Rolex Sea-Dweller DeepSea
April 3rd, 2008 -- Posted in horology | 1 Comment »
Rolex released a new Sea-Dweller at the BaselWorld 2008. Known as the Sea-Dweller DeepSea, it marks an upgrade to the legendary iconic Sea-Dweller family. It’s bigger… thicker… and it’s going even deeper into the sea.
| The new larger 43mm Sea-Dweller is built on RINGLOCK SYSTEM, a new case architecture that enables withstanding 2.98 metric tonnes of water presssure, allowing it to stay waterproof at depth up to 3,900 metres (12,800 feet). |  |
 | A new GLIDELOCK clasp allows for fine adjustments to the bracelet length, up to 18mm by increments of 1.8mm, without removing the watch. |
| The luminescence of the hands and larger “maxi-dial” markers are improved with a new luminescent material that emits a blue glow. |  |
 | Titanium case-back held in place with 904L steel rim. This is probably the first time titanium is used on a Rolex. |
Like the new GMT Master II released last year, the new DeepSea unidirectional rotatable bezel is made of a black ceramic material called CERACHROME, with the numerals engraved and the graduations filled with platinum through the use of a PVD technique patented by Rolex.
Overall, I’m having mixed feelings about this new addition. There is an excitement over the growing family of larger Rolex (finally!) but at the same time a minor panick streak over the fading tradition of a cleaner rehaut. The design of the Ring Lock System is definitely function over look, but why on earth did Rolex put the text “ORIGINAL GAS ESCAPE VALVE” and “RING LOCK SYSTEM” around the inner ring? Isn’t the larger size enough to distinguish DeepSea from the older Sea-Dweller? To compensate for this little thorn, the ceramic bezel and domed sapphire crystal are definitely helping to bring some appeal to this new design.
(All photos from timezone.com)
