressure to depth, you need to know the water density over the full water column and also the local value of gravity, which varies by about half a percent over the surface of the Earth, according to scientists.
Picture from Victor Vescovo's Twitter showing the flat bottom of Challenger Deep.
The other way to measure depth is using sonar, but that comes with its own complications: The idea is to ping the sea floor with sound while timing how long it takes for the signal to get back to the boat. You have to know the temperature along the path to get an accurate reading, because sound travels faster through warmer water. The path to the Challenger Deep, by one measure, goes from warm to icy to warm again. The ping would also have to go through many layers of seawater of differing composition.
In 2019, Victor Vescovo descended nearly 11 km to the deepest place in the ocean - the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. While breaking the record for the deepest ever dive, he found a plastic bag and sweet wrappers [read more: https://t.co/OO2PfNK6SP] pic.twitter.com/GXH7xkXO94
The instruments being used to take measurements are constantly evolving; technology has come a long way since 1960, and in some aspects, even since James Cameron's dive in 2012.
In 2014, four scientists at the University of New Hampshire reported on a Challenger Deep measurement. They put the margin at plus or minus 25 meters, a total range of 164 feet. Each depth measurement, they added, represents “at best an estimate.”
Finally, Mr. Vescovo was interviewed by The New York Times. He first praised Mr. Cameron as “a visionary pioneer of deep exploration.” He also said his own team had adopted some of Mr. Cameron’s technical innovations.
“I have enormous respect for him,” Mr. Vescovo said. “On this point, however, I scientifically disagree.” While Mr. Vescovo’s gear was far newer and more accurate at gauging oceanic depths, he said he had also identified a slightly deeper area.
Who is right? And is Rolex okay with the claim it was bested in the world's deepest dive? We might never know. But the financial support traditional watchmakers have made to explorations through the years—whether for the sake of discovery or to find ways to better conserve the planet—that alone is enough to be lauded.
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
