10,908 METRES Deep Down

True to its passion for underwater exploration, Rolex took an active part in the historic DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition of film-maker and explorer James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar ) in partnership with the National Geographic Society. On 26 March 2012, the expedition’s submersible descended 10,908 metres (35,787 feet) * to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the world’s oceans located in the Mariana Trench, south-west of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

She kept me company on the dive to the most remote place on this planet, and was my good luck charm.” A natural partnership Rolex was therefore a natural partner, with the National Geographic Society, for the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition, a project that combined human adventure and technological innovation, the pursuit of excellence and pushed the limits of man’s potential. Such endeavours correspond to the brand’s core values and the philosophy inherited from its founder, Hans Wilsdorf. The Trieste’s dive in 1960 marked the culmination of Rolex’s relationship with the underwater world. And the partnership with James Cameron’s expedition marks a new and no less spectacular milestone in the history of the brand’s privileged ties with the oceans. A history dating back to 1926 and the invention of the Oyster, the world’s first-ever waterproof wristwatch. With this new achievement, the experimental ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE perpetuates the adventure of the Oyster and the pioneering spirit of innovation that has forged the reputation of Rolex.

On that exploit, an experimental Oyster model, the DEEP SEA SPECIAL , was attached to the hull and accompanied the Trieste into the abyss. It reached the record depth of 10,916 metres (35,814 feet), returning to the surface in perfect working order, a feat that remained unrivalled for more than half a century. James Cameron was thrilled at the additional opportunity to take a 1960 DEEPSEA SPECIAL with him in the cockpit of the Deepsea Challenger: “As soon as I got into the sub, I found a special place to attach the ‘Old Lady’, the sister of the watch replica that went down 52 years ago on the Trieste.

The Deepsea Challenger carried an experimental divers’ watch replica , the ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE , on its robotic manipulator arm. The timepiece worked perfectly throughout the dive at extreme pressures, confirming Rolex’s position as the leading brand in waterproofness. Echoing the historic dive of 1960 both James Cameron’s expedition and the ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE directly echo the bathyscaphe Trieste’s historic dive on 23 January 1960, the first and until 2012 the only manned dive to the deepest-known point in the Mariana Trench.

AN EXPERIMENTAL DIVER’S WATCH

A Rolex watch replica was attached to the manipulator arm of the submersible as James Cameron made the unprecedented solo dive. The Oyster Perpetual ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE , an experimental divers’ watch replica , was specially developed , tested and manufactured in record time for the occasion . “The ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE was the reliable companion throughout the dive; it was visible on the sub’s manipulator arm and working precisely 10,908 metres down at the bottom of Challenger Deep,” James Cameron said after his historic dive. “It’s a tremendous example of engineering know-how, and an ideal match for the Deepsea Challenger submersible.”

A WATCH FOR THE DEEPEST OF THE DEEP

The Oyster Perpetual ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE is an experimental divers’ watch replica guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 12,000 metres (39,370 feet), entirely developed and manufactured by Rolex to resist the extreme pressure present in the deepest reaches of the oceans. Through its inherent qualities, tested and proven in real life conditions during filmmaker and explorer James Cameron’s dive, it is the emblematic product of an entirely integrated watch replica maker with unparalleled design and production capacities.

A symbol of supremacy The ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE symbolizes the brand’s supremacy in mastering waterproofness. Its spirit and the real-life circumstances for which it was developed echo the approach adopted for the Rolex experimental DEEP SEA SPECIAL model, which in 1960 accompanied the bathyscaphe Trieste on its record descent to a depth of 10,916 metres (35,814 feet) at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Perpetuating A pioneering spirit The ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE embodies the heritage and technical and watch replica making know-how of a pioneering brand in wristwatches. This status is enshrined in Rolex’s invention in 1926 of the OYSTER , the first ever waterproof wristwatch, and demonstrated by all the divers’ watch replica es replica, such as the SUBMARINER and the SEA-DWELLER , launched by the brand since the 1950s.

BEYOND THE ABYSSAL DEPTH

In the wake of the ROLEX DEEPSEA

The ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE is fitted with a patented TRIPLOCK screw-down winding crown with a triple waterproofness system, the same type that equips all Rolex divers’ watch replica es replica. It also has other technical features of the ROLEX DEEPSEA , such as a unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated bezel with a CERACHROM insert in ceramic; a CHROMALIGHT display with long-lasting luminescence (hands and hour markers); a self-winding mechanical movement (calibre 3135) with a paramagnetic blue PARACHROM hairspring; and a solid-link OYSTER bracelet fitted with an OYSTERLOCK clasp with a safety catch and the Rolex GLIDELOCK and FLIPLOCK diving extension systems.

A TRUE ROLEX DIVER’S WATCH

Technically, the ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE is an enhanced version of the commercial ROLEX DEEPSEA professional divers’ watch replica (guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 3,900 metres or 12,800 feet) introduced in 2008. The new experimental watch replica is 51.4 mm in diameter and 28.5 mm thick. Its design is based on the RINGLOCK SYSTEM case architecture of the ROLEX DEEPSEA . This intricate three-piece case architecture, developed and patented by Rolex, features a highly resistant nitrogen-alloyed stainless steel support ring as the backbone of the watch replica . Placed inside the middle case made of the 904L stainless steel superalloy, it supports a 14.3 mm thick domed sapphire crystal, made of high-purity aluminium oxide, and a 5.3 mm screw-down case back made of grade 5 titanium.

The ROLEX DEEPSEA CHALLENGE is a true divers’ watch replica , both technically and aesthetically a worthy member of the Rolex Oyster Professional family of watch replica es replica. To comply with the stringent certification requirements for divers’ watch replica es replica, the watch replica was tested by Rolex in a specially created hyperbaric tank at a pressure of 1,500 bars, corresponding to the pressure at a depth of 15,000 metres (nearly 50,000 feet), 25 per cent greater than the depth to which the watch replica is guaranteed waterproof. At a depth of 15,000 metres, the load exerted on the crystal is 17 tonnes (13.6 tonnes at 12,000 metres), and on the case back nearly 23 tonnes; a total of some 40 tonnes is borne by the support ring in the middle case.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

CATEGORY Experimental watch replica CASE OYSTER (monobloc middle case, screw-down case back and winding crown) Diameter 51.4 mm Thickness 28.5 mm Architecture RINGLOCK SYSTEM with a nitrogen-alloyed stainless steel support ring Materials 904L steel superalloy, case back in grade 5 titanium Winding crown Screw-down, TRIPLOCK triple waterproofness system Crown guard Integral part of the middle case Crystal Domed synthetic sapphire, 14.3 mm thick Bezel Unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated; CERACHROM insert in ceramic with numerals and graduations coated in platinum via PVD Dial Black lacquer CHROMALIGHT display with long-lasting luminescence Waterproofness 12,000 m (39,370 ft) MOVEMENT Calibre 3135, Manufacture Rolex Mechanical movement with bidirectional self-winding via PERPETUAL rotor Functions Centre hour, minute and seconds hands. Instantaneous date with rapid setting. Stop seconds for precise time setting Frequency 28,800 beats/hour (4 Hz) Precision Officially certified Swiss chronometer (COSC) Paramagnetic blue PARACHROM hairspring with Breguet overcoil Large balance wheel with variable inertia High-precision regulating via gold MICROSTELLA nuts Power reserve Approximately 48 hours BRACELET OYSTER ; folding OYSTERLOCK safety clasp with GLIDELOCK system for fine adjustment of bracelet length, FLIPLOCK extension link