Some men wouldnโt be caught dead wearing any watch that wasnโt a Rolex, even when theyโre engaging in a sport that is guaranteed to get you wet. For this customer, and to honor โTitanicโ director James Cameron, Rolex has introduced the extremely water-resistant Deepsea Sea-Dweller with D-Blue Dial watch.
The inspiration for the new timepiece was a unique submersible vessel called the Deepsea Challenger. This submersible was the result of a collaboration between Cameron and Rolex, plus a few other companies. The vessel is capable of diving to a depth of 11,000 meters beneath the Pacific Ocean, allowing views of sea life never before seen by man. Cameron piloted the Deepsea Challenger himself and recorded the adventure in a documentary film called โDeepsea Challenge 3Dโ that is now in limited release. Cameron stated that the vessel gave him the ability to โsee another worldโ as well as make a contribution to scientific exploration of the deep.
But getting back to the Deepsea D-Blue, this is hardly the first time Rolex has created a water resistant watch. The brandโs history goes back to the 1926 Oyster and later the Submariner. The Rolex Deepsea D-Blue is a smaller version of the much larger experimental watch that took a dive to the bottom of the sea with Cameron and the Deepsea Challengerโa dive that the super-size watch survived.
That dive inspired the face of the watch, which has a deep blue dial that shades into deeper black with the word โDeepseaโ in a bright sea green. Other than the distinctive dial, this is pretty much the same Sea-Dweller Deepsea 116660 super dive watch that Rolex has been producing for a while. Features include a 44 mm wide steel case, โMonoblocโ middle case with Helium Escape Valve and Cerachrom black ceramic bezel insert. The 17.7 mm-thick steel case uses the Oyster + Ringlock system and has a 5.5 mm Sapphire crystal. The Rolex Deepsea D-Blue watch is water-resistant to an impressive 3,900 meters or 12,800 feet.
Probably the biggest surprise about the Deepsea D-Blue watch is that it was released in the summer rather than at the Baselworld trade show in March, where the brand traditionally debuts its latest styles. But what are schedules when thereโs a movie to promote?
Maybe youโll never have the chance to dive thousands of feet into the ocean and see all the magical forms of sea life that Cameron experienced on his historic dive, but you can have your own Rolex Deepsea D-Blue watch for $12,350. Of course, you could save $300 by buying the standard Sea-Dweller Deepsea 116660 for a mere $12,050, but this is a sure conversation starter as well as an eye-catching piece of jewelry. If you have a passion for diving, swimming, boating or any other activity that involves large quantities of water and want the most durable timepiece available, the Rolex Deepsea D-Blue watch is certainly an excellent choice, provided price is no object.