EMILE CHOURIET Challenger DEEP

By TLex Emile Chouriet is a Swiss brand that you might not have come across before, reason being, that the Challenger Deep is the very first divers model to come from the Geneva based brand. In fact it is their first sports model, full stop.



Since its foundation in 1685, when Emile Chouriet, a master watchmaker opened his workshop in Geneva, the manufacture has produced highly decorated enameled watches featuring intricate guilloche patterns, foils, pearls and golds of different colors. Combining Genevan watchmaking heritage and know-how to create a collection of elegantly styled timepieces, of which the Challenger Deep now belongs.



Whilst the brand name mightn’t have been familiar to you, the name, Challenger Deep probably was. Taken from the name of deepest known point in the ocean, some 10,916 meters down; in the world of horology the name Challenger Deep is one that has long been associated with Rolex.



On January 23rd 1960, it was a Rolex experimental watch, the DSS that famously descended into the abyss attached to the bathyscaphe, Trieste (manned by Swiss explorer, Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh) not an Emile Chouriet fine timepiece; however the Swiss manufacture have commemorated this incredible human endeavor by presenting its first ever dive watch, the Challenger Deep.



The Challenger Deep perfectly combines function and aesthetics with its 300 meter water-resistant, 42mm Stainless steel case featuring double wing-shaped horns underscoring the brand’s DNA and a rotational divers bezel that is available in either Stainless steel or with a black or blue ceramic inlay to give the watch that desirable sleek and contemporary look.



The use of luminescent material on the dial produces a green hue allowing for readability even in the dark depths of the ocean. Its sunburst-effect dial is available in black, blue, white or grey dial. Its hands and markers are with luminous material. Power comes from an EC9316 caliber, automatic mechanical movement. Functions include: hours, minutes, seconds and date aperture at 3 o’clock.



The watch comes on either a rubber divers strap or a solid Stainless steel bracelet with a divers folding clasp. Simple, handsome and elegant, somewhat generic but without being too derivative, the Challenger Deep should garner the Geneva manufacture a one or two new fans! What do you think?