Dive Watches

[mike the snake]

Don't forget about the Plo Prof

http://www.ploprof.com/PloProf.html

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by Devious21

Maybe not on the same level but my next watch will be this guy. I love the clean, minimalist feel and the red contrast.
http://www.damasko.de/de/modelle/dre...ring/da44black
http://www.ablogtowatch.com/damasko-da44-watch/

I just came across this brand recently: Limes. Also German and also very well made. It's nice too that they use Ickler cases. Pricing is about the same as Damasko. Movements inside will also be the same unless you are looking at manufacture pieces.

All the best.

[tony20009]

[tony20009]

Laco/Lacher - Very reasonably priced German dive watches. Military type divers that are nicely made, reliable, and have a different look that yet doesn't ask too much of one to wear it with ease. (ETA inside. $700 - $2000) These aren't small watches -- 45mm and 46mm.

https://shop.laco.de/en/index.html?x...ns7s808pmghuh4
http://www.timequestwatches.com/id5.html





The also offer non-dive watches.



The pilot style watches are very affordable at $350 to $1800, some with Miyota (Japanese - Citizen) inside. All have Superluminova lume. The one in the second pic has a glow in the dark dial rather than the numbers being the bits that glow. There are quartz variants available too.



All the best.

[boots]

Here is my dads Tudor he gave me back in 1983. The navy gave this to my dad when he graduated dive school. 1960's. Hope you like it.

[tony20009]

These are quite nice and the pricing is great considering they still have ETA inside. (Since 2010, when ETA announced they were cutting back on distribution to non-Swatch Group companies, ETA prices have been rising rapidly.)

Ocean Mariner - $600 (There's a used one on WUS for sale ~$350)


Here's essentially the same thing wit Sellita inside. I wouldn't be upset about that at all. $300.



Cave Dweller 2 -- More of the same. Miyota (Citizen) inside. $500 to start and goes up. Lots of dial color choices


Harpoon - Slightly different styling. Miyota inside. $650.

[finaloption]

Picked up a Squale 50 Atmos this weekend. Loving the color. ETA 2824-2 inside.. so far running +3 a day. not bad...

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by finaloption

Picked up a Squale 50 Atmos this weekend. Loving the color. ETA 2824-2 inside.. so far running +3 a day. not bad...

That looks great on the mesh bracelet too.

Enjoy. I know you will/do, of course.

All the best.

[Etek]

Because of this thread I bought 3 dive watches in within this past week. All of the Seiko's. No love for the Seikos Tony? How about Steinhart? The Ocean 2 is pretty nice.

[mike the snake]

I love my Seiko Orange Monster!

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by Etek

Because of this thread I bought 3 dive watches in within this past week. All of the Seiko's. No love for the Seikos Tony? How about Steinhart? The Ocean 2 is pretty nice.

I like Seiko watches just fine. Their divers are some of the best. I tend not to mention too many of the major brands' products though as I figured folks will find those items whether I mention them or not. I didn't specifically picture the Rolex Sub or Omega Seamaster for the same reason.

All the best.

[owen2001]

Saw photos/review of this Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver earlier this year at Basel and knew that I had to have one. I placed the order way back in May and it only recently arrived here in the States. This will probably be my new daily wear watch. I went with the black dial and stainless bracelet.

It looks 10x better than in my crummy photo!

[K19BMW]

Im surprised the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf (before zodiac was bought by fossil) isn't mentioned in here. It is suppose to be one of the best dive watches ever made.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by K19BMW

Im surprised the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf (before zodiac was bought by fossil) isn't mentioned in here. It is suppose to be one of the best dive watches ever made.

It's a watch worth having. The Zodiacs were, in their day, a "go to" watch for professional and technical divers. Even now, a good one is worth having and wearing.

The biggest challenge is finding one in good condition aesthetically. As watches used by divers who needed a dive watch, many of them got beaten up pretty bad, though they took the licking and kept on ticking too.

As a desk diver who never dove below 50 feet, I have no desire to own a dinged up watch. Were I a former diver who used one, I'd wear it proudly, dings and all. The dings would in the latter case be mine and would have a story to go with them. IMO, "my story" of experiences with a given watch are far more meaningful and interesting than any story a watch company might have about themselves.

Squale makes a decently similar looking watch that one can buy new.

All the best.

[Etek]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

I love my Seiko Orange Monster!

I ended up getting a black monster, a blue sumo, and a blue baby tuna LE. All in the mail so hopefully this week.

[Canuck135i]

These have not been mentioned....good Canadian company.

http://www.momentumwatch.com/pages/p...r_Polyurethane

[1smokehouse]

Bough this years ago in Okinawa, use it as a analog backup to my dive computer. Great watch, get a lot of compliments on the orange dial...

[radiofrequency]

Originally Posted by BASTOS HUMARUROT 335i

Check out UTS dive watches. Got introduced to the brand by dive friends active in the German MIL/LE. They are IMO, one of the best dive watches to own.

I have owned a UTS for several years now, haven't seen anyone wearing one of these, love it for it's uniqueness and rarity + for the quality, the price is right.

[FormerRotor]

There is some great info in here.

I just found out that my friend's son actually has a watch company that is putting together some good looking and seemingly qualityish pieces. I'd be curious as to the take of you true horological junkies...
http://www.smithbradleyltd.com

It's not what I'd consider a dive watch, but my wife just got me a Breguet Marine (100atm) for my last birthday. With a screw-in crown and a stainless steel bracelet, it's hugely versatile. I'd have no qualms wearing it with a snorkel, jeans, or a suit. The best part to me is that nearly no one recognizes it for what it is and those that do are watch people who enjoy the non-ubiquitous selection (vs say a Sub).

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by FormerRotor

There is some great info in here.

I just found out that my friend's son actually has a watch company that is putting together some good looking and seemingly qualityish pieces. I'd be curious as to the take of you true horological junkies...
http://www.smithbradleyltd.com

It's not what I'd consider a dive watch, but my wife just got me a Breguet Marine (100atm) for my last birthday. With a screw-in crown and a stainless steel bracelet, it's hugely versatile. I'd have no qualms wearing it with a snorkel, jeans, or a suit. The best part to me is that nearly no one recognizes it for what it is and those that do are watch people who enjoy the non-ubiquitous selection (vs say a Sub).

Well, the Smith Bradley watches appear to be comparable with other watches having ETA, Sellita, or Soporod movements inside. The question in my mind is that the SB website makes ambiguous claims so I'm not entirely sure what to make of the watches. For example:

• "Movement, either the venerable ETA 2892, or a Certified Chronometer"
  What does that mean? There are ETA 2982 and ETA 2892-2 (ETA 2892-A2) movements. Which one are they using? Also, not all 2892 movements are chronometer grade ones. (http://www.chronometrie.com/eta2892/eta2892.html) Are all 2892 movements decent movements? Yes, they are, but there are differences. And by the way, whose chronometer grade movement are they using?
• "For our automatic movements, we use the best--the ETA 2824-2."
  Again, it's not clear which grade of ETA 2892-2 they are using. Accordingly, it's impossible to know what sort of value the watch represents. (http://etaswissmovement.com/24/eta-movement-grades.html) They didn't mention anything about chronometer grade movements in relation to the 2824-2 carrying watches, so that in and of itself suggests they may not be using the best ETA 2824 available.
• "Upon completion of each piece the heritage is meticulously, and borderline neurotically tested to ensure water resistance and accurate time keeping. "
  Again, I'm not sure what to make of this. I know the COSC only certify uncased movements.
• "If you are interested in owning a True American Watch, email us."
  "True American?" Well that would be a watch from Keyton Myrick or RGM, not Smith Bradley. SB's styling is, I suppose, American enough, that is if a watch style can be called American as opposed to anything else. "Half American" is what I'd call SB's watches, and that would pertain to the half of the watch that is readily seen, the case and bracelet.
  
  I'm not suggesting by any means that the case and bracelet aren't essential to a watch. They most certainly are. What I am saying is that SB spend a lot of time addressing their efforts at producing and collaborating with metal workers to produce their watch cases and bracelets. That suggests quite plainly that they are producing their pieces to appeal to one's style sense rather than one's appreciation for the craft of movement and dial making. There's nothing wrong with that; it's a business decision, and for many watch companies it's the only logical and affordable way to enter the industry.

Beyond the ambiguities, there are statements that just cannot be true.

• "While we wanted to produce a watch of the highest possible quality, with the best possible components, we also wanted to machine the case, the case back, and assemble all of the components in the USA"
  Well, I'm almost certain they didn't, don't and don't want to produce the highest quality watch possible. Functionally speaking, there's no question that chronometer grade timekeeping is quite good, but it's not the best that can be achieved in mechanical watches.
  
  To the best of my knowledge, among Swiss mechanical movements, the best routinely achieved timekeeping standards are achieved by watches obtaining the Fleurier Quality and (as of 2012) Geneva Seal, and no ETA movement ever certifiably matches the timekeeping standard established for either certification. Observatory chronometers surpass even those standards, consistently operating at +/- 1 second per day.
  
  In terms of movement finishing quality, I'm sure SB have not produced the highest quality possible. Had they, they'd have at least mentioned something about having finished their movements in "this manner or that." I didn't see the first mention of movement finishing.
• "Each Atlantis watch is fully-built, tested, and timed in Sidney Illinois at the Smith & Bradley workshop"
  Well that's clearly not so if the movement is built in Switzerland.
• "We oversee each and part of the build and quality control process."
  Again, clearly not so. They have nothing at all to do with ETA's quality control procedures. They may have some degree of freedom as goes specifying whether ETA perform various minor finishing aspects on the movement, such as perhaps engraving Smith & Bradley on the rotor or a large bridge section. Even so, that's specifying options, not "overseeing" any part of the build process.

I don't especially care which ETA movement they put inside their watches. They are all decent, but if one is to compare the watches against others when trying to make a purchase decision and part of what matters to one's decision is the movement, knowing exactly what movement is in there is important. When a maker is ambiguous and/or vague about that sort of detail, and especially when in one place they are ostensibly specific and in others they are not, it sends up "red flags." Doing that sort of thing just isn't necessary. If one is proud of one's offerings, then just plainly state the details and let consumers choose.

I know for now your friend may be small enough to still get ETA movements. Within the next lustrum or so, Swatch/ETA will no longer sell ETA movements to non-Swatch Group companies. Or at least that's the publicly stated plan. Other Swiss movement making companies -- Soporod, Sellita, Concepto, and others -- are there to fill the void, though at the moment, only Sellita has the capacity to produce at volumes needed to fill ETA's shoes. Many watch companies of similar size and newness have already switched over to one of the competing movement makers, if only to effect a smooth transition and not suffer backlogs in the supply chain. I hope SB do the same and secure themselves a place as a valued customer of one of those other companies ASAP.

So given the preceding, what do I think of SB's watches. I think they produce solid watches that can be relied on to perform well. I doubt they are better or worse than any other watch one might choose having ETA inside. Aside from minor styling touches, I don't see anything different about the watch that makes it stand out from others in its price segment, style segment (divers), or technical segment (uncomplicated, functional watches). I have no reason to dissuade one from buying one, but I similarly have no reason to encourage buying one.



All the best.

[bunnysloper]

Zodiac Oceanaire is another sensibly priced automatic dive watches:

http://www.zodiacwatches.com/en_US/s...oceanaire.html

[tek818]

Excellent thread with some very detailed info. I really like Deep Blue watches-- particularly their older models. The majority of their new models are too mainstream and cheap looking for my taste. I have three Deep Blues left in my collection. They are:

- Master 2000 GMT (ETA 2836-2)
- Master 2000 III (ETA 2824-2)
- Master Mag 1000 (ETA 2824-2)

I had a Helson Shark Diver which I liked, but didn't get much wrist time, so I sold it. Other than the micros, my collection mostly consists of Breitling, Tag, and Oris.

My Master 2000 GMT in my old 335i: