The Dive

For some bizarre reason, which I can’t figure out, dive watches are highly sought after by many watch buyers.

I don’t know about you, but I really wouldn’t spend thousands to own a watch that could tell me the time at the bottom of the ocean. I don’t think with my body being crushed by the pressure I’d need to know the time. The only people in the world that require really serious depth rated watches are saturation divers.

That said, saturation divers rely on digital timers and sophisticated dive computers. They’re not at the bottom of the ocean relying on a Rolex Sea Dweller - unless it’s an emergency backup.

The Marine

In 1932 Omega released the first commercially available dive watch in history.  Simply named “The Marine,” it could withstand depths of up to 73 metres because of a newly patented double case supported by a cork seal. Its original reference number was CK-679.

That said, there were problems with it, the foremost being that it did not feature a screw down crown. Rolex would feature a screw down on their Oyster making it the first water resistant watch, Rolex having bought the rights to the design from its creators - Paul Perregaux and Georges Perret - in 1926. But the Oyster was never released as a dive watch.

Fifty Fathoms

While Paneri would provide Italian frogman with a dive watch in 1938, the first modern dive watch was produced by Blancpain in 1953. It was the first watch to introduce automatic movement to a dive piece, a unidirectional bezel, antimagnetic protection, a rating of 50 fathoms (300 feet), and high contrast, meaning it had a  black dial with contrasting white numerals and indices which were luminous in the dark. There had been nothing like it.

The Submariner

On the heels of the Fifty Fathoms, Rolex would release the Submariner just a year later. It was rated at 300 metres. Beyond that it did not possess any initial features that would have made the Fifty Fathoms less of a watch at the time.

Legacy And Commerciality

For some bizarre reason men are drawn to dive watches as if they were weekly divers themselves. I’m not one to stand in the way of anything that someone likes, but when it comes to actual horology the dive watch is at the low end unless you’re a diver.

Blancpain, for example, was founded in 1735 making it one of the oldest brands in the world. Rolex was founded in London in 1905 and moved to Geneva in 1919 to avoid paying post war taxes.

A Good Dive Watch

If you actually dive, or are in the water a lot, my recommendation would be the Ironway Trident. It’s solar powered, tested to 30 ATM, and is reasonably priced.