Bling dive watch

[Lizard Leg]

I have a Tag my wife gave me for Christmas a few years back - but I dive with a casio - just don't want to think about flooding my Tag. Casio floods? Toss it buy a new one. Tag floods, last I checked new movement was about $750 minimum. Bang the crystal on the ladder while exiting? Ouch.

 

[tech3324]

https://www.bernhardtwatch.com/index.php?id=31

Sea Shark in green would be a top choice for me.

 

[rlynch]

My 2 cents ( I own these btw)

Best automatic dive watch: seiko monster, I have the orange face.
Bling: Rolex submariner.
Function: Casio G-shock, primarily for the stopwatch feature.
Daily/dive watch: scuba pro meridian (depth and stopwatch are its main features for me)

My next watch, probably a u-boat. http://www.uboatwatch.it/collections.php
Or a panerai

 

[danpass]

That Meridian looks very cool and search turned up your pro/cons post. Any change (or expansion) on that?

 

[rlynch]

i just sent it back to scubapro for service - one of the buttons came off (the watch is fully sealed so it did not leak admazingly even missing a button at 60 ffw). Mine is one of the very early production units (SS#005 i believe) so this may have been a manufactuing defect very early in the production run-up. Other than that it is perfect. i put about 20hr's of dive time on it since may.

I tend to use it in Bottom timer mode with some exceptions when i am diving with other computer users. The computer mode is basically just like the Tech 2g and is widely used.
The reverse lighting is very nice and conserves battery power compaired to lighting the whole screen.
In 20hrs of diving i only used 1/5th of the battery life (also it is my daily wear watch so i light it up whenever i need to)

If you use stages the bezel tends to get scratched up a bit when you switching bottles around or going for your SPG (all left side clipped) however the crystal is protected and you can buff out the bezzel (i have not done so however)

 

[Them]

I'm a big dive watch fan from way back (even though I'm not even OW certified)...the timing bezel is something I use several times a day.

So here's my take on some of the posts here:

Bernhardt Sea Shark: I have one (red dial) and I think it's an OK casual watch but (IMO) it doesn't fit in this conversation.

Seiko: Grand Seikos are great watches, regular Seikos ("orange monsters" or for e.g. I am wearing a Kinetic Diver right now) are good, but they just ain't bling to most people.

TAG: I wore a TAG 2000 professional diver for many years, beat it up and down, scratched the sapphire crystal, wore the crown down to a nub - got my money's worth out of that watch - so I'm perhaps biased, but I think they have some really nice watches if you like the style. Not a watch snob watch though.

Omega Seamaster: A classic. Personally I think the whole "Bond" tie-in schtik was tacky and cheap but some people really dig it.

DOXA: I have one, I like it, so maybe I'm biased. I'm not sure if they qualify as bling but they wear nicely, are visually very distinctive without looking cheesy, and mine has gotten unsolicited compliments from strangers so they aren't a total lost cause on the bling side of things. I have the 800ti because I wanted tritium lume.

IWC has some really nice dive watches. They have the advantage/disadvantage that relatively few know who IWC is, but those that do know are really impressed. I'd take a Deep Two over a Rolex any day and I like the Aquatimer 2000 too.

Sinn: Look at their range. They go from fairly mundane to some very impressive watches (if you like the style), and they all have a really cool look to them. Sinn will probably be my next "nice" watch purchase. Note that the oil-filled model (UX) must be shipped to Germany for battery replacements (every 7 years) which kinda cools my jets but that's just one model.

A (IMO) great choice I didn't see mentioned: Longines Legend Diver. Personally, I think it's an awesome dive to dine diver. It's also not a huge amount of money on the IWC scale. The bezel isn't quite as easy/intuitive as most dive watches though.

If you want to stay in the IWC/Rolex range: Royal Oak Offshore Diver or maybe Blancpain fifty fathoms.

 

[Berg11]

They were showing off some cool Breitling SuperOcean models at the id club at baselworld last year, if only I could afford one!

 

[cascas]

How about : H2O Immersion.
Keeps a 10 dive log for you... It is a big fat watch but I like it...

 

[Nemrod]

The most common and possibly sturdiest mechanical dive watch and is often considered "the dive watch" based on value is the Seiko SKX007. Usually well under 200 dollars and uses the same house movement as the Seiko Orange/Black Monster, an equally tough watch but with an uglier mug and also a good value. The Citizen EcoZilla is even uglier and bigger and might run until the cows come home and well beyond the pending collapse of civilization thanks to it's solar power movement.

Any one of these three can be had under 250 dollars and they are unsurpassed in ruggedness and reliability. And, if you loose them, thank goodness it was not a 5,000 dollars Rolex or DOXA.

N

 

[Tigerman]

I was in need of (Ok, I just really WANTED) a new watch almost two years ago and decided it might as well be a dive watch, so I just got myself a Citizen one.
Watch Details for Promaster Depth Metre Chronograph | Citizen Eco-Drive