Talking about watches and inspiration can spawn some pretty interesting debates, and for good reason – especially in the dive watch category. Of course, early dive watches weren’t “inspired by” anything; dive watches were tools created with a very distinct purpose. That said, as the years went on and the dive watch category moved away from practical utility towards desirable daily-wearers, design inspiration soon came into play. Today we’re looking at luxury watches inspired by the ocean, and digging into the stories behind the creation of each piece and how they relate to the big blue beyond.As mentioned above, there is no reason to go into a Rolex Submariner history lesson here; however, the Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea with D-Blue dial (a variant of the original Deepsea that was first unveiled in 2008) has a very distinct connection to our world’s deepest waters.The origins of this piece come from Rolex’s involvement in (read: sponsorship of) James Cameron’s deep dive into the Mariana Trench. Though not limited in production, the piece is commemorative of the 2012 dive, and features a gradient blue to black dial that mimics the loss of light as one descends into the ocean’s depths. Additionally, the green chosen for the DEEPSEA text on its dial is matched to the color of Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger Submarine that took a prototype Rolex watch all the way down into the trench affixed to one of its robotic arms.The legacy of Jacques-Yves Cousteau is unparalleled in the world of underwater exploration, and many years ago (back in 2004 to be precise), IWC decided to become a partner of the Cousteau Society – a non-profit organization looking to continue the initiatives set out by Jacques-Yves several decades prior. From the onset of the partnership, IWC has included special limited-edition Aquatimer models in their collections, with a portion of the proceeds of each watch headed towards the organization.Of their bigger undertakings, Cousteau’s famed research vessel (named ‘Calypso’) was raised from the sea floor after sinking on account of an incident in Singapore in 1996. Progress on Calypso has been slow-going, and a fire on the ship while docked in Turkey two years ago has slowed things further. Naturally, there are rumors swirling that a redesign of the IWC Aquatimer line across the board will appear in conjunction with the vessel’s unveiling.
Initially only available in White or Yellow Rolesor (Rolex’s name for a combination of steel and gold), they were just successful enough for an all-steel reference with a smooth bezel to follow in 2012.Yet it seemed to be too much of a design departure for either the traditional customer base or else the brand itself, and the Datejust II was discontinued by 2016. The Datejust 41 replaced it as a very much a scaled-up version of the 36mm piece, with the classic dimensions intact.But there was always a relatively small but enthusiastic audience for the DJII, as decidedly masculine a dress watch as you are likely to find. Issued with a range of dial options (although, strangely, only ever produced on the Oyster bracelet) it offers plenty of choices and is the ideal model for a larger wrist.Rolex is very proud of their patented Cerachrom ceramic alloy, and rightly so. Scratchproof, fade-proof, nigh on unbreakable, it is the perfect material for the brand’s bezels and it has been rolled out across most of the tool watch collection. On the Daytona, it is fitted to models forged from platinum, all three flavors of gold, and the only two steel pieces left in the contemporary lineup – those lusted after models which are more difficult to get ahold of than a Wonka factory golden ticket.But Cerachrom is a fairly new invention. Previous iterations of the stainless steel Daytona have always had steel bezels, something no longer obtainable if you are buying brand new. The last reference to have one was the ref. 116520, which ran from 2000 to 2016, and was the first Daytona to house Rolex’s own in-house chronograph movement, the Cal. 4130.
