If there is one thing that I know you and I like, we like dive watches. Sure, we may not get any deeper than the local pool allows, but we seem to be drawn to that promise of adventure and robustness, the very tool-like nature, of the dive watch. There are certainly no shortage of options, and a good many of them are well done and quite affordable. If you are looking for an indie brand with some amazing in-the-dark visibility, Deep Blue is probably one of your first stops. We have been covering them a lot lately, but that is because they have had a spate of new releases. In fact, in conjunction with the upcoming Baselworld exhibition, they just announced the Deep Blue Daynight Scuba.
This has been quite the week for Visitor Watch Co. If you recall, I took at look at their inaugural offering, the Duneshore back in November of 2014. Since then, things have been in a bit of radio silence. Sure, the watch was available, but there had not been any word on a new model. Well, that silence has been broken, and in a big way. Starting on Monday of this week, Visitor Watch Co revealed a new product each day this week. Since the last item was revealed, I thought it worthwhile to take a look at everything that is coming out.
Who likes dive watches? You like dive watches. I like dive watches. Frankly, it seems, just about everyone likes dive watches. When they come from an popular indie brand with a combination of good looks and functionality? Well, that just about seems like a slam dunk. While the TWCO Sea Rescue Diver was first introduced in 2012, it focused on a higher-visibility color (in that case, yellow). Orange was the next logical step after that, and now its time for another refresh. This time around, the TWCO Sea Rescue Diver Tactical is going stealthy.
ManchesterWatchWorks is one of those brands that we have gotten to watch grow over the past year or so, and we have sampled quite a few of their watches. We have of course taken a look at both their TatoskoQ and TatoskoK, as well as the more recent Westminster and Vergennes. While the more recent watches were trench watches, for this new release, MWW is getting back to where they started – a dive watch. So, let’s have a look at what the newest ManchesterWatchWorks Armada has on offer.
Deep Blue Watches in New York has another deep-dive watch called the Sea Quest Automatic and this guy has the weight and the rating to go nearly a mile underwater. This company has been around for 9 years now and aspires to be known as the accurate water resistant watch maker. The Deep Blue Sea Quest might do it with its Miyota-powered, stainless diver rating of 1,500m/5,000ft.
The diver’s chronograph is an interesting combination of features, and the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Chronograph Pro 600 is the latest entry, and the brand’s first, into that category. Now, I own a diving chrono (not from CW, another brand), and I like the look, but the complication is certainly not going to be useful for diving. With the screw down protectors for the pushers, it can’t be operated underwater, so it is a stylistic choice here. You want a diver as you swim deep into the paperwork at your desk, and you like the features of a chronograph. The usefulness of the complication aside, I do think it is a very attractive watch.
I told you guys to back this project back in November. Well, good things come to thee who wait, because the Cobra de Calibre Crossfire, is currently back on Kickstarter, at a reduced price (and fully funded at this point). I have looked at a number of Cobra de Calibre watches, and keep saying “hey you should check this guy’s work out.” There great success stories where one project turned into two or three and then into a full blown brand, and I am hoping that John Lee will developed a cult following that funds all his projects.
For many of us (myself included), there is no denying the appeal of a cleanly designed diver. Now, you might argue that the Limes Endurance II is not truly a dive watch, as it only carries a 100m WR rating, and I would concede that point. It most certainly fits into the category as a tool watch, and the timing bezel gives it those hints of a diver
There is no doubt that things that glow in some form or fashion capture our attention. Ever…
New Deep Blue Master 1000m Automatic divers watch