Rolex has reclaimed the title for the world’s highest-performance production diving watch with a gargantuan timepiece capable of withstanding underwater depths greater than anything present on Earth. The 2022 Deepsea Challenge is the latest production version of the experimental watch attached to the hull of the submersible piloted to the bottom of the Mariana Trench – the deepest point of the world’s oceans – by film director James Cameron in 2012.
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The watch is also the first all-titanium model from Rolex and, with this being Rolex, it’s described as RLX titanium rather than grade 5. It is rated water resistant to 11,000m or 36,090ft while Challenger Deep – the deepest point of the Mariana Trench – is 10,935m. To test the watch – adding in an extra 25% for good measure – Rolex turned to long-term partner diving partner, Comex, to develop “an ultra-high-pressure tank capable of reproducing a test pressure equivalent to that exerted by water at a depth of 13,750 meters”.
The giant 50mm watch is 23mm thick, of which 9.5mm is sapphire crystal glass. While the watch’s case might be larger than life, its Calibre 3230 movement is already at the heart of the brand’s entry-level Oyster Perpetual models. Rolex issued the Sea-Dweller Deepsea – which is water resistant to 3,900m – to mark Cameron’s dive. Then, in 2022, Omega smashed the record with its 6,000m water-resistant Planet Ocean Ultra Deep to mark its own involvement in Victor Vescovo’s Five Deeps series of dives. The Rolex Deepsea Challenge is out now via Rolex, priced $26,000 USD.
