Watches in the Deepsea range demonstrate the unique expertise of Rolex in waterproofness and resistance to underwater pressure. Symbols of the long-shared history between the brand and deep-sea explorers, the Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea and Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge are ultra-resistant professional divers’ watches. They are waterproof to a depth of 12,800 feet (3,900 meters) for the Rolex Deepsea, launched in 2008, and 36,090 feet (11,000 meters) for the Deepsea Challenge, presented in 2022.

The Rolex Deepsea meets the exacting requirements of professional divers in terms of resistance to underwater pressure, precision and reliability, while featuring the aesthetic DNA and intrinsic characteristics of the Professional watches in the Oyster Perpetual collection.

At its launch, this deep-sea divers’ watch inaugurated the Ringlock system – a unique case architecture that allows it to withstand the pressure exerted at this extreme depth. Its 44 mm Oyster case is equipped with the helium escape valve.

The Rolex Deepsea in Oystersteel comes with an intense black dial or D-blue dial. It features a unidirectional rotatable bezel with graduated Cerachrom insert in black ceramic. In 2024, the brand unveiled an 18 kt yellow gold version with a blue dial and a Cerachrom bezel insert in blue ceramic.

As an underwater survival tool, the Submariner’s design has been entirely dictated by the practical needs of divers. The model has evolved technically and been endowed with features to improve overall functionality.

Featuring a 41 mm Oyster case, distinctive dial with large luminescent hour markers and hands, unidirectional rotatable bezel and Oyster bracelet, the Submariner and Submariner Date are among the most recognizable watches ever designed. Contributing to the strong visual identity, a graduated Cerachrom bezel insert made from high-tech ceramic is key to their functionality. Its 60-minute graduation allows a diver to monitor diving time accurately.

The Submariner was created specifically for underwater exploration and diving. When it first came out of the Rolex workshops, the watch was an immediate success with many pioneering deep-sea professionals, who were asked to test it. One of those trailblazers was Dimitri Rebikoff, a French engineer and underwater photographer. In his 1953 report, Rebikoff wrote that it had performed outstandingly well in trials: “We are able to confirm that this watch has not only given entire satisfaction in diving conditions which were extremely tough and particularly murderous for the material used, but that it has proved an indispensable accessory for all diving with independent equipment.”

The Oyster case of both models 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.

In deep-sea diving, absolute reliability and security are of the essence. The waterproofness of every Rolex Deepsea and Deepsea Challenge watch is tested with a safety margin of 25 percent, in accordance with the standard in effect for divers’ watches.

The Rolex Deepsea, guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 3,900 meters, is thus effectively subjected to the pressure exerted at 4,875 meters deep, while the Deepsea Challenge, waterproof to 11,000 meters, is subjected to the pressure exerted at 13,750 meters deep.

For these stringent tests, the brand developed a special hyperbaric tank for the Rolex Deepsea and an ultra-high-pressure (UHP) tank for the Deepsea Challenge in conjunction with Comex (Compagnie Maritime d’Expertises), the world-renowned French company specializing in underwater engineering and hyperbaric technologies.

Like all Rolex timepieces, watches in the Deepsea range are covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification. This designation testifies that every watch leaving the brand’s workshops has successfully undergone a series of tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories, according to its own criteria. The Superlative Chronometer status is symbolized by a green seal and is coupled with an international five-year guarantee.