Five dive watches to invest in

The first watch to push beyond ‘general’ diving and create a specific tool for the diver who not only visited the depths, but lived there for prolonged periods was the Rolex Sea-Dweller. The clue is in the name and the much discussed, rarely-used helium escape valve is only relevant if you are living in a helium-rich environment such as a diving bell. This ground-breaking watch hit the ripe old age of 50 this year and so Rolex treated it to an update. 

The anniversary edition shares its predecessor’s depth rating of 4,000ft, twice that of the 1967 original while the size goes from 40mm to 43mm with a broader bracelet to match. The two key features that got the fans talking are the dial text and the date cyclops. The single line of red text was unexpected, with many expecting a double line, but Rolex chose to reference a rarer earlier model that few outside the specialist collecting world were aware of. More divisive was the addition of a cyclops date; tradition says that a key feature of the Sea-Dweller is the lack of a cyclops, but Rolex says it would have had it from the start if it could… Now the brand has the technology to achieve it, it does. 

From the same stable, Tudor has been pushing its Heritage line for some time now, specifically the Black Bay. Launched in 2012, the Black Bay is not so much a re-issue as a distillation of various vintage details from Tudor’s past, particularly the ‘snowflake’ hands, originally found on Tudor Submariners produced from 1969 to 1975 and made famous as tool watches selected by the French Navy. With a large number of model variants already on offer, anticipation was rife as to what other niches could be filled. 

Tudor surprised with an additional four lines to the collection: the Black Bay Steel (pictured), boasting a steel case with steel bezel insert; the bi-metal Black Bay S&G; the entry-level Black Bay 41; and the first Black Bay to feature a twin-register chronograph, the Chrono. Much has been said about whether the broad snowflake hands obscure the sub-dials too much but given the tongue-in-cheek introduction to this piece and the fact that chronographs are possibly the least used complication ever in comparison to how many are made, and you have to accept the fact that this is simply an aesthetic that will either appeal, or won’t. 

Hot contenders for the first modern, publicly available dive watch of a style we would recognise today is Blancpain and its Fifty Fathoms, which like Tudor, Rolex and a host of others also saw military duty. This year the brand chose to celebrate this military connection with its limited edition ‘Tribute to Mil-Spec’ and what a tribute it was… no navy diver would ever be entrusted with a piece of kit quite as nice as this. 

It is a common misconception that the Blancpain before the ‘quartz crisis’ was the same as today’s purveyor of haute horology but it was not. Open an original Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec and you will see a robust but undecorated AS calibre, a reliable workhorse movement but a world away from the F Piguet calibre 1151 with gold rotor and silicon balance spring on the tribute. Add to this the luxury of a sapphire crystal bezel insert and you will see that this is an indulgent reimagining rather than a tool watch reissue.

Over at Seiko things are not too different with its first ever dive watch, the 6217-8000, receiving an extreme make-over. The original 62MAS was a modest little piece: first produced in 1965, it was 37mm with no screw-down crown and no hacking or hand-winding functionality. While technically water resistant to 150m, they had a tendency to become a bit…’leaky’. Still, first is first and as the great granddaddy of Seiko’s vast dive watch output, it is an important piece. 

The modern version, reference SLA017, is a touch bigger at 40mm but not so big that it loses the vintage feel. The case and dial are almost a like-for-like replica with the crown now threaded to give 200m water resistance and achieve modern dive watch standards. Similarly to Blancpain, it is under the bonnet that the big changes have taken place. The old 6217 movement has been replaced with an 8L35, a calibre that is essentially a de-tuned version of what goes into a Grand Seiko allowing hacking, hand winding and running at 4Hz. Given the level of affection for the original, the 2,000 pieces that this issue is limited to will surely sell out quickly, despite a hefty (for Seiko) price tag. 

The final watch is something of an oddity and the most dive-specific watch on the list. Favre-Leuba is an old established brand that traces its history back to 1737. Never having had its time in the limelight, the brand has quietly been making watches that have found more success in India and China than Europe and the US. The vintage tool watches are benefitting from the increased interest in anything more affordable than a Rolex and in the process some cool dive watches have come to light. In 1968 Favre-Leuba launched the ‘Bathy 50’ as the world’s first dive watch with an integrated depth gauge, building on experience of producing an altimeter watch in 1962. The dial display was paired back to focus purely on the minute hand, the most relevant while diving, producing a highly distinctive appearance. 

This year the newly invigorated brand has launched the Raider Harpoon. The Harpoon is not a reissue of the Bathy but designed as a new model with a unique time reading system: note the single-hand mechanism. Described as the ‘ultimate diving watch’, time will tell how many of these ever get wet, or simply remain as intriguing conversation pieces. Dry land or deep underwater, it's certainly a watch you want on your wrist.