You probably already knew that diving watches—while certainly acceptable for diving—are marketed just as much for non-divers as they are hardcore divers and military units. The latter explains why. A diving watch as a fashion statement can take all the qualities of a toned, tanned elite diver and incorporate all them into the watch. Who knew that watches could serve such a powerful fashion metaphor?

Up your cool factor

Whether diving watches have fancy movements, triple-time zones or artfully-crafted dials and bezels, you can be sure that they will make a statement about your person. These pieces of wrist-wear are made for both sexes and give nearly anyone that cool, svelte look that only three-piece suits and lace-up Rockports could only fathom doing. Not only are diver watches cool-as-hell, and not only do they go to super-duper great depths in the sea—they also evoke a sense of “action” in their owners.

As far as others are concerned, you’re one that has served in elite military units. You’ve been a paratrooper for the Swiss government, and you’ve been a Navy Seal. You could have looked death in the eye—a killer shark or legendary giant-squid, perhaps—and lived the experience to gloat to tell it.  Talk about cool!

Wenger® Men’s 72328 Battalion II Diver Swiss Watch $125.00

Wenger Battalion Diver Watch N\A Wenger Mens Black Battalion Iii Diver Watch $208.12

Wenger Men’s 72325 Battalion II Diver Swiss Watch $97.94

Form over function—or is it function over form?

As stated before, of course, many diving watches never even come close to open water. People love them because of their attributes. Most do not even understand how those fancy dials, bezels, chronographs and chronometers actually work. And that’s fine, because these watches are marketed to practically everybody—not just the professional diver. Of course, if you wanted to use these deep underwater, most submerse up to 2000 feet quite comfortably and also come with such handy features as rotating bezels that serve as an alarm clock as to when you will run out of oxygen.

There are essentially two varieties of diving watches:

• The attribute type of diving watch is far more about form over function. These are the Blancpains, Panerai’s, Swiss Armies and Rolexes that are meant more for show. Nonetheless, they will usually come with essential diving features such as depth resistance, fancy luminescence and bezels that revolve and rotate.
• The computer variety of diving watches is more-or-less just that: computerized. They rely on sophisticated electronics to aid divers in critical measurements like depth, temperature, air mixture availability, and a myriad of electronic alarms that sound when circumstances are dire. They often feature the ability to even download diving data to a PC or MAC, share it or to just sit there and bask in your accomplishment.

The crème-de-la crème of dive watches

Among the most distinguished, most ruggedly-elegant watches there are a few diving watches that stand-out from the pack:

• Luminox’s Navy Seal Chronograph
• Bulgari’s Diagono Professional’s Scuba
• Blancpain’s “50^th Anniversary Fifty Fathoms” (which will set you back a “miniscule” $13k)
• Oris’s TT1 Divers Regulator 1000m watch
• Tag Heuer’s Aquaracer 2000

Online varieties for all budgets

Okay, yes—those are some fairly high-end diving watches. However, there are brands online that are much, much more affordable. They are also just as handsome and lush as the former brands and models, and can fool practically anyone into believing that the time-piece is a five-figure watch.

MENS WENGER SWISS MILITARY STEEL 20 ATM AQUA DIVER DATE WATCH 79948 $79.95

MENS WENGER SWISS MILITARY STEEL 20 ATM AQUA DIVER DATE WATCH 79947 $69.95

MENS WENGER SWISS MILITARY STEEL 20 ATM AQUA DIVER DATE WATCH 79946 $79.95

Diving watches as Fashion Statements

The Rolex Submariner comes from a line of Swiss watches known to be among the most luxurious in the world.  Say the words Swiss Watch and the odds are that people will think of Rolex first. The submariner has a long and illustrious past. It was first introduced in 1953 and since then it has gained widespread popularity as a water-resistant watch and soon after its introduction it was already seen as an instant favourite among the pioneers of deep-sea diving. Part of its mystique clearly relates to the fact that this is a superbly engineered product. But it also owes its fame to clever marketing helped by, among other things, its placement on the wrist of Sean Connery when he played the role of 007 in in the early James Bond series. Having “Commander Bond” wearing your watch on his adventures would have been a great help in establishing its reputation for style and toughness. Yet it was not just in its looks. In many ways Rolex helped to popularize the dive watch, with many claiming that this was in fact the original diving watch with its resistance to 100 meters (since increased).

Since then, Rolex has managed to keep the watch alive with constant innovation. By the mid-1960s  some significant change in its design were introduced.  Rounded shoulders were added as opposed to the pyramid-shaped shoulders  of the earlier models These surround the crown (winder) to provide it with protection from bangs and knocks. The other significant change was the use of Tritium-infused paint instead of radium.  Rolex also used white printing instead of silver gilt.
Over the years Rolex has continued to refine the watch, improving it steadily by adding to its features. New models are now more water-resistant than older ones, for instance, while a whole range of sibling watches has grown out of the original stable. These include the Rolex Daytona, the Rolex Sea Dweller and the Yach-Master.
Apart from the sheer joy of owning one of the masterpieces is the knowledge that, in general, these watches retain their value over time. They are not just pure luxuries, but if well cared for can be real investments and family heirlooms

The Rolex Submariner: A guest post