Rolex Announces New Titanium Deepsea Challenge

Rolex is known for building reliable, rugged watches, but its timepieces have never been made from titanium until now. The Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge is a new ultra-deep diving watch with incredible specs and a novel case design for Rolex.

The Challenge features a new material Rolex calls RLX titanium. It’s similar in design to the standard Deepsea but lacks a date window and offers a staggering 11,000 meters (36,090 feet) of water resistance. The case has a helium escape valve and Rolex’s clever Ringlock system. Rolex had to develop a special testing tank to prove the watch’s water resistance and says that its ultra-high-pressure tank can reproduce pressures exerted by water depths of 13,750 feet.

The case itself is 50mm in diameter and 23mm thick, so it’s a beefy watch. The watch is 30 percent lighter than previous prototype models thanks to its titanium construction. It still features the excellent Glidelock and Fliplock extension links on the bracelet, which Rolex says gives it the ability to fit over a wetsuit up to 7mm thick. Rolex said it took three years to develop the watch’s titanium construction and much longer than that to perfect the various components that went into building it. Underneath all of that lies Rolex’s 3230 movement. It offers a 70-hour power reserve, magnetic resistance, shock absorbers, and a daily precision rating of +2/-2 seconds.

The Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge carries a price of $26,000. Remember, though, that the standard Deepsea still offers 3900 meters of water resistance and can be had right now.