THE DEPTH OF TIME

Through its Perpetual Planet Initiative, Rolex lends its precision to Dr Sylvia Earle's enduring quest to protect the ocean.

- Words: ANANDHI GOPINATH

For almost a century, Rolex has been synonymous with exploration — from equipping Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on Everest to accompanying Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh into the Mariana Trench. But in recent decades, the Swiss watchmaker's commitment to discovery has evolved into something broader and more urgent: preservation. Through its Perpetual Planet Initiative, Rolex now supports scientists, conservationists, and explorers whose work deepens our understanding of the natural world while helping to protect it. Among these figures, none embodies that dual purpose more completely than Dr Sylvia Earle.

An oceanographer, marine biologist, and explorer, Earle has spent more than 60 years studying and defending the world's oceans. Since becoming a Rolex Testimonee in 1982, she has partnered with the brand in a shared pursuit: to understand and safeguard what she calls the “blue heart” of the planet. Their collaboration has become one of the most enduring and intellectually significant alliances between science and industry— one built not on sponsorship, but on a common philosophy of endurance, precision, and stewardship.

A LIFE IN THE SERVICE OF THE SEA

Born in New Jersey in 1935, Sylvia Earle's fascination with water began in childhood, when she spent hours observing life in local ponds and tide pools—an early curiosity eventually became a vocation. After earning a PhD from Duke University, she embarked on a career that combined fieldwork, innovation, and advocacy. Her early expeditions were marked by both daring and discipline: in 1970 she led Tektite II, the first all-female team of aquanauts to live for two weeks inside a submerged habitat in the Virgin Islands. The mission studied the effects of extended underwater living on human physiology and marine ecosystems, and it marked the start of Earle's lifelong campaign to expand the public's understanding of ocean science.