Dive Watches · Page 88

The MKII Stingray II Keroman is a true military diver, recreated

We don’t need more dive watches. According to some anecdotal data, divers are the most popular type of watches because they are robust, versatile, and can sometimes be handsome to look at, considering personal preference and all. Don’t get me wrong – I love dive watches – and wear them on a mostly daily basis. … ContinuedThe post The MKII Stingray II Keroman is a true military diver, recreated appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Owner’s Perspective: Tudor Black Bay GMT

The Tudor Black Bay GMT was a hit when released in 2018 giving people a much more affordable alternative to it’s older and wiser cousin, the Rolex GMT BLRO, otherwise known as “The Pepsi”. And being more attainable and a great value proposition, I decided it was time to add a GMT to the collection. Why I Bought It I had never owned a GMTGreat Rolex alternativeClassic styled GMT & similar to my Black Bay The Ownership Reality Wears larger than a 41mm watch due to it’s 14mm thickness and slab sidesNo micro adjust or extendable links for on the fly adjustment Aluminium bezel insert more prone to scratches than ceramic Overall rating: 8.5 /10 Value for money: 9/10 Wearability: 8/10 Design: 9/10 Build quality: 8/10 A few months ago, Tudor released a new variant of the Tudor Black Bay GMT with a white dial, which you can read about here, but personally, I didn’t love the white dial on this watch. The black dial “Pepsi” configuration, The OG looks better in my opinion, which made me think why, and then made me think – maybe I should write about it in this next Owners Perspective article. The original and the best – Tudor Black Bay GMT Having never owned a GMT, and les face it, over 2020 and 2021, I’ve not needed one as I’ve not really gone anywhere thanks to COVID. But with the world opening up again early last year, and with a few family holidays planned combined with an itch for a new watch, I decided to take the plunge and get a Tudor Black Bay GMT. W...

Everything you need to know about the new Omega Seamaster 300M 60 Years of James Bond Edition

Omega celebrates 60 years of Bond with a new stainless steel Omega Seamaster 300M 60 Years of James Bond Edition.The post Everything you need to know about the new Omega Seamaster 300M 60 Years of James Bond Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Hands-On: A Ride With Legendary Cyclist Fabian Cancellara And His Team’s Exclusive Tudor Black Bay Chrono

The brand's pro cycling team watch is meant for cyclist. I wish I could get one.

Marnaut Returns with their Refined Dark Surge 300 Diver, a Proper Dressy Tool Watch and a New Showroom in an Exotic Locale

The last time we caught up Mario Jutronic and his Croatia-designed microbrand, Marnaut, the collection featured a pair of capable divers with a distinct dial inspired by a creature of the Adriatic Sea. Marnaut has been quiet in recent years and after a stint in Asia, Jutronic has returned to his homeland, marking the watch brand’s resurgence. Sometimes a change in scenery is what the soul needs, and you know what they say, there’s nothing better than home cooking. Now, Marnaut is looking to pick up right where they left off with a more refined version of their flagship Dark Surge 300 diver and the launch of their brand new Safe Harbour 100 collection. The newly refined Dark Surge 300 As you’ll find out with all the noteworthy details, all roads lead back to “The Land of a Thousand Islands” in every Marnaut piece. The sea urchin exoskeleton inspired dial, a signature Marnaut design cue and a tribute to Jutronic’s younger days snorkeling in the Adriatic Sea to find these coveted creatures, reprises its format in the updated Dark Surge 300. The dial displays all 47 raised indices in radiating fashion with each one wrapped in a polished surround and filled with C3 SuperLuminova. There’s a certain depth this particular design provides. From above, the space between the top of the surrounds and the surface of its filling is noticeable. A side profile captures the same raised indices in a different manner as they reflect off of the glossy black dial. As a result, le...

The Ulysse Nardin Diver Net Azure and the Diver X Skeleton Azure are sustainable chic

eBay Finds: Vintage Divers and Mystery Dials

eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion! Vintage Oris Diver To start this week we have a cool and funky vintage Oris diver. The oval/cushion style chrome plated case is in great shape, with nice sharp edges and factory brushed finish intact. Seller doesn’t state the size but it looks to be on the larger size judging by the placement of the date window. The black dial is super clean, with nicely aged lume hour markers. It has an aluminum elapsed time divers bezel that is also in great shape. The crown is original and is signed with the Oris name. No movement picture, but the seller states it runs well. View auction here. Waltham Ultra-Thin Next up is a stylin’ vintage Waltham in yellow gold fill, complete with box and extras. The gold fill case looks nice and sharp, and has a nifty engine turned bezel similar to the classic Rolex Thunderbird and thin simple lugs. The simple crosshair gold dial has Arabic numerals at 12 and 6, along with a sub-seconds dial just above the 6. No date and gold dauphine hands complete the look. Nice, thin, classy dress watch. Best of all it comes in the original box with some little tags and a hangtag. Again, no movement picture but the seller states it runs well. View auction here. Vintage Bu...

Tissot Puts a Powermatic 80 Movement in their Smallest PRX

It’s not exactly breaking news, but it seems that integrated bracelet sports watches hold just as dominant a place in the market as they did a year ago, and a year before that. They are coming at us from every angle: the entry level, the high end, and somewhere in between, and with each new release, it feels more and more like this isn’t a “trend,” as so many (including myself) have described it in the past. It’s becoming increasingly clear that what we’re looking at is a product category as broad as “dive watches” or “dress watches.” That means integrated bracelet sports watches are just going to keep coming, not just at every price point, but in every size.  And that brings us to the newest release from Tissot, a PRX in a 35mm case and equipped with an automatic movement. The PRX has been available in 35mm for about a year, but only with a quartz movement. An integrated bracelet sports watch in a smaller than normal case size makes a ton of sense, and by all accounts the 35mm PRX was a big hit. The very nature of an integrated bracelet sports watch means that, most of the time, it’s going to wear a bit larger than a watch with a strap or traditional bracelet. The cases for these watches, often somewhat architectural and heavily faceted, have a ton of wrist presence. And the silkiness and drape of the bracelets (when they’re done right) makes comfort a truly defining feature in this category – a watch that’s too big can spoil the whole experie...

Tissot Introduces the Sideral

Fun, affordable, and well-equipped, the Sideral is a surprisingly interesting entry-level sports watch from Tissot. Where many recent sports watches been Genta-inspired with integrated bracelets – Tissot’s own PRX among them – the Sideral reminds us that the 70s were a time of broader experimentation for the Swiss watch industry, in terms of both design and materials. Based on the playful and quirky Sideral S from 1971, the newSideral is not a one-to-one remake of the original. Instead, it’s been smartly updated in both design and functionality. While the original Sideral S featured a fiberglass case, then a world first, the reissue has a more contemporary carbon composite case. With its clever use of lume plus a regatta countdown bezel, the Sideral packs a surprising amount of character for the price. The original Sideral S from 1971 (lower left) next to the new Sideral. Initial thoughts Heritage remakes have become a common trope in the luxury watch industry over the past few years, but brands have mostly focused on bringing back their most timeless and iconic designs from the 1950s and 1960s; the Tudor Black Bay 54 is a perfect example. In this context, the launch of the funky Sideral is a breath of fresh air, since the original design is comparatively obscure and likely unknown to many contemporary enthusiasts.  The dial itself is generously and playfully lumed, with four different colours of Super-LumiNova across the collection to bring it to life in the dark...

[LIVE PICS] Longines Spirit Zulu Time GMT Welcomes New 39mm Case

Longines released the first Spirit Zulu Time last year, offering a so-called true GMT in a 42mm steel case with all the Spirit design details we’ve come to expect from Longines. As good as that watch was, the case was a bit overpowering for some wrists out there, and Longines has heard the calls for a more approachable sized GMT. This is the Zulu Time GMT in 39mm, and it captures pretty much everything we loved in the original model, in a much tidier package. This is a watch that will sit directly across from the Tudor Black Bay Pro, offering a slightly different, but similar level of appeal.  The latest Zulu Time remains in the Spirit collection, and yes, the 5 applied stars remain on the dial. There are plenty of polished details to discover in places like the surround of the chapter ring, the frame of the bezel, and those aforementioned stars. Like other Spirit watches, this Zulu Time has a taste of the ornate, which might push it into slightly more interesting (or less interesting, depending on your taste) territory compared to something like the far more straightforward and tool-ish Black Bay Pro from Tudor. Longines does address the most common complaint levied against that Tudor, however. The Zulu Time 39 measures 39mm in diameter, and 13.5mm in thickness, a full millimeter clear of the Black Bay Pro. That said, I’m not sure I’d have guessed that on the wrist. It felt perfectly pleasant on my 7.25” wrist, and it didn’t immediately strike me as a thick wat...

The Value Proposition: The Vulcain Nautique Skindiver Delivers Heritage Dive Watch Legacy At (Way) Less Than $2K

It’s skindiver season, and we’re taking a look at a value-packed option with real history.

The Seiko 5 Sports Collection Comes Full Circle with a Faithful Recreation of the 1968 Original and Three Additional Models that Hit the Remix Button

The Seiko 5 Sports collection has made quite the impressive and industry-impacting run in its 55 years of existence. Within that time, we’ve seen a constant evolution of the collection with countless iterations of the Seiko 5 Sports watch. There has been a slew of limited edition pieces and special collaborations that displays the brand’s willingness to do something fun and different. There have been many “firsts” for the collection, as well as many returns to form. But no matter how much the collection has ebbed and flowed, the Seiko 5 Sports watch has a knack for finding its way into all of our collections. Whether you’re a veteran in the horology game or a rookie just getting started, a common thread will always be a Seiko 5. The collection continues to open many doors into the hobby, and for some, has kept them right in the thick of it with easy-going designs and models packed with tons of value. Today however, isn’t about the journey, but about where it all began in 1968 with the first ever Seiko 5 Sports watch. With this nostalgic release from Seiko, we get a faithful recreation of the OG diver built on the five pillar foundation from which the Seiko 5 gets its name – a sports watch containing an automatic movement, day-date display, water resistance, durable case and a recessed crown at four o’clock. The limited edition Seiko SRPK17 retains its 39.5mm steel cushion case with its distinguishable scalloped edge shaping the top and bottom. With a front-...

Oris Goes Big with their New Aquis

Oris is once again expanding their Aquis collection, this time debuting a reference with a small seconds indicator in a case with a larger footprint, the Aquis Small Second Date 45.5mm. The Aquis is one of the Swiss brand’s signature creations, and as such Oris has endeavored to make it available, and palatable, to a huge range of potential customers, with cases ranging from 36.5mm all the way up to 45.8mm for the Aquis Depth Gauge. Over the last few release cycles, we’ve seen Oris put a focus on the smaller and medium sized watches, but here we get a big one, with a case measuring 45.5mm, a brand new size for the diver, and featuring the increasingly rare small seconds indicator at 9:00.  When we think about dive watches, normally we consider them along the metric of water resistance and legibility, but there’s another core component of any diver that is less discussed and often taken for granted, and that’s being able to immediately determine if the watch is running. Needless to say, a dive watch that has stopped running doesn’t do you very much good at all, and could potentially be quite dangerous for a diver relying on their watch to time surface intervals or bottom time. If you picture a dive watch in your mind’s eye, you’re likely to think of one with a centrally mounted seconds hand, which makes it easy to see at a glance whether or not a watch is functioning at its most basic level. But for timing purposes, getting a readout to the second isn’t of ...

A Week In Watches Ep. 53: Forged Carbon Regatta Timing With Tissot & More

With our first year behind us (thanks for all the well wishes!), we’re back with episode 53 of A Week In Watches with new releases from Tissot, Breguet, Seiko & more. One of our favorite watches of the summer (thus far) has come from Tissot, and it’s a forged carbon regatta timer called the Sideral. Yes, it’s a callback to something they’ve done in the past, and yes, it’s still awesome. With a carbon case and Powermatic 80 movement, this is a ton of watch (and funk) for about $1,100, see more here. Elsewhere, Breguet gives us a first look at new Type 20 and Type XX watches, with a stunning new movement and a date window that may leave you scratching your head. Head to the video on YouTube to give us your take on the date, as well as the rest of the watches in this week’s episode. Rounding things out, we’ve got news of a new Pontos S Diver from Maurice Lacroix, which is a welcome site from the brand, though we wonder if it could have done with a slight bit of modernization? Speaking of, Seiko has modernized their King Seiko with a trimmer case architecture and a new movement which brings a date to the regular production modern King Seiko. Finally, IWC has brought the silver dial back to the Mark Pilot watch and it works about as well as you’d expect, which is to say, pretty damn well. This week’s episode was brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop. For an excellent and ever-growing catalog of watches, straps, clocks, and more, head to windupwatchshop.com....

Redwood Tactical V2 Stealth: An Affordable Solar Quartz Winner

A quick review of the Redwood Tactical V2 Stealth dive watch with a solar quartz movement. See specs, pricing, photos, and more.

Citizen Announces Fresh Divers for the Summer, Including a New Fujitsubo and Smaller Promaster Dive Watches

If ever there was a time in the market for a reinvigoration of classics, it’s now. And one could argue, with the releases coming out of Citizen in June, that the Japanese brand is leading the way. From reworking one of their most iconic lines to adding a fuller scope to their existing collections, Citizen has made it a mission this Summer to provide a variety of exciting, elegant, and even eco-conscious alternatives to other watches in their existing line-up. For June, Citizen will be releasing three watch collections: the much-anticipated 37mm Promaster Dive, the Promaster Dive Automatic Super Titanium “Fujitsubo”, and the UNITE with BLUE Collection. Each one remains a variation on an existing theme within the Citizen universe, but with surprising, and sometimes intriguing, differences. 37mm Promaster Dive Dive watches entering everyday wear has been on the rise over the last decade and it seems that the new Promaster Dive is where Citizen has gotten their sea legs. By reducing the 44mm size to a more wearable 37mm, it not only makes the dive watch feel slightly less sporty, but also less clunky when worn with a long-sleeved shirt. This, in turn, will appeal to a wider audience and reintroduce the Promaster to a new generation of fans. Usually when there is a reduction in real estate on a watch, certain features have to be conceded for space. Not so with the smaller Promaster Dive. Citizen has made a conscious effort to keep all the reasons longtime divers love this...

Hands-On: the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver

There are plenty of things we can choose to be frustrated by in the watch world. Rising prices, the increased importance of mysterious social media algorithms, outright chicanery, nonsense, and shenanigans in the auction world. Yes, these are forces contributing to making the hobby a little less enjoyable at times. But I like to focus on the bright spots, of which I’d argue there are more than enough to get excited about. One of those bright spots is the reemergence and wide availability of affordably priced, classic designs from thoughtfully resurrected heritage brands. Guillaume Laidet has become something of a specialist in this area, playing an integral role in the return of Vulcain, Excelsior Park, and Nivada Grenchen, the subject of this hands-on.  For a time, it seemed like a month couldn’t pass without a “new” brand that went dormant during the quartz crisis coming back with an updated version of their most popular model. So many of these attempts to capitalize on the popularity of vintage, neo-vintage, or whatever we’re calling it wound up failing, but the Nivada Grenchen strategy always felt different, and the brand continues to be successful a few years out from the relaunch because of Laidet’s forward thinking. Beyond the overall quality of the watches, which is consistently high, Nivada has always been presented as a real brand, and not simply a vehicle for launching one, or maybe two, watches. The idea of having a real collection for consumers to...

Certina Introduces Two Very Different and Intriguing Dive Watches to DS Action Diver Lineup

Certina continues to be a deep-cut watch brand for us folks here in the United States, but for our friends across the Atlantic (and the watch nerds located stateside alike), the value oriented brand remains a fixture amongst the watch community. There’s plenty to enjoy from Certina’s catalog and since their return to the U.S. market in 2021, they’ve hit the ground running with successful releases that include the DS PH200M, the DS Action GMT and in my opinion, the best-kept-secret midsize diver out there with the DS Action Diver 38mm. Sure you’ll occasionally get a curveball from the brand with a dress watch or two, but Certina is at their best when they operate within the lane of their DS Action line. In a span of a couple of months, Certina has bolstered their bread-and-butter collection with the addition of two intriguing divers – a serious, blacked-out DS Action Diver 43mm and a proper midsized titanium offering with the DS Action Diver 38mm. The DS Action Diver is a straightforward, no-fuss diver solidified by traditional design, a “Diver’s Watch” designation meeting ISO 6425 standards and an 80-hour power reserve equipped automatic movement. What separates the new DS Action Diver 43mm from the rest of the line is its stealthy appearance. The stainless steel case is layered with a PVD coating, all around from the lug ends to the crown guard tips and caseback. From the photos provided, it seems that any light hitting the case falls flat, but the bezel...

In-Depth: Examining Value And Price Over Time With The ‘No Date’ Rolex Submariner

We now have a decade behind us of modern price history – let's dig into it.

Louis Vuitton Introduces the Tambour Street Diver Chronograph

Two years ago, Louis Vuitton unveiled the Tambour Street Diver, a livelier iteration of its longstanding Tambour dive watch. Now the brand debuts the Tambour Street Diver Chronograph, adding further a stopwatch to the nautical-inspired aesthetic. Together, the two Street Divers now form the entry-level of the brand’s mechanical watch offerings, which progress upwards into seven-figure, minute-repeater-with-automaton territory. Initial thoughts The new chronograph is a natural progression from its predecessor, retaining the elements of a traditional dive watch, including a less-common inner rotating bezel, while incorporating Louis Vuitton’s bold and modern styling, including the tall, drum-shaped case. The design is as much “street” as it is “diver”, and very much in keeping with the brand’s aesthetic. Both the case and dial are executed well, although the two-tone case might not be to everyone’s taste. Enthusiasts, however, will note the ETA movement inside. The movement is reliable and robust, though the US$11,105 price tag deserves a more interesting calibre. That said, given Louis Vuitton’s well-funded ambitions in watchmaking, it is a certainty that the brand will soon roll out in-house calibres in all price segments of its catalogue. Nautically inspired The new chronograph available in two variations: Skyline Blue (blue with metallic sun-ray finish) and Neon Black (matte black), each matched with a case colour in the same colour. Both have the same ...

Introducing: Citizen Surprises Us With A Brand New 37mm Promaster Diver Collection

The classic, rugged, and modern diver gets sized down for the rest of us.

Tissot Revives a Funky Archive Favorite with Modern Re-Interpretation of the Sideral

Before the bang-for-your-buck PRX Powermatic 80, the refined range of Chemins des Tourelles, as well as the brand’s stint as the official timekeeper of the National Basketball Association, there was a moment in time when Tissot decided to get experimental with their approach to watchmaking. It was 1969 when Tissot thrusted their brainchild into reality with the release of their funky Sideral diver (pronounced see-dee-rahl), sporting a multi-colored regatta timer display within the dial, an intuitive rubber strap fastening system, and for the first time ever, a monoblock case completely fabricated out of fiberglass. The Tissot Sideral has now officially made its return with all of its groovy glory with the addition of a couple of contemporary touches. 1969 Sideral S (left) Vs. 2023 Sideral (right) The Tissot Sideral 2023 retains its distinctive barrel shaped case and lug-less design that made the original yellow fiberglass-cased Sideral so eye-catching. But instead of using the same material as its predecessor, which has shown to brittle over time, the Sideral 2023 utilizes a case combination of forged carbon and stainless steel. The midcase represents the portion of the case made out of forged carbon, displaying its signature “swirl” pattern and simultaneously cutting several grams off of the total case weight without sacrificing a durable exterior. The bezel, which displays a dual-function with an elapsed and regatta timing scale, is made out of stainless steel, whi...

IWC’s Mark Series Turns 75, and the Brand Celebrates with a New Silver Dialed Variant of the Popular Pilot’s Watch

Last year, IWC launched the Mark XX in a somewhat unusual way for a marquee watch from a big Swiss brand: without much fanfare at all. We’re accustomed in the watch world to getting teased about new releases weeks ahead of time, with splashy PR campaigns to accompany the biggest reveals. The Mark watches, for many watch enthusiasts, are the watch collection that comes to mind when thinking about IWC. So for the new Mark, arguably the most critical of the entire Pilot lineup (don’t @ me, Big Pilot fans) to just kind of appear on the website one day last year was a little surprising.  Now, almost a year later, the Mark XX is very much out there and certainly no longer an under the radar secret to stumble over. The subtle updates to the dial (including a date window which appears to be a bit more in harmony with the outer Arabic numerals clocking the hours) and a higher spec movement have gone over well with the collector community, and the Mark XX is the rare update to a core collection watch, from any brand, that seems to have a consensus around being an improvement. Think about how rare that is, for a minute. When the new 41mm Submariner was announced in 2020, Rolex fans were close to war. But with the new Mark, if you liked the last one, chances are you were going to like this one more. If it was never your thing to begin with, your opinion probably didn’t change. It was that most uncommon type of watch release: one with no real controversy.  Since the black and b...

Hands On With The Gruppo Gamma Venturo Field Watch II – A Good Looking Value Proposition

If a vintage styled field watch is your thing, then maybe the Gruppo Gamma Venturo Field Watch II maybe just the thing for you. Oh, and we’re giving it away! What We Love Vintage stylingEasy to wearChangeable straps What We Don’t Not a high grade movementLack of design elements on strapNot suitable for smaller wrists Overall Rating: 8.375/10 Value for money: 8/10Wearability: 9/10Design: 8.5/10Build quality: 8/10 This is a review with a difference. Whilst we get a lot of watches to review each month, this time we’ve decided to review one we’re giving away to our amazing audience. How do you win? simply take our short 4 minute survey to help us design and write content to help you, our readers. which you can take it here. Don’t forget to come back and read the review when you’re done! The Gruppo Gamma Ventura Field Watch II Gruppo Gamma is probably a brand you’ve not heard of, and not surprisingly as they’re a micro brand founded in 2013, named after the Italian frogmen unit of the same code name, that was first put to action in 1940 and was the first modern naval diver unit. The top secret elite force was called “Gruppo Gamma” which was said to have originated from the Pirelli rubber skinsuit, called “muta gamma”, that was used by the divers. And they make some very reasonably priced tool watches with inspiration from vintage style field and dive watches. The Design If you think this looks familiar in style, then you’re not wrong. The Venturo is h...