Challenging Double Standards With 100M Water Resistant Watches
9 min read
They say that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” If that’s correct, then the Rolex Submariner is the most admired watch in the world. Why this is true isn’t a given of its cult-level obsession within enthusiast circles, but actually something that’s a bit of a scare for the watch industry in general - counterfeiting. Yes, the Rolex Submariner is probably the most copied watch in the world. Every month on Google, around 30,000 users search for “fake Rolex,” and there’s no doubt that the Submariner tops all results.
Why is the Submariner so strictly desirable though, and kind of an unfortunate victim of its own popularity? A simple answer would be that the said watch is a definitive ‘icon’ of the industry. Its historic role as a diving tool, pop-culture permeance, luxury association and a genuinely high-build quality overall, lend it the right attributes to not only be a leader in its segment, but a general recipe for watchmaking success.
More than all this, I believe, it’s because the Submariner is so pure, simple, and utilitarian in its styling, and absolutely devoid of any aesthetic flourishes. It’s built for a purpose, and in its simplistic form following function element, it attains an even higher realization - it becomes the most popular watch in the world!
Founding Of The “Dive-Style” Watch
The most copied watch of all time has arguably created the most popular watch genre of all time. Now, a dive watch is the standard office watch, a favorable summer watch, an all-rounder timepiece, and with the blurring divides between formal and casual styling, a potent dress watch as well. The imperativeness of what the Submariner has founded - an immense affinity towards the dive watch aesthetic, has lent a broader number of watches to adopt the Submariner’s chief points of appeal, i.e. the evergreen dive watch design.
As everyone wants a watch that looks like a Submariner, or at least performs in part like it, the product stands as a favorable acquisition and the same has birthed a wide genre of “dive-style” watches that also do the part of being a bit submersible. With the literal minimum of the acceptable depth rating of 100 meters (as per ISO standards), the abundance of product volumes available from brands is a welcome delight.
With the perpetually growing numbers of “desk-divers” out there, anything that suffices water-resistance in a broader real-world utility of washing up, doing the dishes, occasional dancing in the rain, swimming, or even recreational diving, will for the most part get the job done well and safe.
The Subjectivity Of Depth Rating
While 100 meters of water resistance isn’t necessarily a “professional” dive watch attribute, it however is the bare minimum rating to be qualified as a dive watch according to ISO 6425 standards. Here’s a direct excerpt from the governing body’s docs, “It applies to divers’ watches designed to withstand diving in water at depths of at least 100 m and equipped with a secured measuring system to indicate the diving time, which is visible in darkness.” Of course, there’s other benchmarks to fulfil, like possessing a system to control the time, a constant and lumed seconds indicator and a unidirectional rotating bezel.
As a matter of fact, the inceptive iterations of the Rolex Submariner and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms were both rated to 100 meters or 50 fathoms. Also, PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) has set basic and advanced diving depths for its cardholders at 20 and 40 meters respectively. That’s less than half of what your dive-style watch is actually capable of. Also, the vast majority of recreational dives take place at depths that usually don’t exceed 30 meters. Seiko, on its website, suggests that its watches with 10 bar or 100 meters of water-resistance are acceptable for swimming and shallow diving. Even 5 bar (50 meters) is termed swim safe.
As an irony to the obvious, legendary American marine biologist and oceanographer, Dr. Sylvia Earle casually dives with her 50 meters rated, and double ironically, solid gold Rolex Datejust.
There’s literally an abundance of product in the market with the literal minimum of the acceptable depth rating of 100 meters. While such watches won’t get you deep enough to check out the Titanic’s wreckage, you do however get something to wear while you click the corals when snorkeling.
Dive-Style “Unsinkable” Watches For Desk Divers
Despite the fact that most dive watches (more than 97%) never actually meet the seas, the fact that you have a watch with which you can safely swim, snorkel or ‘casually dive,’ and what is, at least in classification terms, a derivative of an industry icon, is something to take pride in. So, if you find yourself falling for what’s in essence more than just “retro affectation” and also for the possible act of having to jump in a pool to rescue some drunken party guest, here are some “dive-style” watches with 100 meters of water resistance.
Oris Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary Edition
To be honest, there are only a few with the means or the desire to spend a Submariner’s worth on a watch. There are however many that want a watch like one. So, what do you do when the heart’s desire clashes with your wallet’s reality? The answer - you buy the Oris Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary Edition. This vintage-inspired dive-style watch, with 10 bar or 100 meters of water resistance, strikes a chord so pure that it’s worthy of being sat alongside Rolexes in a collection.
This archive-derivative Oris retains the chief retro attributes like the domed sapphire crystal, luminescent numerals, bi-directional rotating bezel and an honest skin-diver form. This budget homage dive watch is almost an exact recreation of its 1960’s inspiration albeit with a few contemporary garnishes such as a 40mm case, an automatic Sellita SW200 derived caliber 733-1, and a scratch resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. This watch is very period-accurate in its form but every bit contemporary in its utility.
Seiko 5 Sports SKX Series SRPL85
The reincarnated Seiko 5 Sports series of 2019 is consistent with the long-held synonym of an affordable mechanical watch. Very recently, the brand introduced a new generation of dive-inspired watches within its 5 Sports SKX Series. For something that costs as much as a tasting menu at a luxury restaurant, the Seiko 5 Sports SRPL85 offers an impression and impact that’s much more sustainable than even the finest gustatory delights. Not only an affordable, reliable and high-quality timekeeper, with the SRPL85, you get a mechanical diver from a brand with a genuine heritage, something that exceeds that of the maker of the Submariner by nearly a quarter-century.
Although not a utilitarian dive watch, the SRPL85 is still capable of a healthy 100 meters. The new model offers styling that leans to being ‘a bit more technical’ and with its revised bracelet and glossy-glass bezel insert, feels a notch premium. The 42.5 mm case gets a non-screw-down push-pull crown that’s in theory good for depths twice the recreational dive limit. The SRPL85 is undisputedly the most heritage-hefty dive-style watch that you can buy today.
Bell & Ross BR V2-92 Steel Heritage
Although the brand has a heritage founded in aviation, Bell & Ross has also ventured into the extreme opposite to flying - diving. Their BR V2-92 Steel Heritage is a skinny dive-style watch that summons all possible clichés attributed to a vintage diver. The luminous markers with faux-patina, a slim aluminum bezel, domed sapphire crystal and contrast lettering on the dial give this watch a genuine cool factor fit for the 60s. Although not a proper dive tool, the BR V2-92 Steel Heritage packs in the necessary to make it safe for a casual plunge in the seas.
Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba
Having a dive watch in the portfolio has become sort of an unofficial industry standard for brands. Hamilton suffices the same with its Khaki Navy Scuba, an entry-level offering that’s more hardcore in dive-styling than dive-utility. Nevertheless, it’s spec-suited for ‘summer days at sea’ with 100 meters of water resistance and is available in a broad chromatic spectrum for even broader pairing delights.
Powered by an ETA 2824 based caliber H10, the Khaki Navy Scuba has an impressive mechanical engine with 80 hours of power reserve and a quick-set date function. There’s the benefit of hacking seconds as well along with manual winding capacity. Overall, an impressive product with a versatile form that meets the ISO standards for a dive watch.
Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor / Elite
The distinct quirks of an internal rotating bezel aren’t just reserved for the likes of JLC Polaris or the Longines Legend Diver. From the brand constantly delivering high-horology thrills at entry-level price points comes the C65 Super Compressor and the C65 Super Compressor Elite. This overkill dive aesthetic duo from Christpher Ward is a distinct purveyor of the rotating bezel genre and with 150 meters of water-resistance, accepted, a bit over-the-usual fifty fathoms that’s sort of dictating the depth ratings here.
The C65 Super Compressor and the C65 Super Compressor Elite differ in their dial displays and the choice of calibers. It is the latter that features colorful decompression dial markings to calculate dive stops and also gets the COSC certified Sellita SW300-1 movement delivering chronometer grade accuracy. With decompression case technicalities, the deeper you go, the tighter the seal!
Blancpain X Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms
Yes. The controversial plastic dive watch and the chronological sequel to the Omega Moonswatch, Blancpain X Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms is a popular polymerized ‘bioceramic’ execution of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms dive watch. As one of its most interesting attributes, it gets a non-serviceable but 90-hour power reserve Swatch ‘Sistem51’ mechanical movement consistent with Blancpain’s strictly no-quartz policy.
The watch packs in real ‘fifty fathoms’ of water resistance. Yes, a fathom is a nautical unit of measurement (6 feet) and fifty of those add up to 91 meters of 300 feet. So, comfortably swimmable and snorkel-able. In my view though, the Scuba Fifty Fathoms is the most pleasing and low-risk watch gift you could ever offer anyone.
A Rare Derivative Of Function
In its purest iterations, a dive watch aesthetic is a derivative of a purpose. This unique case of a product’s form has enabled the dive watch to permeate and fit broader lifestyles. In its purest form, a dive watch avoids extravagance and as a tool designed for a very particular job, it can exist without being ‘fancy.’ And that’s rare in the watch world.
