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There are situations like when you dive in the ocean where you need a reliable watch. Your life might depend on it. Discover our selection of best Dive watches. You might need one of these soon.

A Dive watch is a perfect companion for adventure

When you own a watch, it becomes your best companion at all moments. Sometimes the watch is there during a hard day work in which every second counts. Or during an adventure while diving in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And if you chose well, it can be the same watch.

diving-master
The first timepieces used underwater were counted in the 17th century already. Divers would find a way to protect their pocket watches in ways that imagination would be challenged. In the 19th century, several “Explorer watches” were made. All represented full customized watches for the specific needs of their owner. Early in the 20th century, new forms of Explorer watches were created to support the work of specific people like explorers, navy or of course professional divers.
And finally in 1926, Rolex developed the first waterproof and dustproof wrist watch with the famous Oyster. With the Oyster watches could go down 100m which for the time was purely revolutionary. And in 1927 when Mercedes Gleitze crossed the Channel between France and England by swimming, she had a Rolex Oyster with her that kept safe the precious time in glacial waters for more than 10 hours.

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Despite this amazing adventure, history tells that it was Omega who firstly produced at industrial level the first Dive watch with the Omega Marine in 1932.

Omega dive watch

Omega Marine watch 1932 principle
The watch wad certified 135m it was a pity that the bracelet was in leather, which would make it a little fragile in time but it was already a clever watch. 3 years later, in September 1935, the Royal Italian navy ordered to Panerai to create a dive watch in which we could see the dial numbers and hands under water and in the night. In 1937 Panerai created with the support of Rolex, the California dial Radiomir.

Panerai Radiomir 1936
The Second World War followed with several army requests. Companies like Hamilton or Waltham produced good quality waterproof timepieces at that time. Since then, several brands created their own dive watches, some of them at a very good price and others became icons of design, functionality and watch-making. They are part of the Horlogerie landscape as a classic of sporty elegance. Initially a man’s world, there are now several women’s watches and most of watches produced today are at least water-resistant.

2014 Dive watch review, our top 5

After reviewing SIHH and Baselworld this year, here is our selection of top 6 nice dive watches you might want to have in your collection. If you have other watches you might want to see in the list, just add their names in the comments below!

Victorinox DiveMaster 500

Victorinox revealed a limited edition of its famous Divemaster 500. This new version is fully made in Titanium, which is a great advantage for an adventure watch: light-weight and super resistant. Victorinox will produce only 500 units and this special limited edition celebrates the 25th anniversary of the watch division.

Victorinox-Swiss-Army-Divemaster-500-titanium
It has a 43mm titanium case in Grade II, that was sandblasted matte grey. The titanium bracelet was by the way surface treated in the same way. Inside the watch there is a mechanical ETA movement. The 2894-2 self-winding movement is visible from the back case thanks to a Sapphire-glass back. Certain decoration features were implemented such as the Cross and Shield mark. The Titanium grey dial contrasts with the luminous indications, helping visibility to the diver. As all the divemasters by Victorinox, the new Divemaster 500 Titanium is water resistant to up to 500 meters (1’650ft). Some interesting features: the date is placed in the dial between 4 to 5 o’clock and the seconds hand has the characteristic Victorinox red, as a reminder of the Swiss Army knife. Visit the brand website for more information: http://www.victorinox.com.

Tudor Heritage Black Bay Blue

Tudor has an amazing story and thanks to a very rich heritage, the Swiss brand successfully reinvents its future thanks to amazing creations at a very honest price. Tudor is about style, vintage look and loads of elegance.

Tudor-watches-Blackbay-Blue

This year, Tudor released a very elegant version of the original Black Bay. This time, the watch dresses a exquisite midnight blue, subtle and elegant. The new Heritage Black Bay Blue offers a window onto several decades of adventures in deep waters. According to the brand, the TUDOR Heritage Black Bay offers a window onto several decades of adventures in deep waters. TUDOR Heritage Black Bay returns in 2014, icy and sharp. The Self-winding mechanical movement will make sure the time displayed will be as accurate as essential during a diving session. You can visit the brand website for more information: http://www.tudorwatch.com.

IWC Aquatimer

For the first time ever, a model from the IWC diver’s watch line is equipped with a perpetual calendar, a genuinely haute horlogerie complication. The Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month is a genuinely big watch from two points of view. On the one hand, there is the IWC-manufactured 89801 calibre with perpetual calendar and large digital display for the date and month, a feature very much in the Pallweber tradition of 1884.

IWC-Aquatimer

Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month in a rubber-coated titanium case with an 18-carat red gold bezel is the flagship of the new Aquatimer collection. It combines the top-quality, state-of-the-art technology with fabulous looks and, with its 49-millimetre case, is the second-largest wristwatch in IWC’s history. Discover more about this amazing watch in the brand official website: http://www.iwc.com .

Omega Seamaster

The Omega Seamaster is an amazing saga. Firstly introduced in 1948, the Omega Seamasters became a true reference in the world of serious under-water adventures.  Omega has been associated with James Bond movies since 1995. That year, Pierce Brosnan took over the role of James Bond and began wearing the Omega Seamaster Quartz Professional (model 2541.80.00) in the movie GoldenEye. In all later films, Brosnan wore an Omega Seamaster Professional Chronometer (model 2531.80.00). The producers wanted to update the image of the fictional “super-spy” to a more distinctly sophisticated “Euro” look. And before that, it was the Rolex Submariner, which appeared in 11 James Bond movies, especially in the Sean Connery period.

Omega-Seamaster

The OMEGA Planet Ocean video introduces the breathtaking collection that includes exclusive Co-Axial movements, professional divers’ features and for each one, a full four-year warranty. The Planet Ocean was filmed with a Phantom Flex camera and the compelling video presents the watches in slow motion and incredibly high definition. It is an amazing video that we needed to show here:

OMEGA Co-Axial calibres re-define the mechanical watch movement: less sliding friction, greater mechanical efficiency and outstanding chronometric performance over time. This is how Omega explains its Co-Axial calibers. The technology is complex but there are some impressive advantages to the design when it is compared with the Swiss lever escapement: With any watch escapement, energy has to be transmitted to the oscillator; this energy maintains the oscillator’s frequency. The impulse in a Swiss lever escapement involves the wheel tooth sliding along the inclined surface of the pallet. This sliding movement generates considerable friction, making optimal lubrication vital if the escapement is to function correctly. In contrast, the OMEGA Co-Axial escapement transmits energy using radial impulses. The smaller contact surfaces and the pushing motion, as opposed to the lever escapement’s sliding motion, significantly reduce the friction in the escapement. Visit the brand website for more details: http://www.omegawatches.com

Rolex Deep Sea and Deep Sea Challenge

Rolex invented the first Dive watch capable to support 100m of water pressure. It was the Rolex Submariner in the 50’s. Since then, Diver’s watches became a tradition at the Swiss Brand. Today, the Submariner goes to 300m and Rolex went further, I mean deeper, with the DeepSea Sea Dweller and the DeepSea Challenge.

Rolex-Deepsea-Sea-Dweller Rolex-DeepChallenge-Sea-Dweller

The DeepSea Sea Dweller can resist pressures up to 3’900m (12’800ft). An exclusive technical innovation, the Ringlock System allows the Rolex Deepsea’s case to withstand water pressure equivalent to a weight of some three tonnes on the crystal. Amazing. And Rolex went even deeper with the DeepSea Challenge. Rolex took an active part in the historic DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition of film-maker and explorer James Cameron (director of Titanic, Avatar) in partnership with
the National Geographic Society. On 26 March 2012, the expedition’s submersible descended 10,908 metres (35,787 feet) to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the world’s oceans. Taking as their starting point the diameter of the movement and dial of the ROLEX DEEPSEA, the design engineers calculated the technical dimensions required to resist the shock of the 1,500-bar pressure test. At a depth of 15,000 metres, the load exerted on the crystal is 17 tonnes and on the case back nearly 23 tonnes; the equivalent of about 10 SUVs piled on the watch. During the expedition dive, the watch was placed in the mechanical robotic arm that was outside James Cameron submarine. Discover more about Rolex watches in the official brand website: http://www.rolex.com. 

Dive-watch-selection

While diving, every single detail counts and sometimes your life can be at risk because the conditions are extremes. You do not want to risk it all just because of a bad “timing”. And that’s why you need the perfect watch.

Arsene Wargas

 

Info sourced at the brands official websites and communication releases. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available.

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