All the ten diving watches – except the Rolex – shown here have been presented in 2016. It´s a choice I have made for you. I hope you like them!
Divers belong to the category of watches no one really needs. Still they are very popular, although most of them never see water and/or get used as a diver. So it is the technical look that counts, comparable to SUVs on the streets. The later are never used on rough roads either…
But to be very clear, all the watches I show you underneath are DIN/ISO-certified divers and therefore can be used as a professional diving instrument.
My choice is in alphabetical order and therefore of course NOT a ranking. I do also not mention any prices, because I want you just to simply enjoy the watches.
If you search on my blog you will find the prices of all shown divers in other articles. Please just use the search function here on top.
If you guys now tell me which of the ten is your favourite, then I will tell you which one is mine.
Let us start…
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe
The 43,6 mm case is made out of grey ceramic, the unidirectional turning bezel has a blue ceramic inlay. The Blancpain is powered by the “1315” in-house calibre and waterproof up to 300 meters. the watch comes either with the bracelet shown on the picture or a blue nato-strap. Look on my blog you will find pictures of both…
Breitling Superocean 44 Special
This Breitling waterproof up to 1000 meters is made out of steel. The 44 mm case is PVD-treated so it turns black. The unidirectional bezel has a back ceramic inlay. The watch is powered by an ETA 2824 calibre that is COSC-certfied and features a black rubber strap.
Cartier Calibre de Cartier Diver Blue
The steel case measures 42 mm and only 11 mm in height, so the Cartier Diver is quite flat and therefore pretty attractive, also when used as a daily watch. Still the Diver is officially certified and therefore can be used as a professional divers watch. Waterproof up to 300 meters. The Cartier is powered by the in-house calibre “1904-PS MC”.
Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman Titanium
The Hamilton is huge! 46 mm! But its titanium case makes the watch ultralight and therefore worn on the wrist you don’t have the impression to wear such a huge object. The case is waterproof up to 1000 meters and the special crown protecting device is a replica taken from a Hamilton military watch from 1943. The watch is powered by an ETA-calibre with 80 hours power reserve.
Mido Ocean Star Captain Titanium
The Ocean Star Captain is water-resistant up to 200 meters and weighs only 123 grams. Its 42,5 mm case and bracelet are made out of titanium. The case houses the Caliber 80 manufactured by ETA for the brand with a power reserve of 80 hours.
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean
The 43,5 mm and up to 600 meters waterproof steel case features a bezel with grey ceramic and orange rubber inlay. The case houses the latest generation of Omega-calibres. The Master Chronometer Co-Axial Calibre “8900” is antimagnetic and resists magnetic fields greater than 15.000 Gauss.
Oris Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition II
Huge! 46 mm! Made out of steel and therefore a little heavy, but still not too heavy. The Oris is ultra robust and a real diver. I would estimate that this watch really is worn for diving. Waterproof up to 500 meters. Only 2000 pieces are going to be made and parts of the retail price are used to conserve the Barrier Reef in Australia.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Sea-Dweller 4000
The Icon among the divers here! There is not much to say since everyone knows that this is a damn good diving watch and one of the coolest watches you can wear on land. The 40 mm Sea-Dweller with its ceramic bezel is powered by the Rolex-claibre “3135” and waterproof up to 1220 meters
TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300 m Calibre 5
You can choose among a blue and black one. The 43 mm TAG Heuer is waterproof up to 300 meters, powered by an ETA “2824-2” calibre and features a bezel with a ceramic inlay.
Tudor Heritage Black Bay Dark
This is the absolute black Black Bay from Tudor. Since black Black Bay sounds a little weird they named the watch “dark”. The 42 mm dark diver is waterproof up to 200 meters and powered by the Tudor calibre “MT5602”.
If I didn’t care about prestige I would definitely go for the Tudor. The black bay is beautiful and has lot of character. However would choose the black bay black. But actual choice would be the 50 or Rolex.
Alexander, can we hear your favourite?
The BLANCPAIN is my favourite. I fell in love with the watch when I first time saw it in Basel … Looks live even better than on the picture …
I like a bit of orange in a watch so my choice would be between the Mido and the Seamaster, with the Seamaster getting it if I had the money. It would be a different answer if you had included the bronze version of the Tudor Black Bay, though….
I did not include the Bronze since I exactly expected this kind of reaction… The Bronze does not need any attraction anymore 🙂 And I have been showing the Bronze more than once meanwhile…
Hi, Alexander, It would be nice if you would indicate retail prices to give readers a better idea of what is in or out of their budgets. Thanks.
As mentioned in the text I did it by purpose… You will find all prices by using the search function of my blog since I have been writing of all the watches before
I’l take the Hamilton myself.
I find the hands and canteen crown guard most attractive and tecnical looking. And it is quite obtainable for all.
All in all, fine selection to choose from, Alexander.
….very nice.
Dear Alexander, I think we all know these watches, an interesting one is the Mido Ocean Star. It’s not the brand that comes into my mind when we talk about diving watches but it is a piece i need to look at. The colours are just right and so is the case size, really very Nike.
Fine selection, I must say, but out of these 10 divers, I would choose Rolex Sea-Dweller and Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean.
Alex
You have put nice line up of ladies with numbers from 1 to 10, I have decided to go for number 1 with the blue dress.
I noticed some of the quoted waterproof depths didin’t match up with the watch faces, was there any particular reason?
If there are wrongs quotes it is simply my fault. I’ll check a.s.a.p.
David, I just checked my quotes… I only forgot to ad a “0” at Breitling, so no drama I think…
Alexander, what a dream collection! If I have to make a cruel choice between the Sea Dweller and Cartier Diver, it will be the all-occasion Cartier Diver, simply for its super cool factor.