The Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea D-Blue
Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea D-Blue
3,900m, would you ever go that deep? Probably not, but just in case there’s the Rolex Deepsea D-Blue; a Rolex masterpiece and one of the most potent dive watches in existence. The watch has recently been linked to James Cameron, in particular his Mariana’s Trench dive, but before that, it was simply a tool; used by amateurs and professionals alike to explore the world’s oceans.
In the mid-1960s, diving was going through a bubble; with people like Jacques Cousteau having had success in the latter half of the 1950s and the emergence of new diving technology, divers were really pushing their limits. Part of this new wave of diving was the desire to go deeper; in 1965 two of Cousteau’s vehicles made it 500m deep, and as such needed equipment that could withstand all the associated factors that went with deep diving. Rolex stepped in in 1967 with the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Submariner 2000 ref. 1665 a. k. a. ‘Single Red’; the first version had a depth rating of 500m, while the subsequent versions (the first ‘Double Red’ and the ‘Great White’) could reach up to 610m. The Rolex Sea-Dweller 2000 was released to the public in 1971 and followed up by the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller 4000 ref. 166600 a. k. a. ‘Triple Six’ in 1978, that had a depth rating of 1,220m.
There were of course many other Rolex Sea-Dwellers, but the most unique is the Rolex Deepsea D-Blue. The original Deepsea was introduced at Baselworld 2008, and impressed attendees with its depth rating of 3,900m. Then, in 2012, James Cameron descended the depths of Marina’s Trench with a custom Rolex Deepsea attached to his vessel; meaning the watch survived at a depth almost 11,000m! Thus, in honour of James Cameron’s legendary 2012 expedition, Rolex released the Deepsea D-Blue in 2014, which features the highly recognizable light-to-dark blue dial, emulating the depths of the ocean.
The Rolex Deepsea D-Blue will certainly go down in watchmaking history, in particular for being one of the few true Rolex special editions. Hopefully, given its success, Rolex will continue to push the limits of engineering and keep tool watches.