
From deep submersibles used for scientific expeditions to ultra-luxe personal submersibles designed by Aston Martin to futuristic creations, the CEO of Triton is spearheading some of the most exciting projects in the deep blue sea, and sits among the innovators featured in the Spearâs Luxury Index 2020
Submarine-maker Bruce Jones has more than 33 yearsâ experience in the underwater transport world, where he first started as a consultant in the tourism industry. Back then submarines could take up to 48 passengers and dive to around 50 metres. He co-founded his own submarine firm in 1993 before going into business with Patrick Lahey, professional deep-sea explorer, setting up Florida-based Triton in 2007. âWe really went from one model to where we are now â 12 models of deep submersibles and six models of tourist submarines,â recalls Jones, Tritonâs CEO.Â
One model stands out. The company describes Triton 36,000/2, which can dive more than a kilometre, as âpossibly the most impressive tool for human exploration and scientific endeavours since Apollo 11â. It was aboard one of these that Prince Albert II of Monaco became âthe deepest diving head of stateâ when he took a dive in the Mediterranean in 2019.Â
Triton entered the luxury market in 2007, says Jones, when mining billionaire Chris Colne became a customer. âHe was a terrific fellow,â recalls Jones. âHe was buying a new yacht from Trinity and thought, âWell, if Iâm going to spend $30 million on a yacht, I probably will have a submarine to have some fun with.ââ Another customer is Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio, who owns two Tritons, one of which was used by Japanese broadcaster NHK to film the first ever recorded encounter with the giant squid, the largest invertebrate on earth, which is about the length of a bus.Â
A Triton buyer, says Jones, is a superyacht owner who can come from anywhere in the world, from the US to the Middle East and Russia. âIâd say to [a new client] that we are so confident youâre going to love your Triton that Iâll give you the name of every single Triton buyer in our history,â he says.Â
The âepigenomeâ of the luxury submersible, for Jones, is the Project Neptune models which Triton created with Aston Martin through a âcreative collaborationâ. âThere were some pretty significant limitations on the exterior look of the sub, but they really managed to make it sort of sexy,â he says of the $4.4 million limited-edition vehicles with shiny metal-oxide veneers and hand-stitched seats. Buyers can access the British carmakerâs âQ divisionâ, which offers âthe ultimate level of personalisationâ.Â
Jones is looking forward to launching a âdeso-electricâ submersible-yacht hybrid capable of diving to 300m. âIf you build a big one of those, you can even carry a deep-diving submarine on board. Even if youâre underwater, you can crawl into your 10,000-foot capable acrylic submarine, leave the mother sub and dive. Itâs the stuff of science fiction.â
Photo: Nick Verola
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How superyachts can boost the global luxury property market
The Spearâs Luxury Index 2020: John Romain