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Apr 01, 2024

Best Dive Watches 2023 from affordable to top of the range

Go deep down with watches for open-water-worshipping wrists hile certain deep-thinkers, temporal-deniers and general know-it-alls will condescendingly inform you that time is nothing but an abstract

Go deep down with watches for open-water-worshipping wrists

hile certain deep-thinkers, temporal-deniers and general know-it-alls will condescendingly inform you that time is nothing but an abstract or social construct, it’s important to remember that these tardy types are always far too early or far too late for absolutely everything in life and, as such, can just bore-off.

Time is vital to the way we organise our lives and, as such, being aware of it is, well, essential to existence. This is why the ancient Egyptians invented the sundial and the rest of the world followed up with sandglasses, waterclocks and candles, as the centuries of the Middle Ages slowly ticked by. Then, finally, in 1273, somewhere around teatime, some bright spark invented the mechanical clock and timetelling really moved up a gear.

Today, of course, it’s smartwatch this and smartwatch that; and I should know because I bang on about then enough within these very digital pages, but my first love was (and probably still is) the analogue watch for their effortless aesthetics and the incredibly complex complications they harbour to measure the passage of time with unerring accuracy. That and the fact that they don’t need charging every other day.

There’s also the wide and varying styles that analogue watches appear in, my personal favourite has always been the dive watch for its reassuringly chunky size, rugged good looks and the fact it won’t end up as an utterly useless bit of bling should you happen to fall into an inconvenient ocean.

Indeed, while dive watches had been completely superseded by dive computers in more modern times, and the numbered, unidirectional turning bezel designs hark back to old, obsolete military dive timetables, you can still use them to plan dive durations, including timing your ascent, but there’s no denying that most dive watches are more things of fashion these days.

However, regardless of how you intend to wear one, whether to keep one eye on the clock while lapping it up in the pool, simply to flash around while you splash around at the beach, or as an actual aide to scuba antics, a dive watch is an iconic tool for time-telling. When it comes to counting the minutes that make up your day, a dive watch is deeply desirable…

See below

Best for: Timelessly elegant times

Calibre: Automatic Miyota 8215 automatic

Case: Stainless steel

Size: Dia.42 x H13mm

Water resistance: 30 ATM (300m)

From a Swiss start sometime in 1895, to a move to London circa early 1900s, Rotary has long been a name synonymous with style and quality. Case in point, the utterly classic design of the Henley Seamatic, an automatic with a highly accurate Japanese Miyota 8215 movement, as used in brands both big and small to help keep costs down but quality up. As such, this stunning example of the dive watch genre, resplendent in stainless steel with a matching Diver Z clasp locking bracelet and black unidirectional bezel, costs a quid under £250, making it eminently affordable.

The 42mm case features a screw-down crown and a spacious, easy-to-read dial available in black, green, yellow and orange, open hour-minute hands, night-luminous indices and a date window - all of which come under scratch-resistant sapphire glass.

Water resistant down to a depth of 300m, the Henley Seamatic is also more than up to any underwater tasks, as you’d expect, whilst those aforementioned indices are bright enough and large enough to allow the face to be read when deep down.

Beautiful, precise and practical, the Rotary Henley Seamatic Automatic is horological art fro your arm.

Best for: Beautiful on a budget

Calibre: Miyota OS10 quartz

Case: Stainless steel

Size: Dia. 42 x H14mm

Water resistance: 20 ATM (200m)

Thanks to the continuing cost of living crisis, £110 won’t buy you much these days, save maybe a handful of petrol for the car or enough gruel to get you and the family through the week.

But one thing that £110 will buy you beyond the realms of basic survival is the nicely natty Pacific Wave Chronograph from Sekonda, a budget dive watch option that’s good down to 200m and which, despite the low, low price, comes complete with a decent Miyota movement that will keep your hours accurate at around +/-20 seconds/month, plus – as the name probably gave away – even comes armed with a chronograph for 1-second for timing up to 60-minutes and a date window.

With a stainless steel case measuring 42mm and a matching 22mm-wide bracelet, the Sekonda comes in four colour options: black and blue bezel with black dial; black bezel and black dial; green and yellow bezel with green dial; and black bezel, black dial and black stainless steel bracelet. Each dial features an etched wave pattern detail and hour indices and hands are luminous in the dark.

Surprisingly light, too, the Sekonda is never going to weigh you down and, of course, its good looks will see it accepted everywhere from the depths of the ocean to amongst the denizens of the of the après dive aperitives party.

Best for: Discreet dive

Calibre: Miyota 8215 automatic

Case: Stainless steel

Size: Dia. 42 x H11mm

Water resistance: 20 ATM (200m)

Ever wondered why it’s always 10:10 on pretty much every advertising photo of a wristwatch that you see? Never noticed? Well, now you have. And that reason is two-fold: 1) it means the logo is displayed clearly, and 2) psychologists told those charged with flogging watches that the public would be more likely to be drawn to (albeit on a subconscious level) and purchase a watch that appeared to be smiling.

Of course, it also helps if the watch in question is also strikingly good looking, extremely practical and, of course, well-priced. The Dive Automatic from Accurist is all three of these things.

Firstly, favouring a thinner bezel, the Accurist is less ‘conventional’ looking that most other dive watches but, regardless that bezel is still unidirectional and minute marked, which, combined with 200m water-resistance and nicely illuminated indices make it an top diving tool.

With a 42mm stainless steel case, stunning flat-end link stainless steel bracelet, ultra scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass, and a screw down crown, the Accurist comes with a blue dial and blue bezel or more eye-catching and, again, less-conventional black face and red bezel. Either option also features a Japanese Miyota 8215 automatic movement for hand- and self-winding (exposed to view on the rear via an Exhibition window), complete with a date window and a 42-hour power reserve.

Also, celebrating its proud London heritage, surrounding the mechanism window at the rear is an etching depicting famous elements of the Capital’s skyline, which is a very nice touch that will have you taking your watch off every five minutes to show someone else.

A very dapper dive option that cuts a dash at sea and ashore, the Accurist Dive Automatic is subtly superb.

Best for: Exacting Far Eastern excellence

Calibre: Spring Drive 9RA2 automatic

Case: High intensity titanium

Size: Dia. 44 x H13.8mm

Water resistance: 20 ATM (200m)

Most people will know the name Seiko for its range of stylish, reliable and – moreover – eminently affordable timepieces. But what many probably won’t know that, among the other watch brands it produces, the Japanese manufacturer also has a luxury offering by the name of Grand Seiko… and they’re something special.

Here we see the ‘Ushio’ Blue Spring Diver’s watch from the Grand brand and the first thing you’ll probably notice about it is that’s simply beautiful. It features a case hewn from high-intensity titanium, with a titanium bracelet strap to match. Beneath the sapphire crystal glass and dark blue unidirectional bezel sits a stunning textured blue dial design representing the waters off the coast of Japan, complete with LumiBrite hands and indices (also on the bezel).

Using Grand Seiko’s in-house automatic Spring Drive, timing is accurate to +/-10-seconds per month (note: month not day), while the power reserve gives lucky owners a full five days to play around with; although if you haven’t worn this watch out in more than five days, you don’t deserve it.

Dive-wise, the Grand Seiko can resist the water and all the pressure that brings down to 20 ATM (200m), so it’s just as functional in a scuba situation as it is eye-catching everywhere else.

Okay, at £10,500, it’s a touch on the “Holy Mother of Fun, that’s pricey!” side, I freely admit, but if you have the cash to flash and you need a horological tool to help hone your dives and draw attention your way back on dry land, then get yourself something Grand.

Best for: All the essentials

Calibre: Seiko 6R54 automatic

Case: Stainless steel

Size: Dia. 42 x H12.9mm

Water resistance: 20 ATM (200m)

Of course, if you’re not made of the kind of money that can simply buy out a whole social media platform and then destroy at whim, you can still get in on the sexy Seiko action for considerably less cash, a mere (by comparison) 1400 notes will arm you with the myriad marvels of this: the Seiko Prospex Marine Green GMT.

A modern take on the company’s classic dive watch from 1968, this 42mm model comes with a stainless steel case, bracelet and ceramic covered bezel, with a rich green dial, complete with Lumibrite to illuminate hands, indices and bevel markings.

Driven by Seiko’s 6R54 automatic movement, accuracy is good at -15/+25-seconds per day, and the 72-hour power reserve will keep you in the temporal know even if you’ve been utterly inert for the best part of three-days.

On the dive-side, the Seiko ticks all the boxes, thanks to 200m of water resistance, a screw-down crown and that essential unidirectional bezel, handing scuba fans all the info they need regarding dive times.

Best for: Bond, James Bond

Calibre: Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8806

Case: Titanium

Size: Dia. 42 x H13mm

Water resistance: 30 ATM (300m)

The name’s Seamaster, Omega Seamaster. Yes, long the choice of the world’s most famous fictional spy, albeit issued by Q Branch with some unusual extras built in, the Seamaster is as classic a dive watch as they come. And they come in many different styles, but for the sake of keeping the Bond theme going, here I’ve selected the model endorsed by 007 in his latest outing, No Time To Die, in which – no spoilers intended (come on, it’s been out since 2021) – Bond brushed-off the title and actually did find the time.

What we have here is a triumph of titanium-on-titanium action, with a Grade 2 titanium case and titanium mesh bracelet married to a unidirectional ‘brown tropical’ aluminium bezel and dial, making the 007 Edition look nothing less than eye-pleasingly immaculate.

Powered by the brand’s self-winding Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8806, this is a precision instrument for those who like to keep their timing tight, helped on by the silicon balance spring giving the watch resistance to troublesome magnetic fields.

Measuring 42mm in size, the 007 is a dive master, tackling 300m of the deep without issue, and featuring a screw-down crown and helium escape valve which, to simplify things massively, stop the watch suffering the clockwork version of the bends.

A power reserve of 55-hours keeps things ticking over nicely whether you’re taking it easy in St Tropez ahead of assignment, or shackled to a table in the hollowed-out volcano lair of yet another nefarious villain hell-bent on world domination, and the domed, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass will ensure the watch stays in good condition regardless how rough the scuffle was with the hired henchmen, ready to return to Q in one-piece, for once.

A classic wristwatch beautifully re-invented for Bond, this is a watch that gives you, ahem, All the Time in the World.

Best for: Going pro on going down

Calibre: Swiss-made quartz Ronda 715Li

Case: Stainless steel

Size: Dia. 42 x H14.6mm

Water resistance: 30 ATM (300m)

When the going gets tough, the tough turn pro, which is exactly where the stunning Seastar 2000 from Swiss virtuoso of the watch world, Tissot, comes into play.

Undeniably chic and stylish, both 46mm case and bracelet forged from stainless steel, with a choice of four equally appealing dial colours and a black ceramic ring unidirectional bezel, the 2000 looks relatively unassuming for a watch that can make the trip down under the sea to some – wait for – 600m!

Yes, a dive watch designed for the deep dive professional the Seastar 2000 comes with full ISO 6425 diver’s watch certification and even come with an automatic helium escape valve to ensure unerring accurate performance no matter what.

At its heart beats a Swiss-made Powermatic 80.111 automatic movement that’s antimagnetic, shock and temperature resistant, and which delivers an 80-hour power reserve, keeping the watch running like, well, clockwork at all times, while the interchangeable strap/bracelet system makes it suitable for all occasions.

Outside of underwater work, the 2000 also features a window onto the master watchmaker’s world in the form of a see-through caseback to marvel at that beautiful movement in motion, and Superluminova material applied to the hands and hour markers make telling the time, regardless of how dark it or how deep you go as clear as it is in the full light of day.

A remarkable piece of engineering and aesthetics at a very reasonable price, if your ocean-going ambitions stretch beyond a bit of sight-seeing, the Tissot 2000 Professional Powermatic 80 is the watch you want on your wrist.

Best for: Something completely different

Calibre: Miyota 9015

Case: Stainless steel

Size: Dia. 48 x H22mm

Water resistance: 10 ATM (100m)

New to the world of diving and looking for a watch that stands out from the crowd while you learn the ropes? Well, they don’t stand out much more than the Mazzucato White Rim Scuba, a seriously chunky 48mm wide by 22mm deep measuring model whose stainless steel case comes finished in a unique green and white colour scheme.

Based around Miyota’s signature ultra-thin premium mechanical movement, the Mazzucato is pretty accurate when it comes to keeping track of time, varying at just -10/+30-seconds per day, with a 42-hour power reserve, which are reasonable results in a dive watch with this weight of price tag attached.

Italian-designed by Simone Mazzucato, there is no disguise made of the fact that, while fully functional as a dive watch, the eye here is very firmly on aesthetics, which is why water resistance is only viable down to 100m, but for most conventional scuba diving, this is more than adequate.

But what makes the Mazzucato White Rim Scuba truly the talk of the recompression chamber is the fact that it features no fewer than two separate dials and two separate movements – one for land and one for sea!

Novel? Yes. A novelty, no? For a dive watch that’s truly different, make it Mazzucato.

Best for: Looks and talent

Calibre: Swiss-made quartz Ronda 715Li

Case: Stainless steel

Size: Dia. 42 x H14.6mm

Water resistance: 30 ATM (300m)

I’ve owned a few Nite watches over the years, often updating to the latest model whenever it became available because, well, because they’re just so damn good. Based out of Dorset and famed for blending the best of British design with Swiss-made movements, and super-bright Tritium illumination, Nite watches appeal to true adventurers, those too brave to fear the risks involved, including UK Special Forces.

And this, for me, is the pinnacle of its latest collection, the Alpha. First off, just look at it; it’s a vision in brushed stainless steel and blue polymer. It is 42mm of time-marking perfection with a stainless steel and ceramic insert unidirectional bezel baring teeth that make turning easy even when wearing diving gloves. A T100-rated illuminated wonder-watch that glows and goes all night free from the need for anything as tawdry as a power source, such is the effect of the blue and orange Tritium-filled hour markers and hands.

Driven by an incredibly accurate (-10/ +20-seconds per month) Swiss-made quartz movement (good for a solid 10-years battery life), the Alpha will happily dive to depths of up to (down to) 300m, while the polymer strap guarantees a secure, comfortable fit whether worn over a wetsuit or on your bare wrist.

Surprisingly light too, at 116g, the Alpha may have been created with action and adventure in mind, but I found it looks equally at home when worn as a dress watch too, so you’re getting the best of both watch worlds for well under £500, which makes it even more desirable.

Once more, Nite has outdone itself, and the Alpha is everything that made me keep coming back to the brand again and again, except even better. What more can I say? It just so good!

Best for: Sheer style and perfect performance

Calibre: Sellita SW200 COSC automatic

Case: Bronze CUSN6

Size: Dia. 42 x H11.5mm

Water resistance: 30 ATM (300m)

Now here’s a slick bit of wrist-kit for you, with a splendidly different vibe to all other dive watches – no stainless steel here, you see, the case of the C60 Pro 300 Bronze is (as the name utterly gives away) made from beautiful bronze. This, matched with a brown unidirectional bezel, brown ‘ombre’ dial with matching date wheel, and a distressed brown vintage oak leather strap, make this model from British luxury watch satisfying success story, Christopher Ward, unique in the marketplace.

With a Swiss-made premium grade Sellita SW200 automatic mechanism at its heart, the CW is ferociously accurate +/- 4-seconds per day (max. of +/- 15-seconds), and good down to a decidedly deep 300m, this is an exceptional option for scuba divers looking for that perfect balance of performance and elan.

Featuring a 42mm case and a power reserve of 36-hours, the C60 Pro 300 Bronze also shows off its hypnotic movement via its screw-down display caseback, adding to the sheer elegance of this timepiece, while the use of Super-LumiNova in the markers make for easy reading in the darkest conditions.

A truly stunning dive watch in all ways, the Christopher Ward C60 Pro 300 Bronze, at a shade over a grand, is a masterclass in the watchmaker’s art.