Now Playing: Blue Rolex Watches You Can Actually Buy

For a guy who makes movies, James Cameron has a knack for good theater. His appearance on last night’ s edition of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” coincided almost perfectly with Rolex’s online debut of its newest model, the Cameron-inspired DeepSea D-Blue. Take a bow, James.

Released a year after Cameron wore the standard Rolex DeepSea to a seven-mile depth in his personal submarine, the new model precedes the imminent release of Cameron’s 3-D “Deepsea Challenge” documentary of the feat. Naturally, discussion of the D-Blue has been burning up the inter webs since Rolex’s media embargo ended on the eve of the Fallon appearance.

But some “coming attractions” jump the gun. The D-Blue. Is. Unobtainable. Even Cameron didn’t have one for the Tonight Show (he wore the standard DeepSea from his dive). Fortunately, The 1916 Company has a blockbuster triple-feature to satisfy Rolex fans on a blue-watch kick.

The Rolex Submariner IS Rolex. While some may argue the point, the Sub has been omnipresent in pop culture, military combat, auction records, and offices around the world for over 50 years. As Cameron would agree, that’s a franchise to make James Bond jealous. But even Bond is part of the story; every 007 from Connery to Dalton wore a Submariner in the line of duty.

The 1916 Company is pleased to offer a classic 16613 two-tone Submariner that plays like a double-feature; the Rolex steel/gold combo known as “Rolesor” is a company original and a signature of its upscale sports watches. While James Cameron’s DeepSea D-Blue is land-locked in Geneva for the time being, this Submariner is ready to take the plunge into the Abyss.

This generation of Sub – the 16613 – includes many modern standards like a scratch resistant sapphire crystal and luminova glowing paint that won’t fade with years. The two-tone delivers a contemporary Rolex experience free of the compromises imposed by older vintage Submariners.

Rolesor is a striking juxtaposition of precious metal and durable stainless steel. The combination is ideal for a luxury dive watch that may take knocks in a swimsuit but still must look the part in a business suit. The most vulnerable parts of the case, clasp, and bracelet are rugged and easily refinished steel. The bezel, center links of the bracelet, and crown are this sub’s “special effects.”

An their effect is special, indeed. The combination of a blue bezel with gold calibrations, blue dial insert, 18K hands and indexes, and gilt-style gold dial print is compelling to even the most casual observers.

But there are times when you just want to feel like you’re the King of the World, and a sports watch fit for a king should carry a moniker to match. With all due respect to the venerable Submariner, the Yacht-Master is the luxury watch for a media mogul like James Cameron. Introduced in 1992 as a kind of “Submariner Deluxe,” the Yacht-Master features bolder hands, larger indexes, and more muscular case contours. If the 16613 Sub is Sarah Conner in The Terminator, this Yacht-Master is Sarah Conner in Terminator 2.

And like the hardcore heroine version of Conner, the Yacht-Master brings the heavy metal. A trademark of the Yacht-Master series, the all-gold bezel features an insert that is permanently fixed to the rotating assembly with solder. As a result, it’s impossible to mistake this watch for a garden-variety Sub, and the bezel will hide scratches and scuffs with ease that will make Sub owners green with envy.

Green is good, but blue is better. Since we’re talking blue Rolexes, the visual hook of this Yacht-Master is the sunburst metallic blue dial. An image of beauty with its gold indications, white luminova, and red/gold text tandem, this dial also reads as an Avatar of elegance. In direct light, this dial explodes like a mid-summer fireworks display, and the effect continues as light moves across the subtle grooves of the surface. This Yacht-Master 16623 represents tremendous value through The 1916 Company and the money saved relative to the MSRP of the new model equivalent will buy a war chest of 3-D movie tickets.

And you will need those tickets, because every summer box office champ deserves a sequel. Although James Cameron isn’t a prolific producer of follow-up films, when he does revisit his hits, he goes goes all-out. In the spirit of Cameron’s epic Terminator 2, the Rolex Yacht-Master II brings modern complications, exotic materials, and Titanic proportions to our showcase of blue Rolex watches.

At 44 mm, the Yacht-Master II 116681 is anything but bashful. This watch has the size and presence to hold its own against Cameron’s new “DeepSea D-Blue,” and the YMII packs all of the modern Rolex innovations. A blue ceramic bezel resolutely resists scratches, and it functions as the programming tool for the unique regatta timer.

Although Cameron seems to enjoy spending time beneath the waves, those who race atop the swells need a reliable countdown tool to cue their maneuvers during yacht racing. Not only does the YMII serve this purpose, but it’s equipped with a mechanical memory that allows the user to set a specific countdown time between zero and ten minutes. The watch’s mechanical memory retains this program, and the chronograph features a flyback function that returns the count to the programmed time and restarts the countdown.

In practice, it’s easy to use, and this may be the most useful complication in the watch business. It can be used to track everything from boiling eggs to the kids’ timeout. Plus, the Yacht-Master II’s exotic dial and chronograph will make this watch the “feature presentation” at any social engagement.

While James Cameron waits for his new blue Rolex, you need not wait for yours. Enjoy the best days of Summer 2014 with a Rolex on your wrist, and leave the coming attractions to Hollywood.