15 of the Best Dive Watches for All Budgets

roadwarrior

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http://www.bestproducts.com/mens-style/g1193/best-dive-watches-for-men/

Now before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there's one point we need to cover:
Depth Rating — Some of these watches say they can go 100 meters below the surface, and others are rated for in excess of 1,000 meters. As of 2014, the deepest any scuba diver has ever been is a little over 300 meters, so we wouldn't put too much emphasis on ratings above that unless you plan on strapping your watch to the outside of a submarine. Generally speaking, 100 meters can handle your average swimming and snorkeling needs, and 200-plus is a safe bet for recreational diving.

As we move forward through the coming months, this list will continue to be updated with new dive watches worthy of your consideration. As items are discontinued they will be removed, but consider this your ever-changing guide to some of the coolest, most interesting, and sometimes simply the best dive watches out there.


Best Under $100​​​

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Casio Sports MDV106-1AV
$70, shopcasio.com
The sub-100 price range is slim pickings in the watch world, and though there are a few brands that sell in the category, few are anything that we would ever recommend. This simple quartz-powered Casio is a nice simple option that has a proper 200-meter water resistance as well as a rotating dive bezel. This one would make a fine vacation watch that you won't stress about beating up at the beach or by the pool.

Best Under $150

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Seiko SRP601
$140, jomashop.com
Seiko makes a ton of different dive watches that suit the full spectrum of pricing, but at the base entry level, this guy is a good choice. It's also one of the cheapest watches powered by an automatic movement that we saw as worthy of our list. Seiko's ever-brightly glowing luminous hands and markers will have a fair bit of appeal, as will its chunky bezel.



Best Under $200

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Citizen Blue Promaster Diver
$169, jomashop.com
Citizen has long been Seiko's main competitor, offering budget-friendly watches of all shapes and sizes that match their rival in terms of both pricing and quality. Powered by Citizen's Eco-Drive line of quartz movements that draws energy from the sun, this is a classic example of the same Promaster diver that Citizen has been building for ages. At 42 millimeters, this is a comfortably sized watch for both smaller and larger wrists.





Best Under $200

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Scurfa Watches Diver One Stainless
$184 (based on current exchange rate), scurfawatches.com
Scurfa likely isn't a watch brand you've heard of unless you're a particular shade of watch geek, but they are another brand that's always on our radar. Paul Scurfa's line of affordable dive watches use reliable Swiss quartz movements from Ronda, and boast premium features — including a domed sapphire crystal, a lumed bezel, and a well-tested 300-meter dive rating. Paul is an avid diver, and his real-world approach to the build of his watches really shines through in the finished product.



​Best Under $300​

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Deep Blue Sun Diver 1k Automatic
$299, deepbluewatches.com
Powered by the industry standard non-Swiss automatic movement — the Miyota 9015 — Deep Blue's automatic watches are great no-frills divers that are built like tanks. These are not for the faint of wrist, measuring 46 millimeters in diameter and 14 millimeters thick. That said they also have one of the highest depth ratings of any watch on our list, coming in at 1,000 meters.



​Best Under $400

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Helson Brass Shark Diver 42
$349, helsonwatch.com
Of the many microbrands in the watch industry, Helson is one of the few who appears to be standing the test of time. Loaded with insanely bright Superluminova and a 500-meter depth rating, the Shark Diver is the brand's chunky and well-executed take on the classic dive watch. This brass variant is the most affordable variant of the pack that uses Seiko's NH35 automatic movement rather than the usual Miyota seen in other models. Helson has been pushing the boundaries of what he can get away with for dial colors as of late, and the Shark Diver can now be acquired in everything from a green carbon fiber-esque woven dial, to a very dapper and unique mother-of-pearl one.





​Best Under $400

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Seiko Prospex SRP775
$371, amazon.com
A classic design based on one of Seiko's highly collectible vintage divers, the Seiko 6309, this new SRP775 — and its black and white sibling the SRP777 (also known as "the turtle") — has immediately become the new Seiko that every watch enthusiast must own. This is a clean and simple dive watch with a killer vintage case shape that, much like a long legacy of Seiko divers, will be a trusted workhorse that you can expect to live in your collection for decades.



​Best Under $800

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Halios Delfin PVD
$690, halioswatches.com
Back to the microbrands we go for our sub-$700 selection. Halios is another limited-production brand based out of Vancouver BC that prides themselves on building watches that are of top-notch quality with unique yet very functional design. Of their current lineup only this stealthy black PVD-finished Delfin diver and their bronze Tropik B are currently available, but they're ones to keep an eye on because you never really know what they're going to build next.

VINCENT LIONS


​Best Under $1,000

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Stevral Bronze Megalodon
$900 (pre-order), stevral.com
If this looks somewhat familiar to you but you can't quite place it, that déja vu is not misplaced. Stevral, formerly known as Benarus Watches, has been building variants of the giant chunky Megalodon for a good while now, but this new model is the first time we will see it available in both Bronze and Titanium. An over-engineered, chunky beast of a timepiece measuring 49 millimeters across its bezel, the Megalodon is big, brash, and unforgiving — and we just love it.





​Best Under $2,000

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Oris Divers Sixty-Five
$1,850, tourneau.com
The Oris Divers Sixty-Five is one of the most talked-about new releases from 2015, and it continues to garner praise from all corners of the watch industry. Paying homage to vintage watches is a popular play these days, and hit the nail on the head with this one by striking the right balance between a vintage aesthetic and slightly more modern details and proportions. Simple things like moving the date window to a more practical spot at 6 o'clock, using a domed sapphire crystal rather than acrylic, and keeping the case slim and only pushing for a 100-meter depth rating makes the Divers Sixty-Five the kind of watch you just want to keep wearing over and over again.



​Best Under $2,000

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Doxa SUB 1200T Professional
$1,890, doxawatches.com
While the Oris above is designed to be an aesthetically pleasing watch that can handle going underwater, DOXA's entire watch line is designed from the ground up as a professional diving tool that just happens to be pretty pleasing to look at. The 1200T is rated for a 1,200-meter diving depth, though unlike any of the affordables that reach anywhere near that spec, the DOXA is a relatively compact and slender watch. Compared to others in the industry, this 42-millimeter diver is sized more like your average watch that can only handle 200 or 300 meters in depth. This is available with a black or blue dial, but the bright orange is a true brand trademark.



​Best Under $2,500​

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Aquadive Bathysphere 100GMT Turquoise
$2,490, aquadive.com
Aquadive is a recently relaunched dive watch brand with roots that trace back to the '60s and '70s when they were well-known as reliable professional diving tools, much like Doxa. The brand relaunched in 2011 and most recently unveiled this big monster of a dive watch known as the Bathysphere. This is a great tool watch for the adventurous traveler who wants a watch tough enough that he knows it won't get wrecked when he bails while surfing. Each Bathysphere case is machined out of a single block of steel — and having seen it first-hand, it's safe to say it can survive just about anything.




​Best Under $5,000

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Tudor Pelagos
$4,400, tudorwatch.com
The Tudor Pelagos, now into its second generation and powered by an automatic movement built in-house by Tudor, is a watch that requires little introduction. From a design standpoint, the Pelagos is smart and simple. It's the kind of timepiece that can pull double duty as a nice casual sports watch for an evening out on the town, and then the next day be strapped over a wetsuit for serious underwater exploration. Its titanium case and bracelet keeps it from being overly hefty on the wrist as well.



​Best Under $6,000

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Bremont Supermarine S500
$5,400, govbergwatches.com
While most of Bremont's watch collection is far more geared towards the aviation realm, their Supermarine diver is more than worthy of a mention. Available in a handful of different color options, this 500-meter diver has the same brilliant multi-piece case construction as the rest of Bremont's offerings. It also has one of the best anti-reflective sapphire crystals in the business, and its form-fitted rubber strap is supremely comfortable.



​​Best Under $10,000​

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Omega Seamaster 300 Titanium
$9,000, omegawatches.com
Last but most certainly not least comes Omega's latest and greatest, the reissue of their classic Seamaster 300. The original watch was built back in 1957 during the early days of dive watches, when the likes of Rolex, Omega, and Blancpain were battling it out for technical supremacy in the field. Much like the Oris Divers Sixty-Five, this Seamaster is a great recreation of a true classic. Though also offered in steel, two-tone gold/steel, two-tone gold/titanium, and solid gold, we would safely argue that the titanium and blue is the sharpest combo of the bunch. For theJames Bond fans in the room, you all know Omega has a longstanding relationship with the franchise. Of course, there is a limited-edition Seamaster 300 that was created specifically for the latest Bond flick that sports a different 12-hour bezel rather than the standard 60-minute version, as well as a NATO strap as worn in the film. This model will be limited to an appropriate 7,007-unit production run.

 
Some magnificent Dive watches indeed. Thanks for the post, and the link, Mike.:good::cool2:
 
Pretty darn good list. Divers for everyone.
I have 5 of the brands mentioned, but I want more...
 
I have 8 of the brands mentioned... that's a sweet list. Love the Doxa and the Aquadive. Can I get a loan from someone? :)
 
Pretty darn good list. Divers for everyone.
I have 5 of the brands mentioned, but I want more...
I have 2. Man I thought I was getting close to saving on an Omega Damn I ain't even close.
 
Thanks for this post, RW. This is an excellent start for those trying to
make sense out of Dive watch pricing and what you get. I have 2.
 
Great list and guide. I'd like to point out that the Deep Blue Sun Diver 1000 utilizes the SII NH36 movement. The Miyota 9015 is used in the Sea Quest 1500. It's the smallest watch (42mm) that DB uses the 9015. :)
 
Great list and guide. I'd like to point out that the Deep Blue Sun Diver 1000 utilizes the SII NH36 movement. The Miyota 9015 is used in the Sea Quest 1500. It's the smallest watch (42mm) that DB uses the 9015. :)

Caught that myself and it called into question the whole list for me. If they can't get a simple published fact like that correct then why should I give their opinions any consideration?
 
seiko 140 price today OUT OF STOCK citizen as well. get the feeling im out of luck here. no matter great go to list
 
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I have really like Scurfas for a while now. I'm just waiting for him to release his automatic Bell 1 soon.


Sent from The White House on taxpayers dimes.
 
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