Bold! Daring! Unprecedented! I can hardly begin to imagine the level of hyperbole some will turn to while amplifying Rolex’s latest release. Too Broke is a segment that doesn’t get a lot of love on this site. But today, I thought the release of the new Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea Challenge would be a great opportunity to spark it up again. After all, it’s a segment reserved for the expensive and the downright silly coming from our favorite luxury brands. But don’t get me wrong. This watch is still kinda cool on its own and worth briefly observing from the lens of TBWS.
If you came to read up on the history of storied oceanographers, daring underwater adventures, millimetric criticisms of case architecture, or titanium neckbeardery, you’re in the wrong place. That said, we can agree that the release of a full-titanium Rolex sport model has been, at least for me, a highly-anticipated possibility since the release of the Tudor Pelagos. Today, we got that…. all 50mm of it. And I really have to wonder who this watch is actually for. It’s funny. We make fun of Rolex for their tiny, incremental spec changes on “new” releases and yet, our brains are broken whenever they do something more drastic. Still I think this might border on “too drastic” or flat-out unwearable.
I will say that on its own, to hear that a watch has been crafted out of Rolex’s own RLX Titanium is pretty cool. To me the whole 50mm case diameter, 61mm lug-to-lug, and 23mm case thickness adds up to one big troll on Rolex’s part. It reminds me of the first time they released a ceramic “Pepsi” bezel GMT… in white gold. So maybe at the very least, the release of this Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea Challenge will set the tone for newer models in titanium. I mean, even the 44mm James Cameron Deepsea Sea-Dweller in titanium would be a crazy hit.
Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea Challenge Specs
- Case Diameter: 50mm
- Case Thickness: 23mm
- Lug-to-Lug: 61mm
- Case Material: RLX Titanium
- Water Resistance: 11,000m (36,090ft)
- Movement: Rolex 3230
- Crystal: 9.5mm-thick domed sapphire
- Bracelet: RLX titanium with Rolex Glidelock and Fliplock
- Price: $26,000
I personally would love to have a discussion with anyone looking at this watch and thinking, “man, that would be great daily-beater for me.” Maybe that person is out there but I think overall this watch is really geared toward only the nerdiest of financially-blessed Rolex enthusiasts, or someone that exclusively collects Sea-Dwellers. I’m dying to know what 251g of this feels like on-wrist. If you do manage to pick one up, can we review it? That would be rad.
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.
This watch might really be meant for diving, not for casual wear.