Lets Dive Into: Rolex Submariner

Challenging the Deep Ocean 
Fifty-two years ago Rolex made watchmaking history when it joined the bathyscaphe Trieste, crewed by Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh, as the Swiss-designed bathyscaphe descended to the then deepest-known point in the ocean.

An experimental Rolex Deep Sea Special wristwatch was attached to the exterior of the Trieste when it touched the very bottom of the Mariana Trench on January 23, 1960, reaching a depth of 35,814 feet (10,916 meters). It successfully withstood tremendous pressure that no submersible, let alone watch, had confronted before and that no human could ever survive. The dive marked the culmination of a long association with Jacques Piccard and his father, Auguste Piccard, the inventor of the bathyscaphe, as they stretched the boundaries of deep-sea exploration. It was also the fruit of decades of unrelenting development of the waterproof wristwatch, which was invented by Rolex.

 

History of Discovery 
Rolex has always been associated with exploration of the planet’s most extreme frontiers and pushing the limits of human endeavor, in keeping with the spirit instilled by its founder, Hans Wilsdorf. He led the company through the most adventurous decades of the 20th century, a period marked by discovery of the world about us and immense technological progress.

The Swiss watchmaker has, in particular, nurtured a special relationship with the sea and its deepest reaches from the very beginning. Rolex is simply the natural partner for DEEPSEA CHALLENGE, a scientific expedition that heralds the beginning of a new era in marine exploration.

Robust, precise, and highly reliable Rolex Oyster watches have not only accompanied the Trieste on the world’s deepest dive. They also equipped the expedition by Sir John Hunt, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Tenzing Norgay to the top of the world in 1953–leading to the pioneering ascent of Mount Everest–and Chuck Yeager when he broke the sound barrier in 1947. Exploits of the kind have also provided a real-life proving ground for Oyster wristwatches from the very beginning. Rolex is in its element in water, and the name chosen for its iconic collection of waterproof wristwatches is no accident. Waterproofness was a fundamental feature that helped to make the wristwatch reliable and accurate. Rolex invented the first waterproof wristwatch in 1926 and provided a real-life demonstration of its waterproofness when Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel wearing one a year later. The Oyster watch innovated with its screw-down case back, bezel, and winding crown, forming the essence of the modern-day sealed case that protects a high-precision movement.

Such reliable waterproofness is today inherent in every Rolex Oyster Perpetual model.

But Rolex has also sustained and extended its position at the forefront of watchmaking for diving and underwater research with groundbreaking innovations.