Rolex Deep Sea Special - Watch That Amazed The World
A watch company can develop a truly fantastic model with most beautiful case and the most ingenious movement, however all these efforts are in vain if they cannot bring the model to the market place in an effective way.
Rolex approved their being masters at marketing. Rolex history is full of bright marketing events, however the most notable one is for sure the Rolex Deep Sea Special watch. While developing this watch Rolex had the goal to produce a timepiece that must survive in the hardest deep sea conditions and achieve a world dive record remaining waterproof and functional. As the result the watch had to achieve fantastic popularity in all over the world.
As the result the idea to involve Piccard family in the strategy appeared.
In order to put their new watch on trial in which not other timepiece had ever been, Rolex contacted Professor Piccard and asked him to test watches in his diving experiments. Fortunately, the professor accepted the offer. Rolex engineers developed a watch with a special case and domed crystal so that the watch could withstand much pressure.
Rolex produced a limited edition of Deep Sea Special watches and the watches participated in Piccards Bathyscaphe Dives for three times in 1950, 1953 and 1960.
The trials in 1950 were not successful, the watches didn’t survive. In short time they were filled with water. Then Rolex engineers, taking into account their mistakes redesigned the case of the model. After three years of development and secret pre-trials the Rolex MKII Deep Sea Special was produced. Rolex Deep Sea Special passed test under a pressure of 6000 lbs per square inch. Water resistance of the model was successfully tested at the ETH in Zurich and on 30 September 1953.
In 1953 Rolex Deep Sea Special watch being fixed to the outside of Bathyscaphe Trieste made its first dive to a record depth of 3150 meter in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the island of Ponza. Professor Piccard was on board of the bathyscaphe. On 12th of October Piccaard sent to Rolex the telegram that confirmed that the timepiece withstood the test. It resisted to 3150 meters.
In 1960 Rolex participated in one more great experiment when Jacques Piccard and Navy Lieutenant Donald Walsh descended in the Trieste in Mariana Trench in Pacific Ocean. The depth of Mariana Trench is 10,915 meters, so Walsh and Piccard made the deepest dive in history. Again, Deep Sea Special was fixed to the outside of the bathyscaphe. In this experiment Deep Sea Special withstood pressure of 1,150 atm. In another his telegram Piccard said – “I’m happy to confirm that even at 11,000 meters your watch is as precise as on the surface.”
Rolex Deep Sea Special proved its being a truly perfect watch and brought to Rolex company the fame of a watch manufacturer that produces watches that work perfectly in any conditions.
Rolex Deep Sea Special became the mother of all Rolex Dive watches that are known for their fantastic quality and water resistance.
