Over the years, the Submariner and Submariner Date have proven that they belong as much on land as they do underwater. Adopted by personalities from various backgrounds, they remain the tool watches of choice for many divers and deep-sea explorers, including environmentalists, photographers and directors. Rolex supports these tireless observers of the beauty and fragility of the oceans as part of its Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Rolex Testimonee since 2022
Titouan Bernicot
Saving the coral reefs
Having witnessed the deterioration of the coral reef surrounding Mo’orea, his island home in French Polynesia, Titouan Bernicot decided to take action to save its unique ecosystem. In 2017, at the age of 18, he founded Coral Gardeners with a view to restoring the coral, which was bleaching as a result of climate change. The organization, supported by Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative, has already transplanted 100,000 corals. Coral Gardeners is developing partnerships and exporting its restoration method to Fiji, Thailand, Indonesia, Panama and Puerto Rico.
Photographer David Doubilet has dedicated his life to the oceans, capturing through his lens the action, drama and poetry that lie beneath the surface. A pioneer in his field, he began his career in 1962 at the age of 16, when underwater photography was still in its infancy. Over more than 60 years, he has spent some 27,000 hours underwater, developing new photographic techniques. A tireless witness to the beauty of the aquatic world, he raises awareness of the absolute necessity of preserving its wonders through his work. His photographs represent one of the most strikingly effective pleas for the preservation of the underwater world.
Before turning to photography, Cristina Mittermeier was already a biologist working in marine conservation. Her photographs highlight the relationship between humans and biodiversity. They have been exhibited in numerous museums, galleries and festivals from Miami, Monaco and New York to Stockholm and Santiago. Founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers, she is also associated with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as an ambassador for Goal 14, dedicated to conserving aquatic life. In 2014, together with photographer Paul Nicklen, she founded SeaLegacy, an organization that raises public awareness about the importance of protecting the oceans and generates support for concrete actions often led by indigenous communities.
Canadian photographer and biologist Paul Nicklen spent his childhood in an Inuit village in the Northwest Territories of Canada. To this day, he retains a keen interest in the landscapes of the Far North, the ice floes and the wildlife that inhabits them. For over 20 years, his photographs have captured the splendour of the wild world of his early years. They highlight its fragility in the face of climate change, both in the poles and in the oceans. Nicklen returns from his dives with breathtakingly beautiful pictures that invite us to take action to protect the ecosystems of these regions. A photojournalist for National Geographic, he has won numerous awards including the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Following the success of Aliens in 1986, James Cameron finally acquired the watch he had been dreaming of for years: a Submariner. It proved to be the ideal companion for his other passion: exploring the underwater world. It was this passion that led him to become deeply involved in the fight to protect the oceans. After the success of his film The Abyss in 1989, the director returned to the ocean depths with Titanic, released in 1997. Naturally, he wore his Submariner on set. On screen, the character of Brock Lovett, played by Bill Paxton, wears a Submariner Date, the perfect tool for his role as diver-cameraman-wreck hunter in this masterpiece that has gone down in cinematic history.
On 26 March 2012, James Cameron made history when he reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, at 10,908 metres (35,787 feet) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The inspirational DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition paved the way for a new era in scientific exploration of the ocean floor. Rolex was at his side for this exceptional journey.
