Timepieces
CAN ROLEX SAVE THE SEA?
The luxury brand with a history of supporting intrepid exploration now strives to make our endangered planet “perpetual.” By Christen Fisher A trusted instrument of discovery for nearly a century,
Submariner’s Oyster case is waterproof to a depth
the Rolex chronometer has accompanied explorers and
of 1,000 feet and provides optimal protection from
adventurers into the planet’s wildest, most challenging
Camp led a dive team to New Caledonia that docu-
water, dust, pressure and shocks. The Submariner’s
realms—from its deepest oceans to its highest peaks,
mented, for the first time, 20 species of coral thriving
unidirectional rotatable bezel is key to the function-
its remotest caverns to its lonely poles—unfailingly
under conditions previously considered by science to be
ality of the watch. Its engraved 60-minute graduation
keeping track of time and helping to advance our
too hot and too toxic for them to survive. Most corals
allows a diver to monitor diving time and decompres-
knowledge about the world we share.
prefer clean, crystal-clear waters low in nutrients and The founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, saw the world sediment, stable in temperature and rich in oxygen, but as a living laboratory. He used it as a testing ground the corals Camp and her team found thrive amid hos-
sion stops accurately and therefore safely. Manufac-
for his watches throughout the 1930s, sending them
tile conditions, in the murky waters around mangroves
its color is unaffected by ultraviolet rays, seawater or
to the most extreme locations, supporting explorers
where “conditions are comparable to, or even exceed,
chlorinated water. Beginning at $7,900, the Submari-
who ventured into the unknown. But as the world has
what is predicted for the open ocean under climate
ner and Submariner Date are available in Oystersteel,
continued to change, exploration for pure discovery
change in the year 2100.”
Oystersteel and gold, and gold with a variety of dial
tured from a hard, corrosion-resistant ceramic, the Cerachrom bezel insert is virtually scratchproof, and
has given way to exploration as a means to preserve the
By identifying similar hot spots of resilience along
endangered natural world. Through the Rolex Awards
the 2,000 kilometers of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef,
for Enterprise, Rolex is continuing the legacy of its
the world’s largest coral assemblage, and studying
Dweller, launched in 1967, and the Deepsea, unveiled
founder, supporting the explorers of today on their new
the behavior and genetics of these ultra-tough coral
in 2008. They are the fruit of decades of collaboration
mission: to make the planet perpetual.
survivors, Camp hopes to uncover the mechanisms
with diving professionals. Rated to a depth of 4,000
Since 1976, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise have
and bezel colors. For the dedicated diver, Rolex offers the Sea-
supporting these corals’ unique ability to tolerate stress,
feet and sized at 43 millimeters, the Sea-Dweller’s
supported and championed exceptional individuals
to establish a network of hot spots of reef resilience,
60-minute graduated, unidirectional rotatable bezel
who take on the major challenges of our time, sharing
and most importantly, to understand how the “super
enables divers to safely monitor their dive and decom-
a spirit of enterprise and a desire to make the world a
corals” can be used in adaptive reef management. She
pression times. For those who want to go deeper, the
better place. These awards are designed to stimulate
plans to partner with ecotourism companies to further
Rolex Deepsea is waterproof to a depth of 12,800 feet.
new ways of thinking about common problems and
these aims. Camp is, in essence, striving to make our
Housed in a 44-millimeter Oyster case reinforced with
to celebrate those who embody the belief that anyone
coral reefs perpetual.
the patented Ringlock System, the sleek black dial fea-
can change everything. Associate Rolex laureate and
If you share Camp’s enterprising spirit to make our
marine bio-geochemist Emma Camp, Ph.D., is one
planet perpetual, then consider one of Rolex’s extraor-
with luminescent material that emits a long-lasting
such individual.
dinary dive watches: the Submariner, the Sea-Dweller
blue glow for legibility in dark conditions. Beginning
or the Deepsea.
at $11,700, the Sea-Dweller is available in Oystersteel
With Rolex’s support, she is working to repopulate coral reefs ravaged by a warming climate, acidifying water and other human-inflicted damage. In 2016,
Launched in 1953, the Submariner was originally created specifically for underwater exploration and
tures large Chromalight hour markers and hands filled
and yellow gold or Oystersteel. The Rolex Deepsea is available in Oystersteel and begins at $12,600.
diving, but over the years, it has become a go-to watch across all walks of life in, on and out of the water. The
48
C D PEACOCK
CDP.fw21.rolex sea.indd 48
10/14/21 9:42 AM
