In 1996, director James Cameron made high demands on his team during the filming of Titanic. However, the immense effort on and off the camera paid off when the film became the highest-grossing movie of all time (a record later surpassed in 2009 by Avatar, also directed by Cameron) and won numerous awards, including eleven Oscars.
Cameron found his inspiration for Titanic in 1992, after watching Titanic: Treasure of the Deep. For this documentary, renowned underwater filming specialist Alfred “Al” Giddings—who had previously collaborated with Cameron on Abyss (1989)—assembled a team of American and Soviet scientists, technicians, and diving experts to capture unique footage of the ocean liner wreck. The Titanic, which sank on 15 April 1912, lay nearly 4,000 metres below sea level, requiring numerous dives with the research submersible Mir to capture its haunting depths. Accompanying Giddings on these dives was his stainless steel Rolex Submariner, a waterproof wristwatch he had worn on countless other projects worldwide, including early research dives to the Titanic site in 1986, just a year after the wreck’s rediscovery.
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On December 6th, the watch—along with another from Giddings’ collection—will be auctioned at Sotheby’s Important Watches Sale in New York, with an estimated value of $20,000 to $40,000.
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Geoff Hess, Sotheby’s Global Head of Watches, commented: “Al Giddings has lived an extraordinary life, brimming with experiences that only the most intrepid adventurers could dream of. For fifty years, these watches have journeyed with him across the globe, from the icy realms of the North Pole to the profound depths of the ocean. No other timepieces boast such extensive underwater exposure, particularly the steel model, which has accumulated tens, if not hundreds of thousands of hours beneath the waves. If there exists a maritime counterpart to a watch that has journeyed to the moon, these are it. It is a privilege to present these remarkable treasures to the market for the first time, destined to captivate those who share a passion for history, adventure, and exploration.”
The second watch from Giddings’ collection to be presented by Sotheby’s on December 6th is a yellow gold Rolex Submariner, with an estimated value of $30,000 to $60,000.
This watch originally came to Giddings after filming a documentary about the research of renowned marine biologist and oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle. Since Earle is also a brand ambassador for Rolex diver’s watches, the company asked Giddings if they might use some of the footage for a campaign, which Giddings was happy to allow, free of charge. In gratitude, Rolex sent him the very gold Submariner by post, leaving him somewhat speechless.
See also: The 10 Greatest Dive Watches for Collectors
Although Giddings did not wear his gold Submariner as often as the stainless steel one, it accompanied him during the filming of Titanic, where Cameron once again enlisted him as co-producer and head of underwater filming. Giddings even had a small cameo on board the research vessel Keldysh, whose crew in the film is searching for the legendary Heart of the Ocean blue diamond. The treasure-hunting team is led by Brock Lovett, played by Bill Paxton, to whom Giddings lent his gold watch for the scene—a detail Giddings nearly forgot about. “I had completed my part in the film and had returned to Montana. Eight or ten months later, I found myself wondering, ‘Whatever happened to my gold Rolex?’ so I contacted Jim’s [James Cameron’s] office. A week or two later, it arrived in the post, along with a thank-you card from Fox.”
