Bringing light to the deep
- Mar 24
- 2 min read
Words by Hannah Tapping
The Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea is engineered to shine into the ocean depths.
A longstanding model in Rolex’s dive-watch line-up, the Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea divers’ watch is presented in 18 ct yellow gold and sports a 60-minute graduated Cerachrom bezel insert in blue ceramic as well as a blue lacquer dial bearing the name ‘DEEPSEA’ in powdered yellow.
This version also incorporates a technical innovation: the high-performance compression ring within the Ringlock system is crafted from ceramic. A marvel of precision engineering, this Cerachrom ring is the result of a pioneering manufacturing process. Coloured blue and embellished with a circular satin finish and inscriptions that are engraved then gilded, this component also marks a new way of integrating ceramic into a watch case: the compression-resistance and anti-deformation properties of this high-tech material contribute to the waterproofness of the watch.
In the underwater depths, being able to read the time with absolute certainty is a matter of survival. Great attention has been paid to the legibility of the Rolex Deepsea which includes a dial with a pared-back design and incorporates the Chromalight display. The simple forms of the hour markers and the hands, are filled or coated with a luminescent material emitting a long-lasting blue glow for up to two times longer than traditional phosphorescent materials. On the bezel, the triangular ‘zero’ marker of the graduation is visible in the dark thanks to an embedded capsule containing the same luminescent material.
The Rolex Deepsea also benefits from the Ringlock system, a patented case architecture developed by Rolex. This system comprises three superposed elements: a thick, slightly domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating, a high-performance compression ring, which withstands the water pressure, and a case back in RLX titanium.
The waterproof Oyster case provides optimal protection for the movement it houses, and is also equipped with the helium escape valve, patented in 1967. This safety valve works to protect Rolex divers’ watches created for great depths by allowing excess pressure built up inside the watch case to escape during a diver’s decompression phase in a hyperbaric chamber – a process inherent to saturation diving – without compromising the waterproofness of the watch. To explore the watch in person, visit one of Michael Spiers’ showrooms in Truro, Plymouth, Exeter or Taunton.
