The copy Rolex Deepsea Challenge Ref. 126067 is designed to withstand extreme pressure. 126067 is made of the company’s grade 5 titanium alloy, RLX Titanium. One of the great advantages of titanium is that it is a lightweight material; as a result, the Ref. 126067 is 30% lighter than the 2012 prototype, despite its 50mm case diameter. Rolex has also reduced the thickness of the sapphire crystal, which is now 9.5mm, to make it easier to wear.
Let’s pause for a moment because Rolex makes a 50mm watch. This is crazy; before today, the brand’s largest series-produced watch measured 44mm, so the jump to 50mm is dramatic. Also, let’s remember that until 2007, Rolex’s men’s watches were between 36mm and 40mm.
As Rolex’s most extreme commercially produced dive fake watch to date, the Deepsea Challenge Ref. 126067 has all the features and whistles of previous saturation divers. For example, a helium relief valve properly manages decompression by automatically draining the gas that accumulates in the watch. Then there is the Ringlock system, which features a nitrogen alloy steel ring inside the case to protect it from the enormous pressure of the sea floor. In addition, there is the Triplock screw-down crown with three sealing zones to keep water out.
Unlike copy Rolex‘s other Deepsea replica watches, the Deepsea Challenge does not include a date window, resulting in a beautifully clean and symmetrical dial. The rest of the details are in the tradition of all modern Rolex divers, including Mercedes-style hands, light-filled hour markers, and Chromalight luminescence.
Will we see other titanium Rolex watches soon? Maybe. But maybe the RLX Titanium will become exclusive to the Deepsea Challenge collection, just as the Rolesium is exclusive to the Yacht-Master collection. After all, it makes sense that Rolex would choose an ultra-light material like titanium for its largest watch to date.