Dr Sylvia Earle
MARINE BIOLOGISTPhotograph by PHILIP SINDEN
Photographed in the Mammals Gallery at the Natural History Museum, London on June 4, 2019
wearing a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust in Yellow Gold with President braceletWikipedia will tell you that the Age of Discovery lasted from the 15th to the 17th century, when overseas exploration emerged as a powerful factor in
European culture. But when it comes to undersea exploration, Dr Sylvia Earle argues that ours is “the greatest era of discovery about the nature of life
in the sea”. If so, she is an aquanaut Columbus. “A watch was given to me in 1970 as part of the Tektite II project that Rolex helped to equip,” she says.
“That watch became my most reliable ‘dive buddy’. It was a beautiful, practical, stainless steel instrument; my lifesaving piece of equipment.” On a
dive about 10 years later, she saw a friend wearing a watch that seemed more appropriate “for meeting royalty”. She thought her friend had forgotten
to change her watch. “Then I saw it was a Rolex—a beautiful watch that served as a rugged diving instrument but could also enhance black tie attire. I
was smitten. The Rolex I am wearing has been introduced to numerous fish, whales, starfish and shrimp in the Arctic, Antarctic, Pacific, Atlantic and
Indian Oceans and been my companion during all but the first of the 10 times that I have lived underwater. It has also been present at meetings with
heads of state, scientific conferences, talks in schools...” Still diving at 83, Earle continues to be amazed by what she sees underwater and appalled by
mankind’s effect on it. “It has taken 4.5 billion years for Earth to develop into a planet suitable for humankind and it has taken humankind four and a
half decades to alter the temperature, chemistry and fabric of life in ways that threaten our continued existence. The Rolex on my wrist is a constant
reminder of time on a practical, personal level but also on a grand scale. There is time—but no time to waste—to use the unprecedented knowledge
now available to secure an enduring place for ourselves as a part of nature, not apart from it.”—N ICHOLAS FOULK ES
84 VANITY FAIR ON TIME AUTUMN^2019