Rolex Deepsea

The Rolex Deepsea is the brand's professional diving watch; its full name is Oyster Perpetual Deepsea. The case is water-resistant to 3,900 metres, and the Deepsea Challenge goes deeper still.

That depth rating comes from the patented Ringlock System case architecture: a nitrogen-alloyed steel ring, a domed sapphire crystal and a caseback in RLX titanium; on the 44 mm steel models the crystal is 5.5 mm thick. The case also has a helium escape valve, a Triplock screw-down crown with triple waterproofing and a rotating Cerachrom ceramic bezel.

The first generation is the reference 116660 with Rolex calibre 3135 and a 48-hour power reserve. Introduced in 2008, it is listed here as the Sea Dweller Deep Sea. In 2018 came the reference 136660 with the in-house Rolex calibre 3235, featuring the Chronergy escapement and a blue Parachrom hairspring that protects the movement from shocks and magnetic fields. It offers a 70-hour power reserve and a date, and is certified as a Superlative Chronometer accurate to −2/+2 seconds a day.

Within the current generation, versions differ by dial and metal. Steel Deepsea models in Oystersteel come with a black dial or the D-Blue dial — a gradient from bright blue to black, with the green DEEPSEA lettering echoing the colour of James Cameron's submersible. Since 2024 there has also been an 18 ct yellow gold case with a blue dial, reference 136668LB. The Deepsea Challenge (reference 126067) arrived in 2022, with a 50 mm RLX titanium case, Rolex calibre 3230, a 9.5 mm crystal and water resistance to 11,000 metres.

The main choices are size and case metal: Deepsea 44mm D-Blue, Deepsea 44mm Steel, Deepsea 44 mm Yellow Gold and Deepsea Challenge 50 mm RLX Titanium. Each listing gives the reference, calibre, power reserve and water resistance.