Cover Rolex and its partners create harmony for the planet
Rolex and its partners create harmony for the planet
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Rolex and its partners create positive rhythms for the planet where time and environment move in harmony.
For almost a century, Rolex has stood alongside pioneering individuals who test the limits, not only to conquer new frontiers, but also to foster a sense of responsibility towards the planet.
With over 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface covered by water, the ocean has often been viewed as the silent stage for life. Yet today, only 8 per cent of it is formally protected. The rest remains uncharted, poorly understood, and far less safeguarded than it should be.
Rolex, in its broader interpretation of “time,” cannot remain untouched by these profound concerns. Through its partnership with National Geographic under the Perpetual Planet initiative, the brand is doing more than creating watches: it is helping to shape a living scientific map, where every stretch of water and every tide is documented with Rolex’s hallmark precision.
Read more: Why Rolex has timed every Wimbledon champion for nearly half a century
Journey beyond the dial
Launched in 2019, Perpetual Planet is a collaboration between Rolex and National Geographic that seeks to investigate and understand ecosystems under greatest threat from climate change. From Mount Everest to the Andes, from the Amazon rainforest to uncharted seas, the journey gathers vital data while also building a new awareness of a changing Earth.
Above From Mount Everest to the Andes, from the Amazon rainforest to uncharted seas, the journey gathers vital data while also building a new awareness of a changing Earth (photo: Luján Agusti/National Geographic)
From Mount Everest to the Andes, from the Amazon rainforest to uncharted seas, the journey gathers vital data while also building a new awareness of a changing Earth (photo: Luján Agusti/National Geographic)
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For Rolex, “Perpetual” is more than an inscription on a dial. It is a guiding philosophy of continuous movement, precision and endurance. This spirit flows not only through the self-winding mechanism, but also through the brand’s long-term scientific endeavours.
As part of its enduring alliance with National Geographic, Rolex has extended Perpetual Planet to embrace two-year ocean expeditions, a global undertaking that spans the five great ocean basins. These voyages are not merely scientific surveys, but journeys that reshape how knowledge is gathered: blending academic expertise, advanced technology and indigenous ecological wisdom.
Above As part of its enduring alliance with National Geographic, Rolex has extended Perpetual Planet to embrace two-year ocean expeditions (photo: Luján Agusti/National Geographic)
As part of its enduring alliance with National Geographic, Rolex has extended Perpetual Planet to embrace two-year ocean expeditions (photo: Luján Agusti/National Geographic)
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In this mission, Rolex is not a distant sponsor: it is a framework standing shoulder to shoulder with its partners. Just as the Oyster case protects the watch’s movement, so too does the brand create conditions for scientists to pursue fieldwork in the harshest environments.
Rolex and its commitment to the community
Behind every ocean expedition are scientists, explorers and local communities. And through its support of the Perpetual Planet Alliance, Rolex is helping to build a durable network of knowledge.
Read more: 5 luxury watches that inspire creativity and bold expression
Above Behind every ocean expedition are scientists, explorers and local communities (photo: Kaitlyn Van De Woestyne/National Geographic)
Behind every ocean expedition are scientists, explorers and local communities (photo: Kaitlyn Van De Woestyne/National Geographic)
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Oceanographer Katy Croff Bell is one of the leading figures. She has designed two research platforms, Maka Niu and DORIS, that open up deep-sea exploration in ways that are affordable, practical, and crucially, scalable. This is not technology for spectacle, but for access. True to Rolex’s ethos, technology is never about display: it is about function that is precise, quiet and enduring.
Above In the Arctic, National Geographic explorers work with the indigenous community of Gjoa Haven to monitor ice thickness, currents and the effect of climate change on daily life (photo: Kaitlyn Van De Woestyne/National Geographic)
In the Arctic, National Geographic explorers work with the indigenous community of Gjoa Haven to monitor ice thickness, currents and the effect of climate change on daily life (photo: Kaitlyn Van De Woestyne/National Geographic)
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In the Arctic, National Geographic explorers work with the indigenous community of Gjoa Haven to monitor ice thickness, currents and the effect of climate change on daily life. They are supported by survey systems and methodologies developed with Rolex’s backing, a genuine Rolex “cogwheel”: different parts, all turning in the same direction.
Above What sets the Rolex and National Geographic initiative apart is its layered approach: every study relies not only on technology but also on trust in people (photo: Luján Agusti/National Geographic)
What sets the Rolex and National Geographic initiative apart is its layered approach: every study relies not only on technology but also on trust in people (photo: Luján Agusti/National Geographic)
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Beneath the Southern Ocean, scientists in partnership with the Schmidt Ocean Institute explore once-inaccessible regions of the seafloor. Each dive extends knowledge, sustained by Rolex’s enduring commitment.
What sets the Rolex and National Geographic initiative apart is its layered approach: every study relies not only on technology but also on trust in people. Devices such as Maka Niu do not supplant human endeavour, but are built to empower it – from scientists to fishermen.
Above In a world racing ahead, Rolex chooses to look far into the future, with the clarity of the present (photo: Giacomo d'Orlando/National Geographic)
In a world racing ahead, Rolex chooses to look far into the future, with the clarity of the present (photo: Giacomo d'Orlando/National Geographic)
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Rolex accompanies every stride of the scientific community, every instrument deployed, every charted tide – with a clear mission: to preserve what deserves protection.
In a world racing ahead, Rolex chooses to look far into the future, with the clarity of the present. For the brand, the ocean is more than a realm to explore. And if there exists a watch that is not meant to be worn, it is perhaps the silent scientific work Rolex supports: not measuring hours, but marking the moments when human understanding reaches the ocean’s depths.
This article is published from the original article in Tatler Vietnam, August 2025 issue
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