This year, Rolex released a "blockbuster" - a deep-diving (ghost king) 18K yellow gold model. The weight here has two meanings: as the first precious metal watch of the deep diving model, it has completed the transformation of the deep diving model from a "tool watch" to a luxury style, which greatly enhances the positioning of the collection, which is of great significance. The second is the literal meaning - refers to the physical level of "heavy".
As we all know, due to the need to resist super water pressure, deep diving watches often need to be reinforced in many parts, including the crystal and case back, and it is difficult to achieve thinness and lightness. How to balance performance and user experience has always been a difficult problem for advanced divers' watches. Water-resistant to 3,900 metres, the Rolex Deepsea features a 44mm diameter and 17.7mm thickness, which has been controversial for wearing comfort, and this is the case and bracelet of the Oyster steel case, while the new 18K Deepsea version, with a case and bracelet made entirely of 750 gold, once again pushes the weight of the watch to new heights.
According to the previous classification on the official Rolex website, the Deep Diver is not a stand-alone series. It is included in the Sea Dweller type, which can be understood as an enhanced version of the Sea Dweller. Now, however, Rolex has spun off the Deep-Dive from the Sea-Dweller series, and it has gained the same status as the Submariner (Water Ghost), Sea Dweller, and Deep Sea Challenge (Oni Emperor).
Rolex diver's watches are divided into series according to their water-resistance ratings, from lowest to highest: Submariner (300 m), Sea Dweller (1,220 m), Deep Dive (3,900 m) and Deep Sea Challenge (11,000 m). Before the mass production of the Deepsea Challenge (Ghost Emperor) in 2022, the Deepsea Diver was once the king of Rolex's divers' watches.
To achieve this performance, the Rolex Deepsea uses a technology called the "RING LOCK SYSTEM", which is clearly visible on the outer layer of the dial. In a nutshell, it consists of three parts: the first is the BioDur 108 alloy ring, which is located inside the case and is three times more resistant to tensile than conventional steel, and the second is the RLX titanium caseback, which absorbs pressure deformation. Although the crown, case and strap are made of 18-carat yellow gold, the caseback is still RLX titanium due to the material characteristics, and the third is reinforced with a sapphire crystal, which is 5.5mm thick.
It has a helium escape valve, a common practice in many deep divers' watches, which allows the helium build-up inside the case to be expelled during the ascent, ensuring the stability of the watch.
In addition to the material differences, the details of the 18K gold version are also slightly different: the Oystersteel version uses a black Cerachrom insert in ceramic, and is paired with a black gradient dial (D-blue) with the word "DEEPSEA" in light green on the dial. The new 18-carat yellow gold version features a blue Cerachrom insert in ceramic and a blue dial. The words "DEEPSEA" on the dial and the words "RING LOCK SYSTEM" on the outer side are presented in gold.
深潜型Ref.136668lb 与 潜航者型Ref.126618lb
Although this is the first time that an 18-carat gold case has been introduced for a deep submersible, 18-carat yellow gold diver's watches have been around for a long time, but in the past, they have been mostly found in the Submariner. Judging from the public price, the current submariner 18K watch (model m126618lb) is 326,000 yuan, and the public price of the deep diving 18K watch has reached 436,100 yuan.