Dive watch lovers, why do you love them?

Felix_La_PuBelle

What is it about dive watches?

Until recently I didn’t own a dive watch. My watch collection was fine with that and then…. I don’t know what it was. Perhaps scrolling past a picture of someone’s NTTD SMP or vintage Double Red Sea-Dweller, but suddenly something snapped in my head and there was a gap in my watch box.

I wasn’t suddenly dive watch obsessed. Perhaps just dive watch curious. But now that there’s a glaring hole in my watch box, I’m going to have to fill it.

In situations like this, where I suddenly need to scratch an itch for a new kind (genre? category?) of watch I haven’t previously owned, I go to one of two extremes. Either I go way esoteric, like my first Speedmaster being a 3570.40 Japan Racing, or I need to find the most middle-ground example that checks the most boxes for the genre in a single watch.

For my first proper dive watch, I went for the latter. Not cheap but not break-the-bank. Classic dial layout and markers. Not truly vintage but vintage inspired.

So here is my admission ticket to the International Desk Divers Federation: the Squale Sub-37 Legend diver.

It came on quite a nice rubber strap. But so nice that it was probably meant for actual diving including being long enough to wear over a wetsuit.

The strap is a bit too purpose built looking for my every day wear environments: the office, sitting around at home. But to keep the overall vintage aesthetic, I swapped with an aftermarket BOR bracelet.

I’m still trying to figure out what are the check-the-box necessary attributes of a good dive watch. I averaged it all out across creamy vintage inspired looks at faux aged lume price. Clean utilitarian dial, hands and markers. Classic tool watch case design and proportions with no excessive parts, or even crown guards. And incase I got everything else wrong, an unassailably pure dive watch heritage brand.

But still a couple unique deviations from base standards cuz I want it to feel unique, like a crystal bezel insert and thinner case than typical proportions at under 11mm.

**Apparently if I only own one dive watch, it has to at least check a vintage (inspired) box.

What do others like about dive watches, and what am I missing that I will someday wake up realizing I need to build out a dive watch “collection?”

Wahoo98

I always loved the versatility, indestructibility,

YYTIN

Enjoy your squale and give it some actions from time to time 😀

noelekal

I really like your new Squale diver very much! It is a great size and possesses an appealing business-like appearance. The no-date look is pleasing and is a plus in my opinion.

I could see a Squale like it in my future. I have paid attention to Squale since first discovering the brand here on the Forum.

I never appreciated dive watches until "my dotage." I have always loved dress/town watches and wore them throughout a career in banking. Still love them, however by retirement 10 years ago the diver "man-of-action" look began to appeal. Hmmmm...may have coincided with a year and a half of membership here on Omega Forums, looking at endless neato dive watches.

It is uncertain if I remain a "man-of-action" enough to rock a dive watch, but that hasn't stopped me from gathering up a few.

Larry S

The only vintage dive types I own: 5513 and 1675. They don’t see water.

The following are all getting dunked on a regular basis…

ghce

From my very earliest collecting days I have never been a dive watch man even though I do see the commercial attraction of them in terms of desirability and resale, consciously making the decision to avoid however I do occasionally imbibe in the full body immersive activity of going to swim in the sea and the occasional swimming pool excursion so have fallen off the track of strictly dress watches and have now included some dive watches, 3 Invicta's and the odd Seiko or 2. The only stipulation is that they all must be rated for 200 meters or more.

Larry S

Baltic is a fantastic company. It almost feels like they are local and not in France, they are so responsive. My son owns the Aqua GMT. I own 2 Aquascaphe, the Tricompax and the Bi Compax. The first four get used hard and have been very reliable. The Bi Compax meh but it was the watch that put em on the map so it gets a pass. The Aquascaphe dual crown case bracelet is much more reliable than the earlier classic Aquascaphe. Twice recently whilst sailing, it’s come loose and I’ve almost lost the watch, most distressing since both times I was pretty busy. Gonna change over to the composite strap and see if this BOR fits anything else in the collection. PS … Just ordered the sturdier BOR. I like the look.

Duracuir1

My bronze Baltic. I bought it in 2023.

I have owned a Seiko SKX 13, a Sub 5513, a Bulova Mil-Ships and some skin divers.

The combination of a vintage look, relatively thin case, a “just right” diameter, modest price tag, modern lume and water resistance make the Baltic my ideal dive watch.

And the bronze case encourages me to not worry about scratches and marks.