Take The Plunge With These 6 Dive Watches

Sixty feet below the ocean’s surface, my knees resting on the soft sand, I thought—not for the first time—whether I was crazy for saying yes to this. Situated around a half-circle delineated by small, purposefully placed rocks, I joined a handful of other scuba divers similarly perched on their knees. 

Waiting on the outskirts of what’s referred to by the divers of Nassau’s Stuart Cove as the Shark Arena, we waited for “the show” to begin. A professional diver, wearing a suit fitted with chainmail for protection, eased himself into the centre of our circle accompanied by a silver box full of bait. 

The sharks weren’t far behind. 

My early concern soon gave way to wonder as the big fish swirled around us eager for a bite of bait. This shark experience—the final in a string of scuba dives in The Bahamas, with a goal to become open-water-dive certified—was the first instance in which I completely forgot about time. Because time, I learned during my training, is an essential element of scuba diving. In addition to ensuring divers have enough oxygen in their tank for a planned dive duration, time matters when it comes to ascension and decompression as well. While digital dive computers have added a technological element to the space, many divers still rely on an analog option, too: dive watches.

In fact, these technical works of art are also coveted by many timepiece collectors. In addition to offering water resistance to depths of up to 200 metres, water-worthy watches increasingly feature sleek silhouettes that have garnered them a dedicated fanbase beyond the scuba-diving set. Here are five stunning dive watches that are sure to make a splash. —Aleesha Harris

The most advanced dive-oriented timepiece currently on offer from Rolex, the Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea (price by request at Global Watch Company) is waterproof to a depth of 3,900 metres along with a 60-minute graduated monobloc to ensure exact monitoring of underwater time. A calibre 3235 self-winding mechanical movement powers this watch, which looks as good in the water as it does on dry land. 

Specifically created with professional divers in mind, the Promaster collection from Citizen boasts a range of approachably priced timepieces featuring technical elements such as 200-metre water resistance, luminosity for ease of reading and the brand’s light-powered Eco-Drive technology to keep it running right on time. Available in a variety of sizes, materials and colours, this 44-millimetre Promaster Dive design ($575) is a cool classic to don in the deep. 

The first Omega Seamaster timepiece was launched in 1948. Seventy-five years later, the Swiss luxury watchmaker’s line of sea-worthy timepieces continues to evolve—and go ever deeper. An example of this advancement, the Omega Seamaster Ultra Deep ($17,700) honours the watch brand’s participation in the world-record Challenger Deep dive to the Mariana Trench. Waterproof to an impressive 6,000 metres, the 45.5-millimetre model is powered by the Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8912. 

Diving takes a stylish spin with the Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver Chronograph ($13,600). Designed for an active lifestyle, the sporty, 46-millimetre style brings bold diving luminosity to the everyday thanks to a colour-contrasting crown and Super-LumiNova coated numbers, indexes and hands. Available in a range of cool colourways, this luxury timepiece is secured to the wrist with a boldly branded strap. 

Adding a cool, neutral hue to the mix, this Longines Hydroconquest GMT ($3,600) is a sport style available in eight colours ranging from earthy brown to a deep green, each offered with either a tonal textile Nato or stainless-steel strap. The unisex-appropriate 41-millimetre creation boasts water resistance and anti-magnetic design elements to provide precise timekeeping while in action. 

Billed as the “culmination of decades of research and development,” the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver ($3,350 USD ($4,500 CAD) on rubber and $3,700 USD ($5,000 CAD) on a ceramic bracelet at Rado.com) was ultimately designed with changing environments in mind. And that includes under water. The high-tech ceramic style, available in six variations, stays true to the benchmarks of the Captain Cook design, while also featuring updated aspects such as a Nivachron anti-magnetic hairspring, 80-hour power reserve, and water resistance up to 300 metres.