Allgemein » Rolex Deep Sea Challenge

Experience Rolex's first attempt at a titanium watch, the Rolex Deep Sea Challenge Rolex has released the news of the RLX Titanium Rolex Deep Sea Challenge. Today, we will experience the first titanium Rolex watch in person. The case, bracelet and buckle are made from lightweight RLX titanium, and we can't wait to see the level of performance, quality and feel of the first titanium Rolex. Spoiler alert: The tiara has yet to achieve the same level of excellence as Oystersteel, gold and platinum.

To address the elephant in the room: yes, the Rolex Deep Sea Challenge is definitely massive. Technically it's not "oversized" as a watch designed to withstand 11,000 meters (39,060 feet) of water pressure (plus another 25% safety buffer tilted above the depth rating you read on the dial ) obviously had to be as big as the blue cheeseburger served at the Geneva Hotel. At 50mm wide, it’s almost twice as thick as a Daytona with an automatic chronograph – but it’s also a full 110 times more water-resistant. Ironically the newly launched watch is almost entirely unwearable, but on sale openly, we haven't forgotten, which is why you see it worn on the sleeve of a jacket.

It doesn't take a hands-on look at the new Rolex Deep Sea Challenge to confirm its sheer size. What makes it so exciting to get up close and personal is that this is Rolex's first all-titanium watch (with a Cerachrom ceramic bezel insert of course) and as we discussed in our inaugural article, it's certainly a trademark of the brand Way to roll out a new material publicly, very slowly and cautiously. After testing the waters, Rolex is seeking feedback from customers and its authorized Rolex Service Centers worldwide, and giving itself the leeway to address any issues and fine-tune the production and finishing of the RLX Titanium. Rolex arguably had to go from only producing prototypes and slowly (very slowly) scale up to serial production, again, to fix any kinks and start generating revenue with titanium pieces. There are many Rolex collectors around the world whose policy is to own the first of all things - many will want to collect the first RLX titanium watch, even if few will be able to wear it. Maybe, it's a cool desk clock.

Titanium looks, feels and performs very differently than stainless steel, 18k gold or platinum. It is about 35% lighter than steel and much lighter than gold, especially platinum. Given its price point, intended use scenarios and ubiquity, titanium tends to be a more expensive alternative to the still vast majority of sports watches made of steel. Titanium is light, comfortable and durable – read this long-running review on the all-titanium Breitling to learn more. Titanium is also a must for the Deepsea Challenge, due to its 9.5mm thick sapphire crystal, solid construction and massive size, titanium is still very heavy even in this metal. The material is also warmer in color (and, in fact, feels) than steel, which includes Oystersteel—Rolex stands for the corrosion-resistant 904L alloy.

For watchmakers, the real challenge in titanium is how best to adorn it. Techniques mastered with steel or gold (platinum itself is a completely different thing) cannot be used because titanium reacts to it differently. It is difficult to achieve an even polish or a precise and elegant brushed finish. This is why most titanium watches have a mushy surface that is neither brushed nor polished, like the Breitling we mentioned above, Rolex has the Tudor all-titanium Pelagos 39 (one-sixth the price of a Rolex), Or this LUC in Chopard Ceramic Titanium. Ultra-premium brands such as DeBethune and A. Lange & Söhne demonstrate the true potential of titanium.

Kudos to Rolex for abandoning the idea of simpler mix-and-match finishes widely adopted by its competitors and going for a proper brushed finish on titanium. Sadly, the end result is rather crude both from a distance and up close. The metal looks more burnt than brushed, as if someone had run wild on the metal with a small scalpel - or, for a more realistic look, as if a rough, spinning metal brush had been used. A closer look reveals that the texture is indistinguishable from Kellogg's Toppas.

Bracelet links for two models in the Rolex Professional collection—the nomen est omen, both designed, manufactured and advertised for “professional” use. However, one looks like a real and indeed extensively used tool (albeit brand new) and the other looks like a piece of jewelry (albeit used). It’s not hard to see how rough the finish of the RLX Titanium is compared to stainless steel, a material that Rolex has spent decades perfecting its aesthetic qualities. Keen-eyed perfectionists might also notice that the corner edges on the right-hand link of a titanium bracelet are blunter and more curved than the edges on the left-hand link.

Some watch customers have proven that they are willing to trade good looks for tool watch bragging rights, but Rolex has never been one to cater to them over the decades. In fact, every Rolex professional watch looks stunning, with a variety of polished center links, shiny bezels, and smooth dials, and often comes with a solid 18k gold ribbon. All of which is to say that we can reasonably expect to see Rolex drastically improve its approach to the RLX Titanium in the future, in line with the process of rolling it out into more popular and wearable collections.

A neat detail that marks its return to the professional line of Rolex watches is the chamfered and polished edges. This may be an easily recognizable visual cue for the brand's choice to use RLX titanium and Oystersteel to clearly distinguish modern Rolex watches. Particularly impressive is how the polished edge starts at the end of the lugs, extends to the bezel, tucks under it, and turns outward and downward to become the polished crown guard. This detail is likely to appear in an upcoming smaller, more wearable RLX Titanium watch.

Moving from the exterior to the dial of the 2022 Rolex Deep Sea Challenge, we encounter a series of other oddities. The crown below 12 o'clock is particularly long - reminiscent of the crown on the new Submariner, while the crown at 6 o'clock is short and wide. If you look closely, you can see that the edges of the printed text are extremely soft, especially the letters of the Rolex brand and the upper part of the dial. The kerning (the space between each letter) in the OYSTER PERPETUAL looks particularly inconsistent - "OY" is closer together than usual on a Rolex watch, the rest of the word seems to expand, and the two " PE" is also very tight, and there is more space in the back.

On closer inspection, it is perhaps easier to understand why Rolex likes to take its time with model changes, especially the release of new models. While no watch is perfect, it has to be said that the overall quality, feel, robustness and consistency exhibited by modern Rolex sports watches is exemplary – even some of the brand’s competitors admit as much. However, this raises the bar for everything Rolex does and anything new, and that includes the RLX Titanium. Personally, the lighter and therefore more comfortable Rolex sports watches aren't arriving soon enough. However, Rolex probably doesn’t want to go the hard way to see how a wider audience responds to compromised aesthetics or a less robust hands-on feel than the brand’s famous Oystersteel, 18k gold, and platinum offerings.

The Rolex Deep Sea Challenge is a very big way of publicity and a very small way of introducing new material. While this is in keeping with the brand's trademark prudence, given the apparent gap between the RLX Titanium and the Oystersteel, the launch may have been a bit too cautious (given the unwearable size) and a bit too hasty. We expect the latter to improve rapidly through a series of subtle changes that Rolex will implement and, in typical style, not tell anyone.