Best Dive Watch Ever...

[ronbeau]

Dear All

I'll admit it, I'm a watch freak. I love watches and being a diver I have my fair share of those as well, much to my wife's despair.

At present I use a Citizen Pro-master Aqualand...does the job, looks good (which is always important right?) and I can download my dives to my PC which is great. .

I'm interested to know what other divers are using? If you have an all time favorite I'd love to hear about it.

Coogeeman

Citizen Aqualand NX.

 

[Jason Ooi]

I have 10 years old Citizen aquamaster..have some problem need send for repair

 

[scuba-doc]

Nice addition to the thread Doc.

My only question is......

Why can't we get a good watch with nice looks Analog and something simple like electronic depth(0-200), time (dive and stopwatch)and temp? Sort of a mini dive computer for back up? Why is this so hard for them as these electronic parts are easily available in the market today? What is wrong with having both?

I am not advocating using your watch as your primary dive computer but it would seem valuable to the market if they could sell something like this not only for divers but because its cool too. Before I started diving I wanted something like this and which is one of the reasons I love the Rolex's also. They are tough and cool. Just add a little electronics to it also. Not for a primary but for a secondary back up in case you are at 120' and your dive computer craps out. I would buy this tomorrow.

I do have a citizen that is close to this but is very limited and is very basic in its functionality electronically. The bad thing is that it needs a new battery about every 12-18 months and its ok in quality but not great. I even bought the European model because it had some things that I wanted and was a little more rugged.

You take a Tag or a Rolex and add some decent information on a screen and we would all be setting aside $$ for it.

A watch like Rolex will never add electonics because it is a true timepiece. Meaning it doesn't run on bateries or any other sort of electronic mechanism. It is mechanically automated with phenominal precision. That is what makes a Rolex a Rolex. Then add the unmatched depth resistance, and you have the ultimate professional dive watch.

To put this into perspective, it's like adding a set of fog lights to a Rolls Royce, painting bright red lip stick on the Mona Lisa, putting a luxury elevator inside the Great Pyramids, adding a digital display to Big Ben, adding Pres Bush to Mount Rushmore, converting the Statue of Liberty's dress to a bikini, etc. The common thing is that you shouldn't mess up a master piece by trying to add things that just don't have any business being there. :no

Regarding your suggestion to use the dive watch as a back up in case your computer fails......well, that is exactly what a dive watch is supposed to do....but it doesn't need to be electronic. We all learned our dive tables and should plan our dives accordingly......even when using a dive computer. If the computer goes bad during the dive, you should still know how much time you have left because the bezel should have been set before decent. As tempting as it is, try not to become too dependent on a dive computer.

But my point wasn't that you can't get a decent dive watch / computer combo. It was that it will NEVER be considered the "best" dive watch OR "best" dive computer.....only the "best" dive watch / computer COMBO. IMO, the Citizen Aqualand NX and/or Suunto Stinger are the "best" dive watch / computer Combos and the Rolex Sea Dweller is the "best" dive watch.

With that said, I see your point about wanting a watch which has it all

p.s. Forbes list of best dive watches

 

[jeckyll]

Give that my dive watch gets used and potentially a bit beat up, it's hard to beat some of the Seikos (I love my Black Monster) and Citizens (again, love my Ti Promaster).

I've always liked automatics and I wouldn't take a really expensive watch underwater. S**t happens and I'd hate to lose anthing worth over $200

 

[D_B]

I stumbled across this watch, looks like a re badged Citizen Aqualand (the functions are same too according to my friend that has one) so I guess it's sort of a vote for citizen
I got it for a backup to my dive computer for use on trips/multiple dives etc.
Payed $124 on ebay ..... so far so good
(funny, this one was listed under dive watches .. I also found it under Jeep watches - going for as much as $320 :11: )

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Tag Heuer Aqua Racer.

 

[Thalassamania]

I have a drawer full of watches that I've garnered over the years and I have to admit that my favorite (as "jewelry") is my old U.S.D. Doxa, but in terms of utility the Citizens Hyper Aqualand wins hands (as it were) down.

 

[daniel f aleman]

The DOXA SUB750T Professional:

 

[Thalassamania]

That's the one. But the photo, is like a mug shot, it does not do it justice and does not express the feel of the watch.

 

[love4steel]

Tag Heuer Aqua Racer (automatic)