Whether you’re a novice to the underwater world or are a divemaster looking for a product that’ll seamlessly take you from office to ocean, a luxury dive watch will ensure that not only will you look great, but you’ll also have a functional piece of equipment to join you on your aquatic adventures. Today we’re taking a look at some of the key features of a high-quality Luxury Diving Watches before revealing our top choices to buy in 2021. Let’s dive in.
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What is a Diving Watch?
A diving watch is a specially designed timepiece that’s been manufactured to withstand underwater pressure, keep water out, and help monitor your time and oxygen levels. With that in mind, they tend to be a little bulkier than your average watch. Nevertheless, they remain stylish, especially when investing in a luxury brand.
What Features to Look For in a Luxury Diving Watch
Before we reveal the roundup of our top diving watches, we want to ensure that you’re clear on exactly what you want and what features you should be looking for before you buy. Luxury watches aren’t cheap, but there are ways to ensure you’re going to get the best return on investment for your budget and hopefully own something that lasts a lifetime of diving adventures.
Depth Rating
Are you a snorkeler, wreck diver, or taking part in some deep-sea expeditions? Keep this in mind when looking for your dream watch. Some watches can withstand much larger depths than others and you need to ensure it’s going to be fit for purpose.
Rotating Bezel
Most dive watches that are worth their salt will have a rotating bezel. This helps you to see how much time has elapsed since the dive began and monitor oxygen levels. Be sure yours includes this feature.
Illuminated Dial
This is great for when there’s little to no clarity in the water, or if you’re exploring deeper territory or are diving wrecks. Beyond illumination, it’s also important that the dial has strong contrasting colours.
Helium Escape Valve
As some diver’s tanks contain helium, you need to ensure your watch has an escape valve. Helium has a habit of getting inside your watch case and without an escape valve, unnecessary pressure will build up and cause a lot of issues.
Material/Design Quality
Stainless steel is both tough and corrosion resistant and is usually as durable as any precious metal counterpart. Nevertheless, if you can get your hands on a titanium timepiece, it’ll weigh less and provide even better resistance. The display cover needs to be made of either sapphire crystal or hardened mineral glass. While the former is more scratch resistant meaning you’ll still look sharp after 1000 wears, the latter is tougher against breakage. Quality dive watches also usually have a screw-down crown that prevents leaks.
Our Three Favourite Luxury Diving Watches
So, which watches will have you making waves?
Rolex Submariner
First up, we have the Rolex Submariner. Considered the most iconic dive watch, Rolex is synonymous with luxury and the Submariner is a product that delivers on everything. An OG that dates back to 1953, the quality craftsmanship that goes into each individual Rolex is second to none. The submariner boasts a depth resistance of 300m (100ft), is made of Oystersteel or white gold depending on your requirements, and features a rotating bezel around the highly contrasting face.
Omega Sea Master Planet Ocean Chronograph Watch
Are you a Deep Sea Diver? How does 2000ft (600m) sound to you? The Omega provides you with a cheaper alternative to the Rolex Submariner but still. Known for being the choice of watch worn by our favourite fictional spy, James Bond, the watch is made from your choice of Sedna 18K gold or stainless steel. There is also the option to upgrade to titanium. The display cover is made of sapphire crystal and it comes with the usual helium escape valve, screw-in crown and rotating bezel.
Seiko Prospex Padi Solar
Finally, a model for the more practical diver that still doesn’t want to sacrifice style. The Prospex Padi Solar was designed with the help of the masters of diving themselves. Its price tag also makes it more accessible than the previous two options. It features a stainless steel strap and casing, is resistant against 20 bars of pressure and features LumiBrite technology allowing crystal clear clarity even on the darkest of dives.
